How to get stoves swapped out... moving in/out of house.

[Slow1]

I am in the process of swapping out stoves. The 'old' stove is the VC Encore - about 400lbs of stove there. The new one is about 650lbs in the box. My house is a 'split' meaning that there are about 9 steps to climb from the front door to the first floor where the stove lives. Adding to the challenge here is that the top of the stairs is a hallway with relatively tight clearance to make the turn. When the installer of the first stove brought that one in on his dolly he and his partner lost control of it and smashed his fingers - lost a couple days work there but luckily nothing broke, just bruised. I'm not eager to repeat that and apparently neither is he as he said he'd be glad to install the new stove once I get it on the right floor.

As my wife and I pondered how to get the stoves swapped out and the expensive estimate ($320!) I got from the only moving company that responded to my request for a quote, she suggested I ask on the forums here since as she said "those guys must have done this a few times". So - any suggestions? Anyone in this part of Mass know some strong folks who can handle this sort of work? I don't mind paying a reasonable amount...

Thanks.

 

[redhat]

Getting the encore out shouldn't be to difficult.... you will want to remove everything possible to lighten your load. Take off the griddle, and remove the doors, grate, ash pan and flue collar. If it a 2190 or 2550 you can also easily remove wedges and lower fireback. You'll need an appliance dolly to move it down the stairs.

Likewise, on your new stove unbox it and remove anything possible to lighten it up. Maybe try and entice some strong friends over with free pizza and beer to lend a hand.

 

[begreen]

Agreed, this is a matter of planning and having the right equipment on hand. Lightening up the old stove as much as possible is a good start. Having a proper appliance dolly with a strap and stair rollers is a good second step. http://www.uhaul.com/rentalitems/ Consider protecting close clearance walls in advance with heavy cardboard (break down an appliance box). Get a good crew set up in advance and don't break out the beer until the job is done.

-> If you are over 50 and not in the best shape, disregard the above and contact another installer or two.

Also, what is the replacement stove?

 

[Wet1]

If you're asking this question, pay someone to do it. A 600+ lb. stove is a lot of mass to be fighting with when you're working in tight quarters and going up stairs. You might want to try contacting some local rigging companies.

 

[Slow1]

-> If you are over 50 and not in the best shape, disregard the above and contact another installer or two.

No problem on age there, but the new stove is just over 4x my weight so it is a bit intimidating you know?

Also, what is the replacement stove?

We are putting in a Fireview - the 650lb weight is with crate and all... recommendation per their site is to keep it boxed up until next to the hearth to protect the stove from damage.

A friend and I did get the VC onto a dolly to move it off the hearth, but when we went to take it down the stairs we were not comfortable that we had the strength to keep it under control around the turn at top of the stairs. The problem is how to keep the weight of the stove over the wheels when that requires tilting the dolly back so far that the handles can't swing around the turn due to the walls being in the way. Lift the handles and we have a lot of weight to fight and are essentially lifting the stove again and eventually that is right over the front edge of the stairs.

Alternate route out of the house is through back door and out the deck. Top of the deck stairs also has the turn challenge due to the railings, but I was giving some thought to renting a lift such as this: http://www.495rental.com/images/material_lift_action5.jpg to get it up to the deck level. I'd still have to remove a section of the railing but if I can firm up the ground base enough perhaps it could work. Anyone ever worked with such a lift?

 

[Wet1]

I've used similar lifts, although a little more heavy duty. You'd absolutely want that lift to be on solid ground, and preferably smooth solid ground.

Regarding the FV, if things are that tight, I'd uncrate it and strip it down as much as possible to make it more manageable.

 

[cncpro]

You need to find one of these to rent. Watch the video. NICE !

(broken link removed to http://www.escalera.com/moving/woodstove.htm)

 

[Slow1]

That does look nice! Looking for contact info to see if they might help me find a place to rent on near me... that is one expensive piece of equipment.

 

[summit]

get a standard dolly and a ratchet strap or two. get the stove on the dolly, strap in onto the dolly hard, so that if the stove gets slid around, or someone grabs onto the stove it does not come off the dolly. then, get a rope or other strap to go around the dolly, and cinch it on the dolly so it does not slide or work its way off (usually around the axle or close to the wheel mountings) leave a tail about 3-4' or rope on either side. one guy gets on the handle end of the dolly, and one guy (or two if you are not so strong) grabs the tails of rope. at this point, get the stove to the first step, the guys holding the tails lift up untill the wheels clear the step, and the top guy leans backwards to get the dolly to roll onto the first step. repeat untill you get to the top. with the way the stoves balance on the dolly, the load is pretty well split between all the guys involved, so with 3 guys, each one is using their legs from a mostly knees bent standing postion to manuever the stove. at 650 lbs, that means 200 + lbs per guy to lift, which is not that much when lifting with your lower half in this manner... we move heavier stoves than that in the crate (see hearthstone equinox weight in crate!!) in this manner with two guys all the time. you are only using your arm strength to hold onto the ropes and dolly.

