# Blue drywall lift



## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

I'm drywalling a house by myself, so A GC buddy of mine has lent me a drywall lift. It's a blue one, think it is called a Sonoma. I have only used a lift 3 times before in my life, it was yellow, and I only did ceilings with it.
when setting it up tonight, I tilted it to see how it works for walls. It sat at a 15 degree angle. Should they not tilt more than that???? like maybe 5 degrees, is that normal???? 
any tricks or things I should know when doing walls with these lifts. I know beggars can't be choosers, I got it lent to me for free. But I thought they would tilt more. Are the blue ones any good
I got to put up 54" 12 footers, getting to old to man handle those. God,,,,I had to use a wood "T" to throw up a eight footer today
sucks getting old.


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## ding (Jan 19, 2011)

just an amateur here but i pretty much hung my house by myself. the lift i had didnt tilt anymore than what yours seems to. i would roll mine up to the wall, put the brake on and push the rock to the wall. the little legs would hold the sheet pretty well and you could raise it up then as needed. the lift i was using was the cheap red one


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

hey old booger. a lift is slooow no matter what your age. it's a get all the sh!t out of way game. a f/n nail in the floor can cause a fit. on ceilings ,,
the wall to wall sheets are FUN . I call the hangers for 140-300 boards,,
there on it,,, I call them with 30-50 boards . not so johnny on the spot,,,
LIFT! 
blue ??? red ,, sucks ,,, yellow panel lift USA :yes:


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

moore said:


> hey old booger. a lift is slooow no matter what your age. it's a get all the sh!t out of way game. a f/n nail in the floor can cause a fit. on ceilings ,,
> the wall to wall sheets are FUN . I call the hangers for 140-300 boards,,
> there on it,,, I call them with 30-50 boards . not so johnny on the spot,,,
> LIFT!
> blue ??? red ,, sucks ,,, yellow panel lift USA :yes:


Well......I'm slowly getting the rock out of the way, I got to lug all the board upstairs, those 12's are a killer, I better lose 20 pds for my effort:furious:
Yes , I couldn't find the old post on lifts, I remember yellow is the best. But one is suppose to be really bad. I cant remember if it was the red or the blue one. I don't want to be killed by the damn thing.

Wheres Slimpickins when you need him, he's the expert on lifts, he's used all of them


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## boco (Oct 29, 2010)

Sounds like a good time to have tried the lightweight rock. Or if they get to heavy just cut them in half or even better 4 footers. Then say F the taper.. LOL


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

boco said:


> Sounds like a good time to have tried the lightweight rock. Or if they get to heavy just cut them in half or even better 4 footers. Then say F the taper.. LOL


Nope, I'm the taper

I don't think we can get that DW in Canada yet, but yes, that's a good point, I'm going to keep that in mind for the next time.

I don't mind the work out, better rock'in, rather than huffing and puffing on a bicycle every spring


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## Checkers (Jun 25, 2010)

2Buck, the Red and Green ones suck @$$.
I've never seen a blue one.


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

Ive used the yellow[telepro] for about 25years,cant beat it on ceilings ,especially 5/8. Dont use it on walls,I guess if I was hanging alone like you asked,Id try it


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

I've never seen a blue lift, but the angle sounds about right. Once you get the sheet over "about" where you want it, you tilt the top over to the wall. Sometimes you have to spread the legs (!!!), but it's been a while since I've done any walls so I could be forgetting how. ALWAYS set the brake, it sucks having a lift tip over with sheetrock on it. The tricky part is remembering to release the brake and reset the legs _every_ time:yes:

I just hung 70 54" boards in a cracker-jack, no lift for the walls....I made a long handled hammer.............BAM! I'm not the fastest hanger, but I thought 4800 ft. of 9 ft. in 3 days wasn't too shabby for a chubberhead.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

http://www.ecvv.com/product/1281400.html

Made in China. Just be careful, and inspect it regularly. OR.....borrow/rent a real lift and save yourself some headaches:thumbsup:


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

here's a pic of the ugly brute
They should really design a lift that goes right to the floor, Then you wouldn't half to lift the damn sheets so high to load it:furious::whistling2:


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

4 '' lower could save a ham string! inch:inch:


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

why did you have to carry the 12s to top floor?
yous guys don't have loaders?


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

sorry,, almost forgot. WATCH THE CASTERS!!!! there junk metal.
HEADS UP!!!


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

moore said:


> why did you have to carry the 12s to top floor?
> yous guys don't have loaders?


Yes Canada has boom trucks, It was a HO, they did not think a head to keep a window out etc... to get rock up stairs. He was going to send some flunkies to carry it up. But I said I would lug it up for a extra $50.
Trying to lose weight, spring is here, thats a good work out, better than a bike.....and man are my legs killing me, but it's a good pain:yes:
I miss rocking


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

2buckcanuck said:


> Yes Canada has boom trucks, It was a HO, they did not think a head to keep a window out etc... to get rock up stairs. He was going to send some flunkies to carry it up. But I said I would lug it up for a extra $50.
> Trying to lose weight, spring is here, thats a good work out, better than a bike.....and man are my legs killing me, but it's a good pain:yes:
> I miss rocking


the thigh... that's where it burns! .. gotta love h/o!!!


