What is the least expensive way to lift materials on site?

[CalvinHobbes]

So we are approaching first floor. The scaffolding went up yesterday and they provided us with a platform. The brickie told me he had a licence to drive a forklift and they are a good price if you hire them by the week. I know ideally we would have a teleporter but how much can a forklift lift? The blocks come in 2 rows so is that too heavy? Should I get the lorry driver to drop single rows on lots of pallets? How many pallets would I need to recieve a full load of blocks she wonders? Digger went today, almost sad to see it go.

[Canski]

Telehandler but a small one 4 - 6 m . We use small Manitous, JCB's etc. Cost is around £200 - £250 PW UK Forks have been good to us in the past  .   https://www.ukforks.com/product.php?id=1

Don't forget the golden rule though ! Get the materials delivered on pallets.

[nod]

Bumpa hoist 

I have used one on the last two builds 

Cheap to hire You can clear a pack of blocks and slates  in minutes 

Ask to see his license and insurance before you let him loose on your build 

 

[Declan52]

If your loading out the floor don't skimp on the acrow props. 

For an all terrain forklift the ground has to be fairly level as they don't have the front jack legs to level them out before you lift anything high. 

If it's on the outside on scaffolding you can double up the plank on the scaffolding box you can get the best access to and set a pallet with a double lift off blocks,88, on to it. But as above make sure you see his ticket and he knows if he pushes to far with the forks and wrecks something he pays to fix it. It's very easy to move a wall if your not careful. 

[eandg]

If going telehandler route we found small and local much cheaper and far better service than the big nationals.

[CalvinHobbes]

We have sills to lift as well so guessing the bumpa wont handle this so we will likely need one at some point.

 

[nod]

5 hours ago, CalvinHobbes said:

We have sills to lift as well so guessing the bumpa wont handle this so we will likely need one at some point.

 

No

They can be moved by hand Along with lintels and most steels 

[Dave Jones]

the delivery driver with hiab can put them straight on the loading bay for the first lift. maybe wont reach for roof lift.

 

YOU not the brickie is responsible for both the telehandler insurance and any HSE breaches that may happen as YOU are the main contractor in law. There is no special licence required to drive a telehandler on site.

[nod]

2 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

the delivery driver with hiab can put them straight on the loading bay for the first lift. maybe wont reach for roof lift.

 

YOU not the brickie is responsible for both the telehandler insurance and any HSE breaches that may happen as YOU are the main contractor in law. There is no special licence required to drive a telehandler on site.

He will still need an up to date ticket for HSE 

[Dave Jones]

Just now, nod said:

He will still need an up to date ticket for HSE 

 

no such thing. Try ringing HSE up and asking for one.

[nod]

12 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

 

no such thing. Try ringing HSE up and asking for one.

Perhaps you have been on a building site Dave 

[Dave Jones]

1 minute ago, nod said:

Perhaps you have been on a building site Dave 

 

im well aware of the ticket scam that all the big housebuilders use and its pretty much exclusive to them. It isn't a requirement of HSE/LAW anymore than a brickie having a brickie pass in order to lay bricks safely.

[saveasteading]

Your scaffolding is unlikely to be strong enough for a pallet or similar weight. A collapse could be disastrous. Hence the loading platform idea but it will cost. 

 

 

There are brick hoists to fix to the scaffolding. A simple crane, manual or motor.

There are brick conveyors that need a person each end.

 

Messing about with telehandlers not recommended.

[Dave Jones]

1 minute ago, saveasteading said:

Your scaffolding is unlikely to be strong enough for a pallet or similar weight. A collapse could be disastrous. Hence the loading platform idea but it will cost. 

 

 

 

Why ?

 

If the scaff company have built a loading bay then it would probably be for loading materials ? If in doubt ask them.

[Gone West]

We had all our roofing materials loaded onto the second lift by the delivery lorry hiab.

[Conor]

Ditto the delivery lorries. We had blocks dropped on to the first floor slabs. We were fortunate enough to have a large site near us with a friendly manager, he sent his 14m telehandler round any time we needed anything lifted. Hired in a handler any time I knew there was a lot of lifting to do - e.g. the roof panels. 

 

Otherwise, there's a reason why most sites would have a ~6m telehandler and a block grab hanging around most of the time.

 

Have you accounts setup with the hire companines? Worth doing as the rates you get are a good 1/3rd less than the walk-in prices.

