Having been a distributor for a Canadian Pre-fabficated wall company for about 12 years I had the opportunity to be involved in a 24,000 foot church where the members supplied the labor to install all the walls, floor joist, windows, and roof trusses. Although there was a fork lift on site, I think wall jacks could have been used in certain areas. The second floor of the Education had 8′ tall walls. The rear section was 132 feet long, no windows and no way to get the lift close because of walls below. (see enclosed pictures) Normally on custom homes we assemble a complete section of wall on the deck, add sheathing if needed, and second top plate. As the walls are extermely stiff, I then rack and square them and lift them in place. In an effort to get this 132 foot wall as perfect as possible I think wall jacks would come in very handy. For the taller 22 foot tall LVL walls a small portable lift was user. Who makes the best type of wall jack on the market today. Thanks in advance.
John Giuliani
Edited 7/13/2002 4:00:47 PM ET by John
Replies
John,
I've had four Proctor jacks for...too many years...and I think they're just fine. Are they the best? I dunno, as they're the only type I've ever used.
I think Proctor is the best. I have used others and didn't like having to be beneath the wall as it was lifted.
Hi John,
I think the Proctor's are, if not the best, certainly the most popular.
I don't personally like them. They take up a lot of space in the truck or trailer which really isn't that big of a deal. What I really don't like about them is that they bounce when used. I'm sure they would never fail, but it sure makes me nervous to see that monster wall bouncing.
I like the old boat-winch style jacks. They are hard to find nowadays though. Mac-hoist was the name on 'em I believe. Nice and smooth and don't take up too much space.
Just my 2 cents.
-Sawdaddy
rent a rough terrain forklift. In addition to easy wall raising they make building faster and safer. (about the same as hiring 1 1/2 labors and help you build about 20% faster on average.)
Once you've built with them you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner..
Unless you frame for a living, Proctor wall jacks are a waste of money. They're nice, no question, but they are still only rated to lift 1000 lbs each, just like the type you can buy mail order for 100.00 each. I've lifted hundreds of walls over the years with those qual-craft type jacks, and never seen one fail, even when severly overloaded. Just make sure to use good lumber for your posts and you'll be fine. Nice for installing glulams alone, too.
I'm not a framer but one summer I worked as a helper for a crew. The lead man would have all, within reason, saw horses placed just a few inches in front the top plate. When the wall was lifted above the tops of the horses one of the helpers was charged with moving them under the top plate. This allowed the lift to stop at a critical point so people could reposition and, according to the lead man, provided some protection if the wall fell.
The idea being that the crew could fall flat and be lower than the top of the horses. Even if they failed they would absorb most of the impact. The walls never fell so I don't know if this theory holds water but it sounds good. Anyone ever see this done? Did it help when the jacks gave way?
I try to remember to have one 4' and one 6' 2x lying on the deck next each jack, in case of the need for temporary bracing, but I've never used them. Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them though, huh?
Brinkmann for president in '04
Edited 7/19/2002 10:15:58 AM ET by jim blodgett