The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: TAB on July 22, 2009, 01:19:52 PM
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1st, Yes I've very tired.
any tips? i've always used a safe dolly, but I was wondering if any one else had any great ideas.
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You have my sympathies!!
We just moved one a couple of weeks ago. We used a heavy duty hand truck like you did, but whenever we could, we pulled it with the atv. Winched it up on the porch and then the hard part started.......carpet sucks for rolling heavy stuff on!
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I am "loose" friends with our former Friends of NRA rep, and he sells safes. He can be "bribed" to move safes when in the area - He has all the professional equipment (including stair walkers) and I have access to really good steaks and beverages ;)
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Hire a couple college students. From the debating or Chess clubs if you need some laughs, from the football team if you just want the job DONE. ;D
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Hire movers
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If you can borrow a couple of sheets of sheet aluminum checker plate, sat 3'x3' or so, put the rough side down and roll from one sheet to the other. Makes even a dollly roll easy on carpet.
Or you can save your back, hernias and liability insurance and get a moving company. Most will give you an estimate over the phone. My wife bought a 286 gal salt water aquarium (1" thick glass) that weighed in at just over 700 lbs. Cost us about $150.00 to get it brought in from our garage with a moving company.
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I put cardboard under my safe to move it over carpet. Worked pretty good. Like some others, used dollys straps, come-alongs to pull up steps. The two six-packs after the job was completed, helped quite a bit.
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BIG friends.
It really depends on what the floor is/how much you care about it.
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Even 1/4 plywood will work on carpet.
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Golf balls or small pvc pipe work well.
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they are going from th egarage, to the garage. so no carpet. I am renting a truck with a lift gate
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Get a few pieces of black iron pipe. Tilt the safe enough to get a few pieces under it. Roll it along, putting pieces of pipe in front as they come out the back, you know, like the Egyptians did with stones.
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Moved a Treadlock bench type safe upstairs when I got married (again)...took 5-6 people and an appliance cart w/strap. Moved mostly on smooth flooring so that wasn't a problem. The cart had tracks on the back (similar to a tank) to help pull it up steps which was good. Planned ahead so that we could flop it over on the bottom when we got close to the top of the stairs...smart thinking on my part! Don't know for sure but might account for the hernia I just had to have repaired recently!!!!!!!
Lots of luck,
Richard
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Some gun shops and safe sellers will move safes or know of people who will.
A number of years ago when we had an addition put on the house. The company that did the flooring used an air lift of some kind to move the refrigerator around. They tipped the fridge back, put this underneath and turned it on. The device floated on a cushion of air and a child could move and steer the fridge wherever they wanted it to go. It wouldn't work on stairs and I don't know what the lift capacity was, but it worked well. Maybe you can rent one.
A few years ago I passed on a very big and very nice safe at a very good price. It was from a divorce and the husband left it in the garage. I figured it would be relativly easy to get it to my house. It would of had to go in the basement. I wasn't sure that the steps would hold up without reinforcement, but I was more concerned about how to get it out if I ever had to. The divorcee also got the house and Harley. She also got to keep her original one owner 67 Camero that she bought new when she got her license. She also packed a .357. Went out with her a few times and should have kept that going. Sigh :(
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LOL ::)
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+1 to hire a moving company. They have the right equipment and big strong guys. It is cheaper than a hernia.
There are just somethings you do not do yourself. This is one.
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Slow and careful.
Plywood sheets, I prefer 1/2" especially over dirt/grass.
Rollers as opposed to dolly's. Steel pipe and even large wooden doweling. The bigger pipe/dowels you can find the easier it all goes.
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Lift with you legs and not your back...
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One thing I forgot to mention. Up until very recently, floors in residential homes were designed with a load factor of 40 lbs per sq ft for the 1st floor and 30 lbs per sq ft upper floors. This is based on a deflection factor of L360 (meaning the floor can sag 1" in 360" and not be overloaded. If you were to put something overweight in the center of the span, expect a deflection of more than that. It probably won't fail but sometimes a sag isn't desireable.
Usually, the refrigerator is the heaviest thing for it size in a house. If the safe is no heavier than a frig, you should be OK but expect a little sag if it is in the middle 1/3 of the span. This is with board lumber. TJI's, trusses or engineered lumber is different.
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actually, the 40 lbs / sq if the dead load of the building, not the carring capcity.
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As others have said... Hire a moving company. They do it for a living.
If you have cash you want to spend, get an Airsled. It's what blackwolfe was talking about. I have a kit that is meant to lift up to 600lbs (smallest kit), but they make them for loads up to 20,000lbs. They are thin aluminum topped sleds with a perforated fabric cushion. It uses a very high CFM air pump to float them. Like an air hockey table upside down. They work on any solid floor but can be used with nylon skids to go over carpet. Lots of fun to move stuff with, even more fun to ride on. Kinda like Back to the Future II hoverboards. ;D
http://www.airsled.com/
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That DOES look like it has fun potential ;D
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If you hire a moving company, be careful. The last bunch I saw up the street look like they came from a local "Chain Gang". Considering your proximity to Fulsom Prison, I'd be doubley cautious.
Young people don't seem to want to sweat much anymore. They just want mom and dad to pay for everything, finding a mover NOT using paroled felons might be difficult...
Moving furniture was a summer job for me some years back, it's hard work but when you wan't something, you gotta work for it!
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If you hire a moving company, be careful. The last bunch I saw up the street look like they came from a local "Chain Gang". Considering your proximity to Fulsom Prison, I'd be doubley cautious.
Young people don't seem to want to sweat much anymore. They just want mom and dad to pay for everything, finding a mover NOT using paroled felons might be difficult...
Timothy has a valid point...
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actually, the 40 lbs / sq if the dead load of the building, not the carring capcity.
Actually the 40 lbs is live load, i.e. what the floor can handle in furniture, people, safes, interior non-load bearing stud walls, sheet rock,etc. The dead load used around here as referenced to the ICC (International Code Council) is 10 lbs per sq ft. without sagging beyond tolerable limits. The only time it really matters is with long spans plus the loads are spread out more than just the small area under a safe or frige due to plywood or other wood flooring, bridging and even non-load bearing walls to a certain extent.
I used floor trusses once on a house with a twenty foot span and L360 deflection factor which was code. It could sag 2/3" and be to specs. Naturally the people who bought the house put their frige right in the middle of the span. The 2nd floor span was also 20' but much less of a load. The 1st floor went down but the 2nd didn't. Pulled crown molding down and was a real pain to fix. One of those times when you do everything right and still get burned. I had to replace crown molding scrape old caulk, repair drywall and repaint all of the walls to get it looking right. After this L480 was minimum I would do and L720 with a span of 20' or more.
My wife's 286+ gal saltwater aquarium required a lot of shoring up as at 9 lbs per gal it was way over loaded.
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I hired "Two Men & a Truck..however they sent 3 guys. Cost me $250. But they are bonded and insured in addition to having a wide assortment of dollies. I was concerned about someone getting injured or killed when I bought my 500 lb plus safe. Took em 10 minutes on our narrow hallway and curved stairs.