Hoeflon C6e lifts roof beams on tight housebuilding site

Timber roof structure goes up with a C6e and Multitool where a truck crane could not stand

Dutch operator Hijsen in het Nauw used a Hoeflon C6e fitted with the Multitool to place the heavy timber beams forming the roof structure of a new house, on a plot where working space ruled out larger equipment.

Too heavy to handle, too tight for a mobile crane

The beams were a structural part of the roof of a new dwelling. They were heavy enough that manual placement was not an option, but the plot offered little room around the building for a conventional crane to set up and swing. That combination — significant load, minimal footprint — is the case compact cranes were built for.

Hijsen in het Nauw put its Hoeflon C6e on the job. The machine tracks into position under its own power, sets up on hydraulically adjustable outriggers and can then work close to the structure it is building.

The Multitool for controlled placement

The crane was used with Hoeflon’s Multitool attachment, which clamps the beam and allows it to be rotated and tilted under power rather than being manhandled into alignment at height. For timber elements that need to seat cleanly onto a wall plate or into a joint, that removes most of the guesswork and keeps operatives away from a suspended load while it is being lined up.

Result on site

According to the contractor, the beams were placed accurately and the roof structure went up without hold-ups. Timber-frame and prefabricated housebuilding has become one of the steadier markets for compact cranes in the Netherlands: elements arrive ready to install, the programme depends on a smooth sequence of lifts, and plots are frequently too constrained for a mobile crane to be worth mobilising.

Source: Hoeflon — Photos: Hoeflon