Bigslider Stories

Move Heavy Store Fixtures without Scratching the Floors

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:39:00 +0000

I received a call a few days ago from the manager of a national chain retail store in Michigan. All the wheels had broken off his four way 4 ft high fixtures for hanging clothes.

The employees had previously been dragging the heavy fixtures around the store floor when they needed to move them. That was fine on the old carpet.

Now the store is being renovated and refurbished with new carpet and tile, so the manager wants to protect the new surfaces from scratching, wear and tear. We are custom fabricating a number of 46" x 46" BigSlider™ utility movers for his needs.

Way to go KP, and be sure to share with the carpet layers to save their backs while removing the fixtures. We hope your new flooring and carpets stay looking good for a long time!

Haul Firewood to the House - Easy, every day!

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:17:00 +0000

A note just arrived from our very first customer who is in her 60's and still gardens actively...

"Jeri,
Thanks for sending the video. It is so cool. We're still using the originals every day to haul wood to the house this winter. I hope they will be available in the stores around here soon because I have to loan mine out all the time.
-- DS, IA"

Hey DS -

I'm so happy you liked the DIY Network Cool Tools video - that was from the National Hardware Show, and...Thanks for the positive feedback!

Until we get into retail...Just let your borrowing friends know to call me at 713 459 0660, email info@bigslider.com, or order online at BigSlider.com

I appreciate your support and letting all your friends know about us!

Jeri

Moving a Broken Dishwasher

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Last week our dishwasher broke! It should not have surprised us, since I think it was probably 20 years old, but who knew?? Anyway, it was a disaster, with water running all over the floor and us unable to stop it until we finally got the water shut off outside the house. We called for help and our contractor came over (this was about 6:30 in the evening!) and helped us out. He took the dishwasher out from the cabinet and then we had to get it into the garage and out of the way.

There were two of us at that point, so I think we could have handled it, but it did not look like any fun, getting it through the kitchen and breakfast room and over the sill at the door into the garage where it would be out of the way. Then I remembered my Bigslider that I keep stored in the garage next to my washing machine! I ran out to the garage and brought it in and the job was a snap after that.

It was easy to tilt the dishwasher up to get the Bigslider under it. Then I took the handle and dragged it through the house while my contractor assisted with a little pushing from the back. We got it over the sill with no problems and into the garage where you see it on the Bigslider.

Thanks goodness for the Bigslider!! I pulled a muscle in my hip fighting the water, which really flared up a couple of days later. I can only imagine what I might have done wrestling that bulky machine without my Bigslider! I am so glad to have it and it is so convenient to store that I almost forgot it. I know I would have felt terrible if I hurt my back and then remembered this great tool after the fact!

Moving Kitchen Cabinets for Remodeling

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:09:00 +0000

Between Christmas and New Year's Eve a remodeling professional from Wyoming called with a desperate need for the Wider BigSlider™ utility mover. His partner had seen someone in Arizona moving a heavy appliance, and "it was so easy!" he insisted they get one for their business.

He was about to start on a remodeling project and needed the wider model right away. We shipped him the demo we'd used in the National Hardware Show, where we won Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Award for Top 13 New Tools and DIY Network's Chris Grundy of Cool Tools shot us for their "On the Move" episode. That ran show ran on DIY from October through last November - thanks Cool Tools!

And, thank you GR from Jackson WY for saving your back on your remodeling project! Plus, we hope it saves you time and money.

Construction Debris Defeated by Bigslider!

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:05:00 +0000

Bigslider came to my assistance when I needed to remove all these materials left over from construction projects and swimming pool maintenance. This junk had collected in my garage and my back yard and was becoming an overwhelming problem. There are two heavy doors with glass insets, two broken sinks from a bathroom countertop, and old pump from the swimming pool, and a trash can full of heavy debris.

The trash can had sat outside for so long that the plastic deteriorated and came apart whenever I tried to drag it to the curb. With my handy Bigslider, I was able to manage all this alone, without the back strain that would surely resulted from having to pick this up and carry it out.