 

[summit]

You need to find one of these to rent. Watch the video. NICE !

(broken link removed to http://www.escalera.com/moving/woodstove.htm)

make sure you get the battery drive type! the manual ones are about an extra 130 lbs by themselves

 

[pastera]

How about an engine hoist and cribbing?
A quick removable platform made from 2x4's and 1/2 CDX just big enough to fit the stoves - roll the stove on a movers dolly onto the platform, pick up with hoist, reposition hoist and platform, lower back onto platform and shorten hoist beam, rinse and repeat.

Aaron

 

[mayhem]

Take a step back and rethink this. You're looking at swapping out a pair of 400+lb stoves and are considering renting dollies, a lift and whatever else you may need. Getting some strong friends over and supplying food and beer (presumably afterwards), hanging cardboard on the walls to protect them and risking injury to yourself, your house and your friends.

You have a quote from a moving company to come by and do the work for you for $320...take it. Thats short money for what you want done and the risk to yourself, your friend sand your house is zero (even if the movers ram the stove through the staircase railing and it goes through the basement floor, they're insured and the damage will be repaired.

Hire the movers. Time's a wastin' and your project is rapidly getting more and more complicated and expensive to rent the equipment you need.

Either that or go rent a Lull. Remove a set of windows in the lower level and lift it right out of there.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Take a step back and rethink this. You're looking at swapping out a pair of 400+lb stoves and are considering renting dollies, a lift and whatever else you may need. Getting some strong friends over and supplying food and beer (presumably afterwards), hanging cardboard on the walls to protect them and risking injury to yourself, your house and your friends.

You have a quote from a moving company to come by and do the work for you for $320...take it. Thats short money for what you want done and the risk to yourself, your friend sand your house is zero (even if the movers ram the stove through the staircase railing and it goes through the basement floor, they're insured and the damage will be repaired.

Hire the movers. Time's a wastin' and your project is rapidly getting more and more complicated and expensive to rent the equipment you need.

Either that or go rent a Lull. Remove a set of windows in the lower level and lift it right out of there.

+10
Spend the $320 and get the movers to do it.
They have insurance (get a Certificate of Insurance for the GL) and damage will be covered should they damage your home. (My thoughts are you are going to spend at least $150 just getting the equipment you need, and movers do this for a living)
Good luck, and post some pics of the setup when done!

 

[SteveKG]

This is how I did it. My wife was working out of state for a few months, I was alone and up in the mntns here and had no help. In my case, I had to go up six steps and across a room and around one corner, though not real restricted one.

To get the stove up the steps, I set 2 x 10 boards in place and screwed them in place on the steps to turn the steps into a ramp. I placed a 2 x 4 across the door opening in the house and put a come-along on it. I cut some 3" steel pipe [3" 'cuz that's what I happened to have lying around] about the width of the stove. I set the pieces of pipe beneath the stove by using a long pry bar to lift one bottom edge of the stove, carefully. Once I got the stove on the pipes, I pulled it up the 2 x 10 boards with the come-along. Once up on the porch, I put some plywood on the floor of the house so the pipe wouldn't mess up the floor and continued to push the stove along on the pipes. You know, I had to push it a foot or so, move the back pipe to the front, etc. It took me a day because I was going so slowly and the fear factor made me nervous....

But it worked fine. If I had had assistance, I could've done it in half the time. Anyone contemplating doing this should triple-check the come-along to make sure the steel cable is in good shape. And don't let anyone stand around in a location that a snapping cable could hit them, which would make for a very bad day.

 

[SteveKG]

oops, double posted somehow....

 

[BrotherBart]

Get the movers. Remember that this is a required part of labor installing the stove and eligible for the 30% tax credit. That makes it $224 and a no brainer.

 

[summit]

nice with the self move! i bet your wife will get on you for doing it yourself... i can just hear "what the?!"

 

[SteveKG]

She has developed the habit of rolling her eyes, metaphorically. I am up in the mntns, built the place by hand over six yr., and there is no one around to help with anything. Sometimes it's a matter of I could get help but it might be a month before anyone really shows up, and I don't want to wait. Or really cannot.

I used the same method to move out and in an old and new set of batteries for our pv system...six cells each 330 lb. Same pieces of pipe and etc. Strong buddy or two coulda made things nice...muscle power and a hand truck. But, you do what you gotta do.

I DON'T look for these situations, they just come about.