Thought that I'd share with you yesterdays (28th April) experience of watching my darkroom being lifted over electricity cables by a crane with an 80ft jib. As I made this exposure I have to admit that I felt somewhat sick when I saw the angle that my beloved shed was sitting at. I had visions of it slipping out of the sling and crashing to the ground leaving a pile of shattered wood, not to mention dreams. However, when it was deposited at my new home about 2 hours later I checked the bench and floor levels and to my amazement found them to be absolutely level. I left my Zone VI enlarger column bolted to the wall in it's normal position for the lift (the delicate head was removed) and found the column was only1/8th of 1 inch out of plumb. I'll soon correct that when I start putting it back together in the next few days and very soon I'll make my first print for several weeks. Life gets better every day after that experience.
What an adventure! I've had friends moving pianos in Manhattan, where you usually have to bribe all sorts of people to get the crane onto someone else's adjacent property. I'll be looking forward to seeing more prints!
Willing to let us know how much this has cost you (just the moving the darkroom bit) Hiring a crane that size must be expensive! </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
The crane cost $45 per hour and the truck to transport the darkroom cost $25 per hour. The whole operation took about 5 hours so the cost is not too high. The darkroom is 18ft by 10ft and has two 4 x 5 wall mounted enlargers along one side and an 8ft stainless steel wet bench along the other. I'm thinking about treating myself to a new hi-fi system to play my heavy rock even louder when I'm working. As you can see I tend to live in isolated places so I don't have to worry about neighbors.
Here in Texas it would have been cheaper to build another shed than move it. A crane like that would be really expensive. Then just the permits, Man, I don't even want to talk about that.\
Lee, Those were my sentiments as well when I read the prices that Les quoted. Several years (7) ago I built a home and required a crane to lift the roof trusses. As I recall, the going rate for a crane was $125.00 an hour.
It has been said that the neck is pretty red now. I try and keep the cowboy hat on as much as possible. My dad's dad had a neck that was lined with the cracks of someone who worked out doors everyday of his life. I could have that if I try.