Most of the time, renting a crane is directly related to hoisting and lifting heavy items into positions that you could not easily get them to by hand. Working with concrete can be one of those times that a crane makes the work easier and more efficient. Concrete is heavy in every form that it can take, even though the curing process does remove a lot of the water from it.

Lifting and Moving Precast Concrete

Precast is a term used to describe concrete items like steps, tanks, or even wall sections that are made ahead and moved to a location to be used. Even small precast items can be very heavy so moving them from the truck to their desired location can require a large crane. If you are an experienced crane operator, you might be able to rent a crane to move these items without an operator but in most cases, the company that owns the crane will want their operator at the controls. It reduces their liability and increases the efficiency of the machine. If you need a crane to move precast items off a truck, plane for the crane to be earlier than the truck so you can be set up and ready when the delivery arrives so the driver is not sitting around waiting for the crane.

Lifting Wet Concrete To New Heights

If you are working on a large project that requires pouring concrete on the upper levels of a building, you may need a crane to lift the concrete from the ground to the building. Often a special bucket is used that can be filled with concrete and once in place, the bottom is opened that the concrete comes out. The crane operator will need to be very skilled as often these buckets need to be centered over a form just a few inches wide in order to not waste the concrete. Once the bucket is empty, it is moved back to the ground to be filled from a cement truck and hoisted again to the forms when the concrete is being poured.

Removing Old Concrete

During demolition of a building, there can often be large slabs of concrete that need to be removed from the site. Breaking them up and hauling them away is one option but if you want to keep the slabs intact, hoisting them onto a flatbed or other trailer designed to handle them is an option. You will need a crane to lift the slabs and an operator good enough at the controls to not damage the concrete pieces. Explain the job when you rent the crane so the operator understands what he might need to properly rig the concrete to lift it safely.