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Machinery Moving and Rigging in Seattle

We move lab equipment, generators, presses and rooftop units in and out of Seattle buildings, from basement mechanical rooms to upper floors.

Machinery Moving in Seattle

Getting Equipment Into Tight Seattle Buildings

Snell Crane Service rigs and moves machinery in downtown towers, South Lake Union lab buildings, First Hill hospitals and University District campus buildings. Most of these jobs come down to one question: how does the piece get from the truck to the floor it's going to?

Our project managers walk the route first, measuring doors, corridors, freight elevator capacity and floor loading, then build the lift plan around it. Our NCCCO-certified operators and riggers have worked the I-5 corridor since 1992, and we're open 24/7 for the night and weekend windows most Seattle buildings require.

Large electrical transformer sitting on a gravel job site

Local Know-How

Loading Docks, Alleys and Street-Use Permits

Downtown and South Lake Union docks are often shared, short and booked by the hour. When a piece won't fit the freight elevator, we pick it through a roof hatch, a removed window wall or a courtyard opening instead.

Crane setups on Seattle streets need SDOT street-use permits and often a lane closure, so we plan picks for nights and weekends. We handle the permits and paperwork. Routes in usually come off I-5 or SR-99, with Georgetown, SoDo and Interbay as staging areas for longer days.

Common Jobs

What We Do in Seattle

  • Lab and research equipment moved floor to floor in South Lake Union and University District buildings
  • Emergency generators and switchgear set in basement and penthouse mechanical rooms
  • Imaging and sterilization equipment moved during hospital renovations on First Hill
  • Rooftop units and chillers picked over occupied buildings at night
  • Printing, fabrication and food equipment moved out of Ballard, Interbay and SoDo shops
  • Pieces too big for the freight elevator brought in through window walls and roof hatches

Equipment

What We Bring

  • Skates and hydraulic gantries: for rolling and lifting heavy pieces inside buildings where a crane can't reach
  • Broderson IC-200-F: 8.5 t carry deck, 36 ft boom, small enough to work inside parking garages, loading bays and alley staging
  • Manitex 40124: 40 t all-terrain, 124 ft main boom, a compact setup for a single lane closure
  • Liebherr LTM 1120: 135 t all-terrain, 217 ft main boom, for rooftop and courtyard picks reaching over the building
Liebherr LTM 1120 all-terrain crane

Local Project

From the Job Site

We brought a 135-ton crane onto the University of Washington campus to support a machinery job there. Campus work means tight access roads, students and staff all around, and a schedule set by the institution, so the lift plan and the site setup were worked out well before the crane arrived.

FAQ

Seattle Questions

Can you move equipment to a floor the freight elevator can't reach?

Yes. Depending on the building, we pick it through a roof hatch, a removed window or a courtyard opening, or set it on the roof and roll it in on skates.

Who gets the SDOT street-use permit for a downtown crane setup?

We do. Our project managers apply for the permit, coordinate any lane closure and schedule the pick for the window the permit allows.

Can you work inside an occupied hospital or lab building?

Yes. We plan routes, protection and timing with your facilities team so the move stays clear of patient areas, corridors in use and sensitive equipment.

Machinery Moving · Seattle

Plan Your Seattle Equipment Move

Send us the building address and what's moving, or call our Seattle dispatcher at (206) 208-2946.

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