More than a helping hand

Number 41, a self-build by Balls2 Marketing directors Andy and Sarah Ball, turned to Central Platform Services to help install the wide span glazing.

The back of the house has three sets of Aluk sliding doors manufactured by AluFoldDirect with the ground floor triple-track Infinium sliding doors spanning 7.8m.

“The weight of each pane of glass for our Infinium doors is a third of a tonne so we needed assistance lifting them,” Andy said. “The Smartlift Glazing Robot SL 608 Outdoor Highlifter made easy work of taking the individual panes of glass from the stillage, placing them on a horizonal plane so that the frames could be fitted, and then slotting them into the outer frame.

“Before the fitting day, Paul Debnam from CPS had surveyed the site. He suggested the model SL 608 Outdoor Highlifter. We have very restricted access and rough terrain at the back of the house, so this small but powerful robot was ideal.

“The precision was impressive. By the third pane it took less than one minute 20 seconds to line up the door and slide it into position. During the day all three ground floor panes were installed, and the four panes of glass for other sliding doors put in situ.

“It would have taken an army of people to lift the glass, and of course there’s also the danger of damaging units during the installation. There are obvious health and safety issues with manual handling to move around glass of this weight. We held our breath a few times during the day, especially when the glass is being manoeuvred round or hanging, but we needn’t have worried as once the vacuum was on, the units were really secure.”

www.cpslift.com