By: Kelly Holdaway On: July 02, 2013 In: Blog Comments: 0

UNIC mini spider crane helps build log cabin

GGR’s UNIC mini cranes often work on super-modern glazed skyscrapers such as The Shard, but for this job we were able to go back to nature and help construct a traditional log cabin in the Scottish countryside.

A UNIC URW-706 mini crane was hired by a log cabin construction company for a project at Whitchester Guest House and Retreat in Hawick. The team usually use telehandlers and mini diggers for their smaller projects but as this was the first time they have built a full-sized house with a living room, kitchen and two double bedrooms they needed a machine with extra lifting power.

UNIC URW-706 lifting logs for cabin construction

The 6 tonne capacity UNIC URW-706 spider crane used its precision controls to lift the large handcrafted logs into position. Sourced from local Douglas Fir trees, each log weighed up to 500kgs, measured up to 11 metres in length and had to be hand-peeled, cut and scribed. The logs are scribed to achieve a tight fit when they are stacked on top of one another, making the eco-friendly cabin watertight and structurally stable. Around 50 tonnes of logs were used to make this cabin.

Log cabins are thought to date back to the Bronze Age (3500 BC) when construction teams would have relied on good old fashioned man power and hoists for all the heavy lifting work.  In this case our mini crane provided a quicker, safer and simpler solution as it could safely work on the uneven outdoor terrain and be moved around the site. After the crane helped construct the shell of the building, the team were able to get to work finishing the rest of the build.

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