Sure glass is heavy, needs precise and careful handling and you can’t bend it round corners but we’re used to managing technically demanding installations, however complex the brief.

An appropriate crane can be used in many different situations

• Difficult access
• Moving extra heavy panels of glass
• Lifting structural glass over a building
• Installing glass roof lights
• A spider crane enjoying the views

We recently installed glass doors, glass shower screens and glass balustrades to a penthouse apartment on the ninth floor, overlooking the River Thames.

A large crane was commissioned to lift a spider crane into the apartment and subsequently lift the crated glass from the delivery vehicle to the ninth floor.

The spider crane, equipped with a power sucker, lifted each large panel of balustrade glass into position for final alignment by Ion’s team of installers. Use of a skilled crane driver and directions by Ion’s trained banksman ensured accurate positioning of the first floor glass balustrade and down a spectacular curved staircase.

A genie inside a centuries old church

With restricted access inside a centuries old church a genie lift was utilised to lift large, heavy panels of structural glass. St Peter’s Church near Dunchurch had commissioned a lowered bell-ringing platform to create a new room enclosed by a full height glass screen and a glass balustrade.

It was not possible to lift the panels of glass into position manually and a further constraint was imposed by the need to work around the carved wooden pews.

A genie lift was small enough to work inside the church and powerful enough to lift the glass panels onto the new platform.

Raising the roof

Installing glass roof lights can open up new levels of light and space into a property but getting the panels into place can be a challenge. Many glass rooflights are designed to have sufficient strength and integrity to be used as walk on glass, adding to the overall weight and size of the panels. Even quite small panels of glass need careful manoeuvring to position them correctly, which is particularly tricky at roof height and even more complicated if the structural glass has to be lifted right over the property!

A multi panel glass rooflight installed at a property in Surrey was lifted into place using a spider crane, directed by Ion’s banskman and with the final positioning carried out Ion’s trained installers.

Easing the weight

The glass specification on some installations (the swimming pool vision panel installed at Lucknam Park for instance) are simply too heavy to be lifted manually (even for our teams, who are both skilled and strong!). A crane will be used to lift the glass from the delivery vehicle, transfer it to location and ease it accurately into the correct position.

Each job is assessed in advance in conjunction with a crane specialist to ensure the correct crane is hired with a suitably skilled operator.

Depending on the nature of the installation, the location of the property, ease of access and the size and weight of the panels of structural glass we’ll discuss your requirements and come up with a solution. We will assess all risks, health and safety aspects and ensure both the installation and the result are fully compliant – it’s just another element of Ion’s technical expertise!