Avondale crane service for contractors and homeowners

Most of our Avondale calls come from HVAC contractors. We lift rooftop air conditioning and heating equipment for lots and lots of HVAC companies, and Avondale has plenty of it on homes, shops and commercial buildings. Homeowners call us too, mostly for spas, sheds and heavy items that won't fit through the gate.

Avondale covers about 48 square miles. Interstate 10 crosses the north side of the city, and the Gila River crosses the south, where the Agua Fria River joins it. Monument Hill, the starting point for the Gila and Salt River Meridian that Arizona land surveys are based on, sits at 115th Avenue and Baseline Road. Between those edges you will find Old Town, shopping and offices near the freeway, and a lot of newer neighborhoods. Each part of town calls for a slightly different setup.

From our base in Surprise, Avondale is about 25 miles, usually by Loop 303 and Interstate 10. Call 602-615-0712 or text 623-258-8361 to schedule.

Avondale's commercial buildings run from small storefronts in Old Town along Western Avenue to retail and offices near I-10 and Avondale Boulevard. Many have flat roofs with rooftop package units. Typical lifts include:

• Old package units and evaporative coolers lifted off and set on a trailer
• New units, curbs and adapters set in place
• Heat pumps and condensers lifted over walls on residential jobs

For commercial jobs, tell us where the truck can set up, whether there is rear or alley access, and when the building is busiest. For residential jobs, tell us the roof type and where the equipment sits. Your crew rigs and guides, we run the boom, and the unit gets set in one shot. See our HVAC crane lifts page for more.

Old Town Avondale along Western Avenue preserves the city's historic business district, and the neighborhoods around it are older than the subdivisions farther out. That usually means:

• Overhead power and service lines along streets and alleys
• Mature trees over driveways and yards
• Smaller lots and tighter frontages
• Older roofs, sometimes flat or low-slope

None of that rules out a crane, but it shapes the plan. OSHA requires crane equipment, load lines and loads to stay at least 20 feet from power lines up to 350 kV unless specific procedures are used, such as having the utility de-energize and ground the line (29 CFR 1926.1408). Sometimes that means approaching the roof from the alley or another side of the building. Photos of the street and anything overhead help Don decide.

Away from Old Town, many Avondale homes sit in newer HOA subdivisions with block walls, narrow side gates and tile roofs. When something heavy needs to get into the backyard, a crane is often the simplest answer. If it can't go through the door, over the roof it goes.

• Spas and hot tubs, new installs and old removals
• Prebuilt storage sheds set on a finished pad
• Heavy items like safes, boulders, planters and outdoor kitchen pieces

Before lift day, check with your HOA about work trucks and street parking. Some cities require a right-of-way or street-use permit to set up in the street, so check with the City of Avondale if the truck needs to sit in the roadway. Also clear the landing area and keep kids and pets inside during the lift.

Avondale is home to Phoenix Raceway, a one-mile oval that opened in 1964 and hosts NASCAR and other major races. Big race weekends bring heavy traffic to the area and to the freeways around it. If your lift is near the raceway or on routes that feed it, let us know early so the date can be planned around race traffic.

Every lift is different. Call with the weight of the item, how far it needs to go and where the truck can park, and Don will confirm the lift. If a job needs more crane than ours, we have trusted relationships with other crane companies. Skyhook Crane is licensed and insured and run by Don and his son Bryce. Call 602-615-0712 or text 623-258-8361 to schedule, or email skyhookcranedon@gmail.com.