Couple hours turned into a whole day on a job near Dallas last week

Had to set a 20 ton AC unit on a roof and figured it would take maybe 2 hours from setup to teardown. Ended up being almost 8 because the crane pad kept sinking into the gravel and we had to keep re-leveling the outriggers. What's your worst time estimate that blew up in your face?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahbaker1mo ago

That part about the crane pad sinking in the gravel really gets me, because ground conditions are the one thing you just can't rush or predict. I've had a similar deal where we showed up to a freshly graded lot, and by the time we got the crane set, the whole thing was starting to tilt from the soil shifting under the weight. It's like the job tells you "nah, you're gonna be here all day" and there's nothing you can do but keep releveling and hope the gravel holds.

laura_ross1mo ago

Right, because nothing says "perfect start to the day" like watching your crane slowly become a leaning tower of Pisa on a pile of gravel you just paid for lol. We had one where the ground looked solid, packed, like it could hold a tank. Then we set the outriggers and the whole pad just started to sink and shift like we'd parked on a giant sponge. Spent the next hour releveling every fifteen minutes, sweatin' and cussin' while the foreman just stands there with that "I told you so" look. It's always the one job you need to go fast on too, right?