The Fourth Access Problem
Hoisting — When It Simply
Will Not Go Up The Stairs
Hoisting is lifting an item up and over — to a loft, balcony, landing, or through a window — because the stairwell, doorway, or turn will not physically pass it. It is a different job from a long carry, and it is priced differently, because it takes more crew, more equipment, and a plan made before anyone lifts anything.
The usual culprits are the ones you would guess: sleeper sofas and sectionals, adjustable bed bases, armoires, treadmills, safes, and oversized mattresses — meeting a tight switchback stair, a loft with an open edge, or a doorway a few inches too narrow. Modern San Diego builds with open lofts and mezzanines create this constantly, because the loft is reachable but the stair to it is not.
What a hoist actually involves: measuring the piece and the opening first, confirming the receiving edge or railing can be worked around safely, protecting the edge and the floor below, staging a ladder or working platform, and putting enough crew on it that nobody is carrying weight overhead alone. Sometimes the honest answer is that the piece has to be partly disassembled instead — and we will tell you that rather than force it.
