I am working on a bid for some maintenance work to about 150 windows on the exterior of an apartment building. The windows range from 25-45 feet off the ground. So I am wondering what the best equipment would be to get myself and my crew to the windows safely. I ordinarily do small residential work (similar type of work to this job just a smaller scale) so I called my local equipment rental place and they told me the only option was “a tow behind lift” my concern is this type of set-up only has a 1-person bucket. Ideally I would like to have a 4-5 man crew minimum and according to his advice I would have 5 lifts on the job. Sounds fun but doesn’t make sense. Anyone here have recommendations.
-thanks for the feedback
Replies
That sounds really wrong... it's a solution that fits the equipment he has on hand.
This is the kind of equipment you need for the job, except with a work platform on the front instead of forks:
http://www.american-rentals.com/construction-equipment-product.aspx?g=product.php?id=55098
Huh?
A tow behind or self propelled JLG may be exactly what he needs. An all terain forklit with a work basket might be what he needs if the site is rough, but now you need a dedicated operatot in addition to the ground man and two in the basket..
If the site is level and there are no opstructions aound the buildings a platform lift might also work. Lots of options.
Best advice would be to take the rental sales guy to the sight and walk the every bit of it. Most of them will reccomend the right type equipment for the site and the job, in my experience. Then you bid it accordingly.
Most of the aerial lifts have 500 lb. rated baskets so two "normal" sized people could fit. My experience with rented lifts is this:
The tow-behind units (JLG 350 and others) get their stability from the outrigger legs which self level the unit, but the machine itself is relatively lightweight. That's good if you have to worry about crushing things burried and care around landscaping. The downside to these is that they're time consuming to move around by one person because they are not self propelled.
The larger self propelled units gain their stability from their weight. They can be moved by one person from the basket so they are very maneuverable and hence, you can be very productive. The downside is that the tires and weight of the machine will crush things underneath and tear up the landscaping.
At my local Home Depot, they have the JLG 350's for rent for about $100/day so if they have that where you are, you could try one out for a day and see if it was too much of a pain to move around.
thanks for the feedback. The site is urban - all sidewalk, so no landscape concerns. Some of it is downhill though so the scissor lifts are out. I'll probably just have to get the rep out there like you said
thanks for the help