The doors were a little tricky, because they were larger than the Bigslider, but, using the pull cord looped around the corners of the base of the door, I was able to pull from the upper end and get each door out separately without lifting.

What a handy and flexible tool to have in my toolkit!

Word of Mouth: Our customers are our best advertisers!

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:22:00 +0000

A new customer from Louisiana found out about BigSlider
"from a friend who had ordered one and raved about it." -- AE, LA

Thank you, friend! And, we appreciate everyone who tells a friend about BigSlider - thank YOU so very much for your orders in 2009.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Prosperous and Peaceful New Year,
From Jeri and all of us here at BigSlider

Carpet Layers are Finding Out About BigSlider

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:12:00 +0000

The word of mouth orders are rolling in here at BigSlider™ utility movers. Carpet layers from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Kansas have discovered how easy it is to move heavy furniture with our tough, friction-reducing sheet...now their customers are ordering, too!

Moving a Hot Water Heater Alone!

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Can a single woman move a 165 lb water heater all by herself?

We set out to test this for ourselves and documented the technique.

The people at the store loaded it into the car, so there is no problem there. The problem begins when you get home with the big, heavy item and have to get it into the house for installation.

The pictures on our site illustrate all the steps that it took for one small woman to get the water heater unloaded and onto a BigSlider™ utility mover where it could be easily dragged into the house. With a little maneuvering, it was all pretty easy, with no back strain and no injuries. Without the BigSlider™, it would have been an entirely different story.

How would you have done it?

Pulling Weeds: Efficient Weeding with BigSlider™ utility mover

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:59:00 +0000

There are two ways to use BigSlider when you're weeding. First, if you are fortunate enough to own two, you can put one in the bag and pull your 'instant trash can' on the other one. Also, I like the combination of my lawn bucket with BigSlider™ utility mover. It holds the lawn and leaf bag open, and the Easy-Go (which I bought at Lowe's) is like a tall bucket with a handle and two wheels. Easy-Go is sold under a Black & Decker license by Keter Plastic. It's not as stable as resting on another BigSlider™ because the Easy-Go is a little top-heavy. But once you get some weeds down into it, it'll stay upright.

Second, you can use BigSlider™ as a weeding sit-upon. Just put the weeds at the tail, move along the bed, then dump into the trash. This way you touch the weeds only once -- very efficient! And, if you end up with lots of full bags, you can use BigSlider™ utility mover to slide up to six 39-gallon lawn and leaf bags to the curb in one trip. You can see it in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jm7Wr9xuZQ

Pulling Chris Grundy at the National Hardware Show

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:43:00 +0000

"I first saw your product on Cool Tools reviewing the 2008 Hardware Dealers Show, was impressed with ease the small woman moved Chris Grundy around the floor !!" -- PP, CA

BigSlider made pulling Chris Grundy around look easy as it was, and that clip continued to be aired on Cool Tools "On the Move" episode up until August - thanks Cool Tools! And thanks Mr. P for remembering us at BigSlider™ utility movers.

Jeri

Moving a Gun Safe

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:35:00 +0000

I just received an order from a customer trying to move a gun safe. He looked all over the internet and couldn't find any professional sliding mats except ours. His gun safe is about 20 in x 30 in x 7 ft and weighs about 1,000 lbs. He'll have to get help to lay it on its side just so it will fit though the doorway.

We decided that the cheapest, fastest way to get his project done was to send two 2 ft x 5 ft Professionals and tape the tail holes together with duct tape (to cover the 7 ft length). The handle will easily bear the pull of 1,000 lb loads on tile or wood (about a 200 lb pull), but to move the gun safe on carpet he'll need a second person to push from behind. The drag on carpet will create about a 300-500 lb pull, depending on the padding underneath and the pile of the carpet; and the handle tears out at around a 400 lb pull -- something you can only achieve with two very strong guys or a pickup truck hitch!

