Appreciation post: My backyard pergola lift taught me about load control
I just finished building a pergola in my backyard and had to lift the main beams into place without a crane. In my experience, handling heavy timber at home is tricky, so I set up a simple A-frame and winch system. The beams were around 200 pounds each, and I used slings I had from work to secure them. Your mileage may vary, but I found that keeping the load close to the center helped prevent sway. I did have one close call where a beam tilted because my anchor point wasn't perfect. Now I'm wondering, what do other operators do for small home lifts like this? Any advice on judging weight distribution when you're working alone? Take this with a grain of salt, but slowing down and double-checking my knots saved me from a big mess.