Cranes weren’t slung from our tool belts, but they sure could come in handy. Back in 1978.
1) Help! The wind blew my house down!
My neighbor knows I run Giant Leprechaun Construction. One of our big windstorms with 100 mph gusts has blown down the second floor of his house before he could get the sheathing on the framing to give the walls some strength. He knocks on my door. “What do I do now?” he wants to know. He was a do-it-yourselfer learning as he builds this house for himself and his wife…
3) Crane arrives
No shingles on the roof yet so it’s still pretty light. Sling the crane cables through the roof and hope it holds.
5) Got it hooked up!
Raise the roof and see if it holds itself together!
7) Ok! Bring us that roof back!
Might be some hope here. Let’s see if we can lower it into place.
9) Line it up best we can!
Probably won’t be perfect but good enough for the folks we work for!
2) Call a Crane!
I had been recently admiring the ease with which big cranes can get the job done. So…. Yes… Schedule a big crane for about 3 hours, get about 6 guys ready to re-frame those 2nd floor walls and do it fast… with a little bit of luck we’ll see if miracles can happen!
4) What a mess!
The remains of the splintered second floor exterior wall studs can be seen protruding from under the roof.
6) So far so good!
Just park that roof on the ground over there and give us a couple of hours to reframe that second floor!
8) Looks good!
Start lowering it down!
10) Looks good!
Sure enough it’s back on there! Ok crane, we’ll pay you for your 3 hours and get some sheathing on these walls before the winds come up again!
