Ferguson
Some of the best innovations in our industry have come from people who were in a particular trade and recognized a need. Mark Martinez is a perfect example, with his Martinez Hammers. Now, Myron Ferguson, aka That Drywall Guy, a drywall and home-performance contractor, has helped develop a new product for drywall contractors. Ferguson, who is also a fourth-generation builder, has been hanging drywall for nearly 35 years, and teaching it for almost as long. On January 1, 2019, he’ll be helping launch a new drywall hanging lift that is multi-functional. It allows you to transport and lift drywall panel as well as adjust and hold it in place while you install it on a wall.
Hang Sheets Solo
Made of heavy-gauge steel with a powder-coated finish, the HangPro Drywall Lift makes it possible for one person to load and hang up to a 16-foot-long sheet of 1/2-inch drywall on a wall. The unit, which also can be broken down for easier transport, features large rubber wheels and a heavy-duty auto-locking winch, and works for walls up to 10 feet tall.
I actually used an early prototype of this lift and I was extremely impressed with the design and overall functionality of this tool. I hung 20 sheets of 14-foot drywall, solo. You simply roll the lift over to the middle of a sheet and load the sheet onto it. Loading the sheet is as simple as tipping the sheet up 6 inches; that’s as much as you have to touch it. Once it’s loaded onto the lift’s lip, you can roll the sheet forward or backward, and even sideways thanks to two smaller wheels in front of the lift. It allows you to move the sheet through doorways.
With the sheet loaded onto the cart, you roll it into position and turn the winch’s handle to get it to the right height. Because the winch is self-locking, as soon as you let go, you can begin hanging the sheet without an extra hand. The video below does a much better job illustrating how it functions than I can in words.
In addition to drywall, the lift also works with other sheet goods like plywood, OSB, and wood panels.
Available January 1, 2019
Cost: $498
www.hangprolift.com/
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
