Have any of you guys used a traierable boom lift for doing facia or other exterior trim work ? I have been replacing all of my facia with Azec, and have finishad the entire house except for the portion that is 2 stories tall. I was thinking about renting a boom lift for a weekend to finish the tall part. It seems like it would move around a lot, but maybe once you get used to it it is ok ? Any comments ? Here is a pic of the one I would rent:
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
Replies
I used a 40 ft version to do some exterior window trim repair on the second floor front of a spanish style credit union that could not be reached by a ladder. There was a large portico over the front door that blocked ladder access. Worked very well, did the work on a wekend when I could park right in front of the building. Yes, it did tend to sway a little, and it took me many long minutes to get comfortable enought to get up to height.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Edited 4/22/2007 10:41 pm ET by FastEddie
Bill,
I've used one similar to that without that last boom I think. They are quite a bit more bouncy than their big cousins, but operate fine and will do just what you need.
Don't forget a harness and lanyard for safetys sake
I rented a 45 foot articulated boom lift two weeks ago to reattach some rake trim on a three story commercial building. The job took about 20 minutes, and I moved about in the bucket carefully. But the big shocker was the $700 rental fee for the machine. I got back $95 for returning it early (after just two hours.)
As a side note, the owners of the building now want me to replace all the rotting window casings, which will require renting the lift again for several days. They could have saved themselves hundreds of dollars if they had included that in the original scope.
Rental of the boom costs about $700 for the day, $1200 for two days, and $1400 for a week.
Not cheap, but a lot safer - and more efficient - than ladders.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
>>>>>>>But the big shocker was the $700 rental fee for the machine. But, how much would it have cost to scaffold for access? It's all just part of the price the customer has to pay.http://grantlogan.net/
I used a trailerable boom for about two hours once and took it back and got them to bring me a real boom.
The self contained booms have bigger baskets (important if you're not working by yourself) which translates to more room to keep stuff which translates to less trips to the ground. It takes a lot longer to move the trailers. The trailers are shakier.
The trailers are lighter which may be important around finished landscaping. We use 2x8 strips of 3/4" PT plywood to move my 45' boom across finished yards (not much more trouble than setting the trailer outriggers on blocks).
The big boom may be more expensive, but you'll progress quicker and need it less time, IMHO.
edit: The trailer boom has a four foot basket. The regular booms have six or eight footers. You'll have a hard time hanging a 10' piece of trim without moving the basket.
http://grantlogan.net/
Edited 4/23/2007 7:43 am ET by seeyou
Hi Bill:
I have been working on my 3 story house here in Newport since I bought it 10 years ago. I bought and used the Alumapole a few years ago but since I do all the work myself, it was difficult to set up. Last spring I rented a Biljax towable lift to paint a bumpout that I could never get the Alumapole over (3rd floor is a mansard style roof w/soffit, that would prevent the Alumapole from going up).
I rented the Biljax for I think $295/day for a few days. Took me an hour to get used to it. It does "shake bit when the boom is extnded, but it's no big deal. I fell in love with it, so I bought it from the rental co. I paid $15k for it and it was only a year old. I know it sounds silly to buy something like that but I have plans to repair my slate roof and have been using it to repair the front part of the house where I had enclosed the porches a few years ago when water soaked the GP prime-trim and rotted everything.
Anyway, I find it easy to tow (yes, friends come out of the woodwork), it is low maintenance, with the only repair I had was the pump motor which drives the hydraulic fluid was worn. It only cost me $200 to have the motor rebuilt locally and took me 10 minutes to reinstall. It is the electric model, much quieter in these tight Newport neighborhoods. I once saw a guy up in Boston using the model with the gas motor, man was it loud! With that model the motor has to be started each time you want to move the boom.
I have since installed an air-line and pressure washer hose in the boom, so I can leave the pressure washer and compressor on the ground. Some new models come with these installed.
It can get up to locations that would be nearly impossible w/ a ladder. I've already saved a $1000 by bartering w/my heating guy in letting him borrow it for a week and he took the $$ off my bill.
In conclusion, I give it a thumbs up. It gives me the confidence to do my work without fear of falling off a ladder 30' in the air. You could buy a used one then sell it after a year and you would still be way ahead than renting it. Plus I just hate renting tools, if I have plans of using something more than 4-5 times I try to buy it. If I was a contractor I would buy one.
Too bad you were not up in this area, I'd let you use it.
Good luck and don't you just love Azek? If you look at the picture I attached that section of gutter in the front-I made it out of Azek to duplicate the original on the rest of the house.
AS