Hello,
I’m an owner-builder in central NC. My carpenter will be raising walls soon (10′ and 9′ – 2×6 construction with plywood sheathing), but his crew is small. I’d like to get my hands on a set of wall jacks to help make the job go smoother and faster.
I have a few questions where your experience with wall jacks would help:
- Brand: what brand of wall jacks do you recommend?
- Supplier: can you recomend a supplier in central NC (Greensboro or Raleigh areas; or even Danville, VA)? Or a mail order outfit?
- Experience: if the framing crew has never used wall jacks will they take some getting used to, or will they be productive right away?
- Raising by hand: What length of sheathed 2×6 wall 10′ tall, 16″ o.c. (sheathed) can 4 men lift (I know it depends on how many headers …), I’m just looking for a ballpark?
- Standard wall sections: I bought 14′ 2×6 for the top and bottom plates (as opposed to 16′ which breaks even on the plywood), is this going to mess him up if he can only do short sections of wall by hand? should I get 16 footers to make short wall sections easier?
- Other: any other advice would be helpful
Thanks,
Roger <><
Replies
Proctor wall jacks. Google for them. You'll find a place that can ship you a pair.
You can download the instructions for use.
Check eBay too. I saw a pair of Proctor's on there once.
You could try Associated Scaffolding in Durham. 919.682.2655
Hi Roger,
I've been using Proctor Wall Jacks for a long time now. They're safe, fast, and easy to use. Hardly any learning curve at all. Get them. Others will recommend Qual-Craft cuz they're cheaper. Those jacks ride up doubled 2X and you have to follow the wall up with them which puts you in harms way should a 2X snap. The Proctors were a no-brainer for me... good investment. Easy sell should you decide not to keep them.
With four guys you should be able to raise 32' of 2X6 wall with some effort. My back used to go out about once every two months when we raised walls by hand. My back has been out twice in the last four years... since I started using walls jacks. Coincidence? The two times that my back did go out were due to my own stupidity... and one of the times actually happened while putting the wall jacks up on my racks!! There's no justice in this world. ;)
We break our plates on layout, so I hate seeing 14' plates on site... unless I've got a lot of 14' walls of course! I cut my 14's down to 160" to break on layout. But... sometimes 14's are actually cheaper than 12's because of supply and demand. Strange but true.
FWIW... a four man crew really isn't small for a residential framing crew. I can do it with myself and two good workers. Right now I've got me, two good hard workers, and two part-timers. Some days there's three of us and other days there's five of us. One of my part-timers is supposed to be full time, but for one reason or another (and there's always something!) he averages about 30 hrs a week or less. My other PT'er is a Union guy who jumps in when he's out of Union work. My two best guys are just.... well, they're great. Not great framers necessary, but just great employees/workers. I could do it with just them if I had to. I kinda already do. ;)
Rent a lull. Beg, borrow, or buy a set of walls jacks. Make sure there's a Porta-John on site, a Dunkin' Donuts nearby, and a radio cranked. That's about it.... you should be good to go. Now go have some fun and post some pics as it goes along.