[Declan52]

2 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

the delivery driver with hiab can put them straight on the loading bay for the first lift. maybe wont reach for roof lift.

 

YOU not the brickie is responsible for both the telehandler insurance and any HSE breaches that may happen as YOU are the main contractor in law. There is no special licence required to drive a telehandler on site.

Having actually done my telehandler test I can confirm that this is lies. You do not need a licence to drive them at the start cause you need a minimum of 300 hours of site work experience before you  go and do the actual test. This is because unlike learning to drive a car you can't just have easy access to this type of machinery so it's a given that the best place to learn is on site so you get a bit of leeway.

Once you have your hours done you go to do your test. 

Attached is the actual course I done in the place I actually completed it. Also had my  digger and dumper ticket as well just incase you say three don't exist.

 

[saveasteading]

Hi @Declan52

 

We don't say lies on here

 

We may not agree, but and interested in other people's views and experience.

 

Perhaps:

 

You disagree and have personal experience to back it up.

 

 

[Declan52]

18 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Hi @Declan52

 

We don't say lies on here

 

We may not agree, but and interested in other people's views and experience.

 

Perhaps:

 

You disagree and have personal experience to back it up.

 

 

No we do. If what was posted was a lie then feel free to say so as long as you can back that up. Having actually got my telehandler ticket and been checked numerous times by the HSE I know that you need it to work on a site. 

If your unlucky enough to have an accident on site the first thing they check is the training records to see if the person performing that task has the relevant training to perform the task safely. 

[saveasteading]

@Declan52

There is a big difference between a lie and something that may be factually incorrect.....or a matter of different experience.

 

@Dave Jones has some interesting views but I've never known them to be deliberate untruths.

 

Respect each other please.

I'm not a moderator.

[eandg]

We just had a labourer and apprentice load bricks around the scaffold for us while the brickies set out and started. Brickies had them in the gang mixing mortar (labourer) and helping lay (apprentice) in any case - maybe worth asking as I don't think any hoist would have saved us cash. 

[ToughButterCup]

This is what we used and hemp rope, a gin wheel , plus a bit of muscle. And a lot of pre-lift planning. 

 

 

We learned the hard way to keep the rope dry, because the auto-brake doesn't work very well when the rope is wet.

 

I nearly killed Debbie lifting 25kg of concrete up to level 3 of the scaff - let go of the rope expecting the brake to do it's job, it didn't  - whoosh, down it went  : took about a year to regain the Brownie Points lost .....

[Mike]

6 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

If the scaff company have built a loading bay then it would probably be for loading materials ? If in doubt ask them

Yes, do get confirmation of this.

 

14 hours ago, Declan52 said:

If your loading out the floor don't skimp on the acrow props. 

+1

 

1 hour ago, ToughButterCup said:

hemp rope, a gin wheel , plus a bit of muscle.

Or get a 110V scaffold hoist for an easier option.

[Dave Jones]

4 hours ago, Declan52 said:

Having actually done my telehandler test I can confirm that this is lies. You do not need a licence to drive them at the start cause you need a minimum of 300 hours of site work experience before you  go and do the actual test. This is because unlike learning to drive a car you can't just have easy access to this type of machinery so it's a given that the best place to learn is on site so you get a bit of leeway.

Once you have your hours done you go to do your test. 

Attached is the actual course I done in the place I actually completed it. Also had my  digger and dumper ticket as well just incase you say three don't exist.

 

 

 

I didnt say private training courses don't exist I said a 'licence' doesn't exist. Which it doesn't.

 

The big sites use CSCS type private training schemes because it suits them and their business model. If HSE visit they will ask for evidence of competence. This can be using a machine over many years, much like farmers do who also use telehandlers (yep see thousands of them queuing up every year to take telehandler tests lol). If you don't happen to have this experience you can certainly go on a course but it isn't mandatory and if you think a course makes you a safer driver than a farmer whos driven one for 20 years then your also mistaken.

 

So back the original question, if the brickie has experience and says he is competent and YOU are happy he is competent then crack on. Buck stops with the main contractor which is you.

 

https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/telescopic.htm#training

 

 

 

[Crofter]

There must be more than one route in to gaining a telehandler ticket. I've got one, and all I needed to have before doing the course was a driving license.

 

Btw I would second the suggestion of getting the delivery lorry to do the lifting. They have way more reach than a telehandler.