tips/tricks for moving 550# wood furnace down old farm house stairs?

Dont put a boiler on steps that you know have rot without reinforcement.

Recipe for damaging people and the new boiler.

Is there any other access to the basement? If not, I would put in temporary supports under the stairs.

I would have pros do it just to save the hassle, but thats just me.

Professionals might look at your stairs and say forget it. You also might be on the hook if your stairs collapse and the workers get hurt. If its a home you'll be living in for a while, it might be prudent to repair them anyway.

Was over at a neighbor's place when we took a big wood stove down his basement stairs. We screwed down 2x6s side-by-side onto the stairs and slid it down wiith straps held by enough guys. We stationed a guy at the bottom to pull downwards if needed. His strap was long enough that he could stay out of the path of the stove if it got away, but he wasn't needed anyway.

had a similar situation at a friend's house.
identified the weak members, reinforced them with 2x6s, then laid 2 HD aluminum ladders side by side over the stairs. Wrapped the boiler in moving blankets and tarp, strapped it, secured it to the tractor and down it went..slow and steady. If no tractor, a few guys can handle it. My boiler was 1000# and my 62 yr old buddy and myself did it..no stairs, just tight quarters under a deck. Planks, straps and dowel rollers.
Above all Be safe...no chances or guesses....
Good luck

If there is a local moving company around your area, just hire them. Plain and simple. Your back is worth far more than $200 is will cost you to have them get it down. They have the equipment and expertise to do it no problem.
Now...........the condition/strength of your stairs might be another matter.
One of my boys worked for a moving company for a couple summers during high school. He and his partner plus an 800 pound gun safe went through a basement stairs. Took the fast way down as he put it....... Fortunate neither of them got underneath the thing when it went through.

philupthegastank said:

I can enter through the side door of my house and the basement stairs are there immediately.. my only concern is that those stairs are of unknown age and there are signs of rot at the bottom where they go into the floor. The house is from 1908.. i cant image the stairs being original though. Should I have some professionals do it, or can a few guys with a dolly and ratchet straps be able to do it safely?

thanks for any info

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I just moved my 1500 lb Econoburn boiler out of my basement to its own shed in the fall. I didn't want any surprises so I braced the stairs with wood beams, then made a heavy duty ramp up the stairway. On the boiler itself, I took off the doors and made wooden skis that attached where the doors were . To position the boiler, I used a borrowed pallet jack to get in to the stairway, then tipped it onto the ramp with a chain hoist and pulled it up the ramp with my tractor. Here's a few pics of the operation- all the prep work made the actual move a piece of cake with no surprises. Bruce

heaterman said:

Took the fast way down as he put it.......

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So much for the pros, I gather.

Is this a boiler you're keeping?
If not, can it safely and cleanly be cut up with a sawzall? That's what the companies around here like to use...

heatingcostssuck said:

Is this a boiler you're keeping?
If not, can it safely and cleanly be cut up with a sawzall? That's what the companies around here like to use...

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I assume since he is putting it in the basement he plans on keeping it !! Have you ever cut 3/16 or 1/4 inch steel with a sawzall ? Your going to be there a long time and go threw a lot of blades.

woodsmaster said:

I assume since he is putting it in the basement he plans on keeping it !! Have you ever cut 3/16 or 1/4 inch steel with a sawzall ? Your going to be there a long time and go threw a lot of blades.

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Ack, I read old boiler

Pay a local furniture company to bring it down. Around here (out in the boonies) three guys will show up and carry something in the 500 lb range down the stairs for $200.
Otherwise, rent a furniture dolly - wider stance, built heavier, included ratchet strap. Brace the stairs as required.

Add support to the stairs. Lay down some 2x8s. secure 2x6 skis to the side of the unit and lower it down. In his case friction is your friend. B sure to remove any components such as doors etc. to reduce weight.

I wouldn't use a dolly until you get it down the stairs. I'd just lay some planks down the full length of the stairs, and slide it down with ropes tied around it holding back from the top, preferrably with the furnace laying on its side depending how strong the sides are. As Fred said, friction is your friend here - don't want the thing going down there like a crazy carpet. 550 pounds actually isn't all that heavy, relatively speaking, spread out over the stairway.

Easy to say from here though...

Planks or 6x6s, a chain and a come along. Stay above it. Let gravity do most of the work.

ewdudley said:

So much for the pros, I gather.

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Actually the guy my son was working with advised the homeowner against proceeding but he insisted. He made the guy sign a waiver before they took it in the house.

heaterman said:

Actually the guy my son was working with advised the homeowner against proceeding but he insisted. He made the guy sign a waiver before they took it in the house.

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Ugh, if it was my son, I'd be absolutely furious at both my son and the homeowner...

Build a 2x6 sled, strap boiler to sled and lower it down. 500 lbs spread evenly over 3 or 4 treads isn't that much. If you and a buddy can walk the steps together(assuming you are both 200lbs) it will be fine.

I pulled an old USSC out of my basement with a 2x6 sled, tractor, and wife driving the tractor, and me guiding the USSC. The stairs at the time were 1x10 stringers.....

wow..we all say the same thing
great minds think alike and dont read each other.hahaha

Buzz Saw said:

I pulled an old USSC out of my basement with a 2x6 sled, tractor, and wife driving the tractor, and me guiding the USSC. The stairs at the time were 1x10 stringers.....

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This I would have liked a picture of

heatingcostssuck said:

Ugh, if it was my son, I'd be absolutely furious at both my son and the homeowner...

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???

heaterman said:

???

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It has nothing to do with property damage.

If his colleague had the foresight to get the home owner to sign a specific waiver and the thing weighed a crap-ton of weight, that specific measures were not
put into place to keep your son safe. I'm glad your son is okay,