Moving Ranges and other construction tips

Our ranges needed to move directly ahead a few feet; no turning corners, no long distnce moving, so we didn't hire commercial range movers.

Since ours was an easy move (even though there were quite a few) we decided to move them ourselves using the "Egyptian Pyramid Monolith" moving method: we put some heavy-duty metal pipes under them (one pipe under each 2nd section) and rolled them. It worked! Use lots of people (one every other section, on each side of the range) when you tip the range to get the bars under, and when you push/roll the range.

We had to move empty ranges, not full ones. I would not recommend this method with full ranges. We stationed one person every other section on one side, and then one person every other section on the other side (staggered, so there's one person for each section). Then, on the count, we tipped the whole range forward and people stick metal pipes (which were longer than the length of the range by about 2 feet) under the range. Then we all tipped the range backwards and the people positioned another pipe under the range, and then we gentle rolled it forward. It worked.

Other tips:

If you're constructing new shelving, we found that it is more efficient to put the "wings" (shelf ends) on the uprights first, then slap the bottoms onto the wings. Takes a good hard thwump to get them on, so buy some rubber mallets or tie some socks around hammer heads for this. It may seem more efficient to use your fist, but I have lots of bruises to prove that's not a good idea. I'm a slow learner.

When building ranges, have the shelves hung at the normal 7 shelves/sf section rate, evenly spaced. Let the shifters move the shelves out of that configuration as needed.

If you know what your growth space per shelf will be at the time the shelving is being erected, and you plan to have the same growth space throughout the collection, the bookends can be put on the shelves at the roughly correct place. You will need to check their placement shortly before you do your shift, of course, but if the shelving erectors have to place wire or free-standing bookends anyway, might as well have them put in the approximately right place. Fine-tuning the placement of several thousand bookends is easier.

Don't load up a range with books until you have the transverse tie strut attached to the top. Since you fill one side before the other, the range may tip over if it's not tied into another nearby range, or to the wall.

Ask shelving erector crews to wear gloves. Saves on the cuts and nicks.

Some folks loved the battery-powered drills with screw-driver head bits, others didn't find them so wonderful; they liked the old-fashioned screw drivers.

Be sure your floors can meet the load-bearing requirements you have. If you're using compact-shelving, you probaby aren't installing that, so the professional installers can worry about it.

Floor anchors: we haven't dealt with those. Most of our floors in the older part of the building are "post tensioned slab"; these are floors which have very tightly-strung wires buried in them just under the tile. I think these wires add to the support of the floor somehow. If you drill into the floor (for anchoring the ranges or for any reason) and you snap one of those wires, you are in deep trouble. We had to x-ray the floors before the contractor could do a bit of drilling in a few very special places. We didn't go the floor-anchor route for the ranges.

There also are carpet anchors: we haven't used those, either, so we can't be much help.

Be aware of and follow as closely as you can the ADA aisle-width requirements.

When we were moving lots of shelves, somebody thought of turning a study table upsidedown, putting a furniture dolly under it, and loading shelves between the upright table legs.

Maintained by: SChappell, chappell@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 10/09/2006