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## 1drywaller (Mar 24, 2011)

I have that same lift, bought it on sale from TSC for $150 plus taxes. The trunk is fairly sturdy given the price but what the gent said earlier about the casters being junk is correct and indicative of all the hardware. The extensions are flimsy and I am terrified every time I stand under the P.O.S. and crank the wheel. Every now and then when it reaches about 7 feet the cable shifts and the whole lot drops a half inch before it catches again. I've put up a tonne of board on ceilings but found no advantage to using it for walls. I consider this one of those "you get what you pay for" tools, it's doing the job for now but I doubt the longevity of the thing and wouldn't buy the same again. At least I don't have to buy it lunch and it doesn't complain that I listen to talk radio all day.


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

we be Red necks :thumbup:

The rockers were getting too busy so we said we would finish the garage, and the H.O. said he would supply scaffold. Look at what he brought us !!!!!

we put up one ceiling sheep well standing on top of milk crates, and I was like "no way" getting too old for that [email protected] I have sat on rocking chairs that rocked back and forth less than that bakers scaffold.

So I chased down my GC buddy who owned that blue lift, but it was too short:blink:

So we hog tied the lift, Red neck style

It's safer than it looks, we were sorta shocked that it sat on the scaffold very firmly, but we tied it down to be safe. and put some concrete counter weights on it too.


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

Those studs are close and no dwangs?? Must be pre made with ply on the outside, And plastic?? I think i asked before but whats it for again??

You did well with dodgy set up, Lucky a sheep didnt run through when you were doing the lids or all hell would broken loose.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

Thank goodness the insulation stops a foot from the ceiling...most people waste so much money actually insulating a space entirely:blink:

That's a crazy lift set up! (but still way better than the milk crate on top of the baker)


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## mudslingr (Jul 18, 2010)

2buckcanuck said:


> we be Red necks :thumbup:
> 
> The rockers were getting too busy so we said we would finish the garage, and the H.O. said he would supply scaffold. Look at what he brought us !!!!!
> 
> ...


Holy Moly !
That one wheel doesn't even look like it's on the platform.:blink: I've tried some crazy sh1t but that's a new one !
I'd be worried about jr's job if someone who shouldn't see these pics does.
And standing tip-toed on the crate ? We all know that IS NOT a good idea.
Why aren't you up there 2buck ?
Thanks for the HOW TO NOT work pics. Hopefully someone learns from these. Yikes !
Play safe guys ! We all have someone that wants us to make it home in one piece.


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## Checkers (Jun 25, 2010)

I was considering doing the same thing the other day 2buck lol.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

impressive!!!!!!! 

Truly a "Hey ya'll, hold my beer and watch this" moment

now thats a post that will make any ******* smile!!:thumbup:


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## Bevelation (Dec 20, 2008)

No vapour barrier on the lid?! Is this guy getting spray-foam put in?


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

cazna said:


> Those studs are close and no dwangs?? Must be pre made with ply on the outside, And plastic?? I think i asked before but whats it for again??
> 
> You did well with dodgy set up, Lucky a sheep didnt run through when you were doing the lids or all hell would broken loose.


Told you once before why we use poly, So I'm not telling you why again
ill give you a hint though, Think freezing cold winters with high winds, the complete opposite of the tropical paradise you live in



SlimPickins said:


> Thank goodness the insulation stops a foot from the ceiling...most people waste so much money actually insulating a space entirely:blink:


Our thoughts exactly when we seen the insulation, but......garages here are optional to insulate and they get no inspections either. 

The home owner did it himself, and he is a bit of a short fellow so.....


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

Bevelation said:


> No vapour barrier on the lid?! Is this guy getting spray-foam put in?


nope, thats the way he wants it, and I don't question people no more, just as long as he pays.

My only regret is I should of charged more, guy seems to be made of money, works at the cami plant (auto worker)


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

mudslingr said:


> Holy Moly !
> That one wheel doesn't even look like it's on the platform.:blink: I've tried some crazy sh1t but that's a new one !
> I'd be worried about jr's job if someone who shouldn't see these pics does.
> And standing tip-toed on the crate ? We all know that IS NOT a good idea.
> ...


Don't worry mudslingr, this job is in the middle of no where in red neck country. Those safety inspectors stick to the cities, that way they can issue tickets in the morning and be home by lunch.....Government workers ya know

I'm more afraid of the made in china lift than our set up, we put it through some testing before we lifted anything on it, the wheels being where they are, locked the system in, Then we put counter weights on, and tied it all down, even though we couldn't shake it free etc.....

My biggest problem was 2BJR, he loves heights, he's one of those thrill seeker types, he wanted to wear his stilts up there. He was all pissed I got the hoist, He thought it was cool that the scaffold was shaking and everything, it was fun to him. Plus I was having to give him sh1t for jumping down from the baker. I keep telling him one of these days you will..........thats why the 4 step is there:yes:

Also, I will admit I'm not keen with heights, if it's safe I will do it. So I'm always building safe platforms and stuff. Well he's always,,,,get out of my way, and will throw out a ladder and plank. He's a really really hyper kid.

I know it looks like were doing something stupid, but we both fear the hoist more than the set up. We don't trust the damn thing, even the noises it makes
But thanks for the concern, I know your just saying , don't kill yourself to get some pay...but you are right, the safety guys would have a hay day with us


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