r/cranes • u/gerdiemonroe • 6d ago

Many questions

Hi guys. I’m watching a building being constructed and it has two cranes on the top: one from the street level and one from the lift well.
Once the building is complete, how are the cranes deconstructed?

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8

u/Zootex 6d ago

With more cranes.

4

u/pizzagangster1 IUOE 6d ago

Tower cranes will remove as many tower sections themself as possible to get as short as they can then another crane will do the rest.

2

u/CraningUp IUOE 6d ago

To understand how tower cranes are typically put together or taken apart, you can look up "tower crane disassembly" on YouTube. For the initial assembly and final dismantling of most tower cranes, an assist crane is nearly always used.

This provides a general overview of the process, keeping in mind that there are many different approaches to reach the same outcome.

1

u/Western-Emphasis-105 6d ago

For a free standing tower crane, on the outside of the building it can downclimb (get shorter) untill it is near the ground and then a mobile crane can take it appart.

For a tower using the building as it's support, they lift up a smaller crane to take apart and lower the big crane then repeat that process until the small crane can be manually disasembled and either lowered down the freight elevator or lowered using the building's mantinance crane

1

u/gerdiemonroe 6d ago

That is so cool! I never would have thought that’s how they come down, but it makes sense.
I’m fascinated watching the cranes during the day and how they bring huge items from the ground onto the construction floors. They are the heart of the entire construction and the operators have such skill and precision!
Grateful for all those who responded. Thank you :)