"Shelagh V Roberts" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I need to lift the block paved manhole cover for the first time.

(1) It is nicely bedded in sand, just like the block paving.

(2) It looks remarkably heavy anyway.

Thjere are two plasitc lift up handles, which have circular holes in them
which look as thought you could put a circular bar through both, or attach
some kind of lifter.

I have Googled manhole cover lifters, which seem to be at least £38 a day
to
hire.

Is there a simple, cheap, non-backsmashing way to lift these beasts?

TIA

Dave R

[Who would be in deep sh*t if he could just lift the da*n cover]

Well, I have finally discovered how to shift them.

Clear as much sand as possible from inside the groove, then clear some more
from outside the plastic frame so it will flex, then get some hefty
screwdrivers down the edges to lever up. This movement coupled with the
hoist gets everything out eventually.

I even managed to get the cover with one broken lifter out, by putting the
hoist on the other lifter then levering like mad at the end with the broken
lifter so both ends started to rise. Once the cover had come up a bit then
the 'good' end was able to lift clear, and I could hault the whole thing
sideways and slide it along the drive. Managed to break the 'good' lifter
though.

After a mamoth rodding session (with lots of "I don't remember eating that")
the drains are now clear again.
I bought myself some new plastic drain rods which I think was a wise
investment as my old bamboo ones are well past their "use by" date.

I now, however, have a manhole cover with broken lifters.
If I put it straight back, then I will probably never get it out again.
Fortunately the plastic lifters are held in with a couple of hex screws so
it looks like I can unscrew them, lift them out, and replace them without
having to take the blocks out.
[We shall see......]
All I need now is a supplier for replacement lifters.
Something to look forward to tomorrow.

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Cheers

Dave R
[Using Shelagh's PC as mine is at our other house :-) ]