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In the Doghouse

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In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 07:52

LOML (or SKB - She Knows Best) thinks that I 'interfere' too much. She'll come and ask for my help when she needs it. Fair enough. I don't go anywhere near making any suggestions regarding her garden and, to be fair, usually her research is faultless. Sometimes it does go badly wrong, for example, when she effectively ended up with concrete soil when trying to improve the drainage. It's a brave man who tries to suggest where she went wrong. I digress.

She ordered herself a couple of furniture items from Italy for her bedroom. Can't fault the styling, finish or build quality. She liaised with the delivery company. I gently suggested we ask them to carry it upstairs. Snarl. No bannisters, they might have an accident. I think "Offer them £50 and let them decide" but I keep my counsel. "We'll be able to carry it upstairs" she says.

So, I'm out on the terrace having my lunch when they arrive. I stay put. Leave her to it. Even when I glanced briefly over my shoulder she bridled. Keep shtum. Nothing to see here. They leave. This.
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I estimate it to weigh 150-180 kgs. "How are we going to get it upstairs?" I ask, all innocent-like.

"Carry it". I point out that we struggled to carry up the second smaller unit about 1/4 the size of this monster.

"Put a sheet of plywood down on the stairs and push it up". I ask her to try pushing it along the tiled floor in the kitchen. She tries and fails.

"We could put it on some long bearers on top of those dollies I made up" I suggest.

"How will we stop it rolling back down the slope ?". I suggest the wheel locks. She's not happy with that idea either. I remain poker-faced.

"What?" she asks.

"Well, I did suggest asking the men to do it and offering them some beer money. They could always say No". She rushed off to the computer to check their T's and C's.

"We're lucky they brought it into the house" she says.

"Always had the option to ask" I said. " So what's Plan B ?"

There is no Plan B. My fault, of course.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Andyp » 03 Jun 2021, 08:07

:D

What on earth is it? Does it dismantle at all?
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby AJB Temple » 03 Jun 2021, 08:29

I think she may be a bigamist.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 08:30

Andyp wrote::D

What on earth is it? Does it dismantle at all?


It's a chest of drawers. The drawers seem to have some interlocking mechanism, I think, to allow only one to be open at a time and I'm loathe to stat fiddling with them. TBH not sure the weight saving would be that great.

I can see it still being there in two months time.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Tiresias » 03 Jun 2021, 08:32

Roger

You will no doubt know this, but you can get things like an inclined plane conveyor belt, and take it in through an upstairs window. I’ve seen them used regularly in Stockholm and Brussels, and I have a vague memory of seeing one near my place in the ‘burgh (Drummond Place/Great King Street) being used to move a piano into a 3rd floor flat. So they must be available over here too.

Or go down to where your local cricket/rugby club drink and hire some big chaps for beer money.

And it will, of course, still be your fault.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby StevieB » 03 Jun 2021, 08:59

Think logically - you always wanted a downstairs bedroom didn't you? ;)
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby AJB Temple » 03 Jun 2021, 09:02

I wondered where my wife is when she's not with me. In my office I have a 17th Century Welsh livery cupboard. Elm I think. It comes in two parts - top and bottom. When a certain person bought it, for a guest bedroom upstairs, I did ask if she had checked dimensions as we have awkward winding stairs. Oh yes, it will be fine.

The bottom half duly went up, with difficulty. Tentatively I opined no chance for the top half which was twice the weight and twice as tall. We struggled to no avail. If I had an indoor crane I could get it over the landing balustrade. But I don't, so it is now (in the way) in my office. :|
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby TrimTheKing » 03 Jun 2021, 09:06

AJB Temple wrote:...I did ask if she had checked dimensions as we have awkward winding stairs. Oh yes, it will be fine.

The bottom half duly went up, with difficulty. Tentatively I opined no chance for the top half which was twice the weight and twice as tall. We struggled to no avail.


PIVOOOOOT!
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby novocaine » 03 Jun 2021, 10:04

the inclined plane of the stairs and a winch. I have a little come along type for similar circumstances. amusingly, boarding the stairs will make it harder, but attaching it to a board would help.

otherwise, give me a lever and place on which to place my fulcrum and I will move the earth. :D

oh and PIVOOOOOT.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 10:07

I think a Genie Lift might crack it. Depends on the exact weight of the unit.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Lons » 03 Jun 2021, 10:22

Go down to the pub and recruit a couple of strapping teenagers, offer them £20 and it will be up in no time.

