Replies

1. 
   butch | Oct 27, 2004 12:40pm | #1

   When I was framing

   I used them only because I was siding, setting windows and cornice on the

   wall before I raised the walls.  There great for that reason and I couldn't have done it

   without them.  They will raise gables  and also lift laminated beams.  Proctor wall

   jacks are the ones I used and have no experience with any others.

2. 
   mikeys | Oct 27, 2004 04:13pm | #2

   qualcraft is another brand. qualcraft is cheaper and uses 2"x4" as a pole so you can lift whatever size wall needed. They don't seem as safe as proctor though. With qualcraft you end up in the fall zone and they don't come with cables to keep wall from going over the edge.

   Iv'e never used proctors, just read about them.

   Smile. It could be worse. You could be me working for you.

1. 
   FrankB89 | Oct 27, 2004 05:28pm | #3

   I've rented Proctors a few times and they worked fine. 

   They can also be set up as a Jin-pole which enabled me to set some timber frame trusses single-handed a few years ago. 

3. 
   jimblodgett | Oct 27, 2004 06:34pm | #4

   FHB issue 138 has a 4 page article discussing various types/brands of wall jacks, pros and cons, lifting capacities, prices, etc. 

   You also might search the archives.  This has been cussed and discussed quite a bit by pros over the years.
4. 
   gzajac | Oct 28, 2004 04:01am | #5

   Magnus

   I have only used the proctors and can only comment on them.If all I am doing is 8 or 9 foot walls then the 16' is what I use. When I'm lifting gables I usually lift with a 20' or 24' set depending on the gable width and height.I've seen guys lift 28' wide walls, 20' tall, with the 16', but I think they are pushing it.

   They are a fine piece of equipment, and will last for ever with TLC. My first set is over 30 years old, and they still go to work with me.

   Greg in Connecticut

5. 
   dieselpig | Oct 28, 2004 04:26am | #6

   I've got 'em and love 'em.

   I have a set of 20'ers and the last gable I lifted was a 32ft long, 22 ft high gable w/ 2X4 framing, sheathed, with 12" overhangs, rakes, and the rest of the fixin's.  No sweat.  I know I've lifted bigger, but I'd be guessing if I gave you numbers. 

   Fairly sizeable investment, but what's a herniated disk or W/C claim gonna run you?  IMHO, they were worth every dang cent.  Mine are Proctors, and I believe they are much better than everything else out there, really well built and replacement/maintenance parts are readily available.  One of the best G's I've ever spent.... love 'em.

6. 
   Sasquatch | Oct 28, 2004 05:20am | #7

   Without a doubt, Proctor is the current standard.

   This will change.

   They do not get into electric, remote-control technology.  I think this must become an issue of importance, especially for folks like me who prefer to build entire houses alone.

   You can use the 16's in most situations.  One of the longer jacks can be helpful on a tall gable.  You can use a shorter jack mounted on a sturdy saw horse to achieve the additional height challenge.

   Les Barrett Quality Construction
1. 
   blue_eyed_devil | Oct 29, 2004 02:53am | #8

   Les, you need a  crane...not wall jacks!

   I wouldn't stand any wall jack on a set of horses. I suppose you could brace them up to do the job, but there's actually better ways.

   Forest and I framed many, many houses together...alone. We hoisted some pretty tall wall.

   On some, we'd set them up in the windows anchoring them about 8' down from the top plate. That anchor poinit would allow us to stand them up without re-rigging.

   Other times (often), we would hoist the walls up as far as they would go. We'd then temp brace them, pull the nails on the bottom of the jacks and then use the wall jacks themselves as push poles. If the load was still too great, we'd slide the pole bottoms closer to the bottom plate and renail them and then crank them up again. Typically we'd get them up another 6' or so and that would be enough to overcome the weight. Then, one of us would free up and push while the other held back anc cranked the wall out.

   Lastly, I use to do one other trick if the wall was still to tall and heavy. We'd crank the wall up, temp brace....then, nail on a new anchor point about 8' down on the inside. We'd then move the bottom of the wall jack in and crank away. The tip of the pole would slide down below the top plate and ride along the sheathing until it reached the lowered anchor. Be careful with this tip....if the wall is too heavy, the tip of the pole will poke its head through the osb!

   Thank goodness we now use a crane and sky trac!

   blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature...  go read someone else's post.

1. 
   Sasquatch | Oct 29, 2004 05:09pm | #9

   Thanks for the good ideas.  I wish I could afford a telelifter or skytrak.  I have decided that with my personality I will probably continue to frame alone, unless I take a break and work for someone else.Les Barrett Quality Construction

7. 
   user-255285 | Nov 02, 2004 03:08am | #10

   I have a set of 16ft Proctor Wall Jacks I would like to sell.  They are new (never used) still in original box.  Price is $530 plus shipping (or pick up in Sykesville, MD).

   Jim at 301-926-2778

8. 
   AndyEngel | Nov 02, 2004 04:14am | #11

   I've got a pair of the Qualcrafts. They work much like pump jacks, and I've used them on sheathed walls up to 35 ft. long (too much, should've had a third one or split the wall in half), 12 ft. high gable walls, and to lift flitch plates straight up from the ground to the second floor. Proctors might be better in some ways, but I've only got about $260 in the pair of them, and because I use 2x4s from on site for the poles, storing them takes no more space than would a brace of framing guns.

   As to being in the fall zone, yes, that's true. You're in a much better position than if raising the walls by hand, though. And, by the time you're in the fall zone, the wall is close to its balance point, where completing the lift by hand would be easy.

   Andy

   Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.

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