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Ainscough Crane Hire’s Maidstone Depot has come to the rescue of a one-of-a-kind residential development in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Due to be featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme later this year, the Ainscough team mobilised to the site after the homeowner had been let down by the original supplier who cancelled at the last minute.
The task was to lift large-format glazing panels from the front, to the rear of the property, directly over the roof of the house and then position them within the frame of a bi-folding door on the ground floor rear elevation. The lift was delivered on behalf of The Bi-Fold Door Factory Ltd.
To achieve the lift, Ainscough’s crane operator, Tommy Cosham used the versatile MPC44 with variable outriggers. The compact footprint of the crane meant that no road closure was required and the operator could be much closer to the lift as he used the remote controller to carefully position the glass panels.
Reflecting on the task, Rani Notarianni, depot manager from Ainscough’s Maidstone depot said: “The lift had to be carried out to a very tight schedule as the owners wanted occupancy within a few days of the lift. The glass panels in the bi-folding door were the final piece of the jigsaw making the building weather tight.
“It was a confined space and there were around 20 different contractors on site all working to complete the building so we had to ensure we safely managed the lift in those circumstances.”
Grand Designs is a Bafta award-winning TV series which has run for 15 series since 1999. Fronted by designer Kevin McCloud, each edition of the programme follows the creation of an architecturally notable residential development. ”