I think I've mentioned it before Roger, have you considered divorce? :lol:
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Woodbloke » 03 Jun 2021, 10:48

AJB Temple wrote: If I had an indoor crane....


In jest, I also was going to suggest a crane as I have some little experience hereabouts.
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It took at least a dozen of us to lift it each time to man handle it into the press and we had to take a wall down just to gain access, but that wasn’t the really fun part which was delivery!

The PSB’s had a sixth floor penthouse apartment somewhere in a posh part of London and the only way to literally drop this thing into their gaff was to close the road and use a ginormous, lorry mounted crane to hoist it up six stories and higher so it could be lowered through a skylight into position. I wasn’t permitted to witness the saga as I was onto my next job, but my then boss mentioned to me the next day that it was an ‘interesting’ spectacle to witness - Rob
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Just4fun » 03 Jun 2021, 11:15

My friend Dave worked for a house removals company and went to a rabbi's house to give a quotation for moving their things to a new house. (Sounds like the start of a joke but this is a true story). In one upstairs room they had a piano and Dave could not work out how to get it out of the house. Much measuring did not solve the problem so Dave asked the rabbi how they got the piano into that room in the first place. The rabbi said they removed the window and used a crane to get the piano in that way. So Dave looks out of the window and there is a cherry tree growing there. How did they get the piano past the tree, Dave asked. The tree wasn't there then, answers the rabbi.

Dave said the only way to get the piano out was to fell the tree. The rabbi said he could not do that because, for religious reasons, he was not allowed to fell a fruit-bearing tree. Stalemate.

The rabbi came up with a solution. He suggested that Dave add £5 to the quotation. Then on the day of the move Dave should buy the tree from the rabbi for £5. The tree would then belong to Dave and he would be free to fell it if he wanted to, and everyone would be happy. So Dave added £5 to the removal quotation.

On the day of the removal the rabbi asked Dave if he remembered their agreement. Dave said yes, and handed over £5. The rabbi told Dave the tree was now his and he was free to chop it down.

Dave thought about it and said he had decided he really liked his tree and would not chop it down. The rabbi was not happy, but what could he do?

Dave made sure nobody touched the tree or the piano until everything else was removed from the house. Only then, after many protestations by the rabbi, did he agree that the tree could be felled.

There is probably a lesson in there somewhere but I don't know what it is.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby TrimTheKing » 03 Jun 2021, 11:43

Just4fun wrote:My friend Dave worked for a house removals company and went to a rabbi's house to give a quotation for moving their things to a new house. (Sounds like the start of a joke but this is a true story). In one upstairs room they had a piano and Dave could not work out how to get it out of the house. Much measuring did not solve the problem so Dave asked the rabbi how they got the piano into that room in the first place. The rabbi said they removed the window and used a crane to get the piano in that way. So Dave looks out of the window and there is a cherry tree growing there. How did they get the piano past the tree, Dave asked. The tree wasn't there then, answers the rabbi.

Dave said the only way to get the piano out was to fell the tree. The rabbi said he could not do that because, for religious reasons, he was not allowed to fell a fruit-bearing tree. Stalemate.

The rabbi came up with a solution. He suggested that Dave add £5 to the quotation. Then on the day of the move Dave should buy the tree from the rabbi for £5. The tree would then belong to Dave and he would be free to fell it if he wanted to, and everyone would be happy. So Dave added £5 to the removal quotation.

On the day of the removal the rabbi asked Dave if he remembered their agreement. Dave said yes, and handed over £5. The rabbi told Dave the tree was now his and he was free to chop it down.

Dave thought about it and said he had decided he really liked his tree and would not chop it down. The rabbi was not happy, but what could he do?

Dave made sure nobody touched the tree or the piano until everything else was removed from the house. Only then, after many protestations by the rabbi, did he agree that the tree could be felled.

There is probably a lesson in there somewhere but I don't know what it is.


Haha, I like the sound of Dave. :lol: :obscene-drinkingcheers:
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby AJB Temple » 03 Jun 2021, 13:04

"pivooooot" is a non runner. Levers don't help. There is not enough clearance around the central stair post. The only way is up, baby.

