The Job Most People Are Told Is Impossible
A spa arrives on a delivery truck, gets left on the driveway, and there is a fence, a carport or a side gate between it and the backyard it is meant to live in. The spa retailer delivers to the kerb. The side access is 900 millimetres wide and the spa is two metres across. Someone has usually already said it cannot be done.
It can. It is a crane truck job, and it is one of the most common lifts we do in Perth.
What the Crane Has to Do
Craning a spa is not about brute lifting. Most domestic spas are well within a crane truck's capacity when empty. The real question is reach: how far the crane has to extend to get the spa from the truck, over the obstacle, and down onto the pad.
A crane's capacity falls as the boom extends. Ours lifts up to 6,200 kg close in and reaches 8.0 metres out. A 350 kg spa shell is nothing at short reach. The same shell at full extension over a double carport is a genuine calculation, not an assumption. That is the number that decides whether your job works, and it is why we ask what is in the way before we talk about price.
The Three Measurements That Matter
- Where the truck can park. Usually the street or the driveway. Every distance is measured from there.
- What it has to clear. A 1.8 metre colorbond fence is straightforward. A carport, a patio roof or a single storey wall is a bigger ask.
- How far in the pad sits. A spa three metres past the fence is very different to one twelve metres down the back.
Those three together give the reach. The reach and the weight together give the answer.
What to Check at Your Place
Before you book anything, walk out to the street and look back at your house.
- Look up first. Power lines are the single most common thing that stops a lift. A crane cannot work under or near a live line, and that is not negotiable. Note any line crossing the street, the verge or your yard.
- Check the trees. Established gums over the drop zone matter. Sometimes a branch can be worked around, sometimes it needs trimming before the day.
- Find where the truck sits. It needs a stable, reasonably level spot to put its legs down. Soft verge, a steep driveway or a service pit changes the plan.
- Confirm the pad is finished. The spa should land on its final base, level and cured.
- Think about the neighbours. If the best position for the truck is across a shared driveway, a quick word beforehand saves an awkward morning.
You do not need to measure any of it. A photo from the street showing the house, the fence line and anything overhead tells us more than a page of numbers.
What Happens on the Day
A straightforward spa lift is a short visit, and most of it is setup rather than lifting.
- The truck parks and the stabiliser legs go down on packing where needed.
- The spa is rigged with straps at the manufacturer's lifting points, not wherever is convenient.
- It lifts, swings over the obstacle and comes down slowly onto the pad, guided by hand at the end.
- It is checked for position and level, the rigging comes off, and the truck packs up.
The lift itself is often only a few minutes. Everything either side of it is what you are actually paying for, which is why a clear site with cars moved and gates open makes a real difference to the cost.
When the Answer Is No
Sometimes it genuinely will not work, and it is better to hear that on the phone than to find out with a truck in your street. The usual reasons are power lines in the wrong place, a required reach beyond 8.0 metres, or nowhere stable to set the truck up.
If your job is past what a crane truck can do, it is usually a larger mobile crane job, and we will tell you that rather than attempt it. We would rather lose the booking than damage your spa or your fence.
Getting an Answer Before You Buy
The best time to ask is before the spa arrives, not after it is sitting on your driveway. If you are still choosing, send a photo of the space and the model you are considering. We will tell you whether it can be placed where you want it and what the lift would cost.
See how spa delivery works, or send a photo through and we will give you a straight answer.