5 tricky glazing jobs for GGR spider cranes and glass lifters

But what makes a glazing job tricky?    Some common problems that we come across are a lack suitable space to work in inside a building or around a building’s envelope, having to work around existing structure where there are obstacles in the way and needing to install units close to a soffit or underneath overhangs.On jobs like this we find that our mini cranes and glass vacuum lifters are often the perfect partnership required for completed these problem glazing jobs.Here’s a look at five challenging lifting projects which became success stories when a compact crane and vacuum lifter teamed up to take on the job… Trinity Leeds lift shaft GGR’s mini cranes and lifters assisted with much of the glazing and curtain walling work around the Trinity Leeds shopping centre during its construction.Our compact equipment came in particularly handy when it came to glazing this lift shaft.

UNIC URW-095 mini crane worked in the restricted space behind a set of escalators, underneath a low ceiling to lift panels into position on the side of this glazed lift shaft. The mini crane’s boom could reach through the narrow gap between the lift shaft and neighbouring wall to move the glass using a PFHL89 vacuum lifter.

The 455kg capacity PFHL89 is one of our most slimline vacuum lifting machines with a depth of just 188mm, offering a far safer alternative to manual handling in this narrow passageway.

2. Harpurhey Youth Centre

A UNIC URW-295 mini spider crane and 320kg capacity P11104 Four-in-Line vacuum lifter were hired from GGR to help with some external ground floor glazing at The Factory Youth Zone, a £5 million youth centre in Harpurhey, Manchester. This glazing job showed that UNIC mini cranes can get into the tightest spaces and install glass units at awkward angles.

With little room for a crane to work in around the building’s envelope, the compact URW-295 model was chosen for its 2.9 tonne capacity, 600mm width when stowed for easy transportation and its minimal footprint. Thanks to its multi-positionable outriggers, this crane could sit half inside and half outside the building to successfully move the glass into place with the limited space available.

3. Office external glazing

The compact lifting power of GGR’s UNIC URW-376 spider crane provided a solution to installing glazing in a gap of just 4 metres in between new office buildings and the hoarding separating them from the nearby Metro line in Eccles, Manchester.

The URW-376 crane was combined with one of our most popular and versatile vacuum lifters, the 320kg capacity MRT4 machine, to lift and install this toggle system glazing. GGR’s crane operator ensured that the URW-376 was working within safe parameters around the nearby tram lines by using the crane’s slew restriction function.

4. Office internal glazing

This UNIC URW-295 mini spider crane shows that compact cranes can reach those awkward installation points inside a building as well as outside. The mini crane was fitted with a P11104 Four-in-Line vacuum lifter, the ideal machine to install these narrow, slim glass units to the 4^th floor from the office building’s atrium.

The spider crane was fitted with a 700kg searcher hook to fit the glazing underneath an overhang above and around obstacles such as the walkway stretching across the atrium.

5. Sainsbury’s roof glazing

When glass units need to reach even higher heights, a Starworker trailer crane can combined with a glass vacuum lifter for high level glazing or lifting on rooftops.

This Starworker 1200 trailer crane was hired from GGR to lift 97kg glass units onto the 15 metre high rooftop of a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Sheffield. A dual circuit MRT4 glass vacuum lifter was used with the crane to handle the 2 metre wide panels.

GGR Group has specialist equipment and skilled operators available to hire for complicated glazing projects. To find out more information about our range of compact cranes, vacuum lifters and glass lifting solutions, contact your nearest GGR Group depot.