Genii lift is a good idea. Might just have enough clearance.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby novocaine » 03 Jun 2021, 13:30

how about a load of bits of wood to make a tower, a bit like how Mike got his ridge in. :D
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 13:32

novocaine wrote:how about a load of bits of wood to make a tower, a bit like how Mike got his ridge in. :D


That's 2.7 m worth of rickety tower. Now let me think... :eusa-think:

No :eusa-naughty: :D
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Just4fun » 03 Jun 2021, 14:34

I had a large (12-seater) dining table delivered and the delivery crew would only leave it on the drive. It was basically flat pack, in a huge cardboard box, and very heavy. There were 4 of us here at the time but we really struggled to get the table into the house and manoeuvre it into the dining room. I even got a couple of trolley jacks underneath it to try and help lift & move it.

Once in the dining room we removed the packaging and bolted on the legs. After that it was a lot easier to move if only because it was easier to grab hold of.

So would this help you? Would it be easier to get it into position if you unpacked it first?
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 14:53

Just4fun wrote:I had a large (12-seater) dining table delivered and the delivery crew would only leave it on the drive. It was basically flat pack, in a huge cardboard box, and very heavy. There were 4 of us here at the time but we really struggled to get the table into the house and manoeuvre it into the dining room. I even got a couple of trolley jacks underneath it to try and help lift & move it.

Once in the dining room we removed the packaging and bolted on the legs. After that it was a lot easier to move if only because it was easier to grab hold of.

So would this help you? Would it be easier to get it into position if you unpacked it first?


Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not sure if we gain much TBH. The good news is that I've found the weight and it's not as bad as I thought ...85kg. Just the getting it upstairs. Think the idea of pushing it up a slope is a non-starter as the quarter-turn landing isn't large enough to swivel it round ready for the next flight.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby HappyHacker » 03 Jun 2021, 15:45

Over the years I have had a considerable amount of experience of moving furniture, including grand and upright pianos, and stuff into and out of all sorts of awkward locations. In every case so far it has been much easier to move things with drawers in if the drawers are removed. A good sack truck is often good at getting stuff up and down stairs and depending on the size of the thing may allow you to put it upright on the landing and turn it for the next stage.

Good luck.

I also sympathise, my SWMBO knows that every thing I do, I have done wrong in some way :(
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Andyp » 03 Jun 2021, 15:45

I have to agree that unboxing first would be a good idea. Supposing you did get it upstairs, unpacked it and found a mark, scratch or other quality issue that made you want to send it back.
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby AndyT » 03 Jun 2021, 17:35

Powered staircase climbing sack trucks exist, eg https://www.palletrucks-trolleys.com/pr ... ck/mtk-310

If your wife doesn't want to buy one, she could hire one instead, eg here, from £67 a day.

https://www.bestathire.co.uk/material-h ... ir-climber
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Chris101 » 03 Jun 2021, 18:09

I think you are forgetting your basic Disney Roger. Have you never seen Alladin?
Phone your local (known) Landscaping company etc. Tell the boss does he have a two young lads who want to earn a few quid for half hours work and they will get paid extra if they damage nowt. Get them round and two 20+ year olds with strong backs will have that up the stairs in the time you can google 'over expensive mechanical online suggestion'.

Also. Have you opened the box yet?
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby Trevanion » 03 Jun 2021, 21:47

Myself and a friend once shifted a cast iron bath up to the second floor (yes, the third level) of a house with a really awkward and narrow winding stair that winded back on itself 90-degrees to each floor with kite treads. There was no way it would go up and around the corners carrying it up conventionally, so we stood it on end upright very precariously and climbed it up one step at a time.

I don't know how we didn't break the stair, it was quite old, and having circa 300KG between the bath and both of us on it probably wasn't too clever!
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Re: In the Doghouse

Postby RogerS » 03 Jun 2021, 22:19

AndyT wrote:Powered staircase climbing sack trucks exist, eg https://www.palletrucks-trolleys.com/pr ... ck/mtk-310

If your wife doesn't want to buy one, she could hire one instead, eg here, from £67 a day.

https://www.bestathire.co.uk/material-h ... ir-climber


You missed the minimum hire rate, Andy !
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