Best of luck to JB in Mississippi.

Move Heavy Things by Yourself Tool for Gardners

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Here's why one customer bought BigSlider™ utility mover this week!

"I was searching the internet for a dolly to move large potted plants across grass, concrete, etc. by myself and your website was listed. After checking it out, I decided your product was the best way to go and could be used for more purposes than I intended. It will even help me out when I need to move those big bags of potting soil to my backyard by myself. It will be a back saver too and will get used for many of the other purposes you listed. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the BIGSLIDER Utility Mover." -- MP, Texas

Moving a heavy old TV out...

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:01:00 +0000

I recently upgraded my old TV to a new 42" flat screen model. My Bigslider was used to get the new unit into the house, but the old TV was so bulky I couldn't get it out of the house by myself. When I had a contractor around to help with it, we were able to move it off its stand to my Bigslider so we could drag it out to his car to carry off to the recycle depot.

If Bigslider just came with an extra set of hands, I could have done this job all by myself!

Moving the Big Screen TV!

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:23:00 +0000

"Jeri,

I was just getting on line to send you an email - and saw your message. We used our BigSlider for the first time!!!!!!!

I hate to admit that it took so long....but we had the perfect application for it. We bought a new TV and they are heavier than a son-of-a-_______. I automatically thought of the BigSlider. Had to share it with you! Of course, it worked great."

-- PA, Texas

BigSlider and the Japanese Moss Garden

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Sadly we lost our beautiful oak tree several years ago. Since the tree protected our moss garden and west-facing sliding glass door from the sun and heat, we needed to replace it with shade. We read about the bamboo fuji-dan (pronounced WOO-gee-don) as a wisteria vine pergola in the Journal of Japanese Gardening and decided to adapt it to our needs. Tip and I put the bamboo structure together on the first day, and Manuel and Grandpa came over the second day with 10 ft cedar posts. They used the BigSlider™ Heavy Duty Tray to distribute the excess post hole soil in the low spots around the yard. They also used it to remove bricks from around the posts and bring back the beautiful river rock from its storage location in the farthest corner of the back yard. BigSlider™ Heavy Duty Tray made it easy to do in one trip! We topped the structure with two layers of 6 ft x 16 ft reed fencing from the hardware store to emulate the deep shade of the oak tree (one layer shown here). Now...we water and wait! PS Do you know how to feed moss? Warm, flat beer!

Laying Garden Pavers

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:12:00 +0000

We just got some photos of a client laying garden pavers using our heavy duty tray to move these heavy stones around. These photos really illustrate the ease of using our tray to ease the burden of garden work!

After unloading the stones from the trailer, the tray serves as a platform to hold the stones conveniently for placing them around the edges of the garden.

Look at this next picture and tell me how hard you think it can be to get this work done!! Really!!!

You see how Bigslider can reduce the workload for those big gardening jobs!

First Usage Report on Heavy Duty Tray!

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:22:00 +0000

We just received a note from a client who breeds deer for stocking leases. He bought one of our heavy duty trays for some of the heavier lifting jobs required in his business, like moving a piece of spraying equipment around the property to control the ant population on his grounds. He sent the following testimonial and photo:

"Sorry this took so long. After I unhooked the rope from the mower, I dragged the HD tray back toward the barn with the spray rig on it. Then it dawned on me that I didn't really need the mower. It was easy enough to drag by hand. Spraying ants just got a lot easier.

Thanks
Tom"

We are always happy to learn about how our products are making life easier for people. Send us your stories and photos so we can share them with others!

Introducing our Heavy Duty Tray in Field Test!

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:34:00 +0000

We just got our newest product delivered and tested in it our garden this past weekend. It performed beautifully!

Tip stars in our field trial to plant some new dogwoods plus a potted, rooted Japanese maple. We used the tray to handle the dirt as we moved from place to place in the garden putting in each plant.

We also found that the combination of the Tray with our original Professional model and our newer YardPal made the job that much easier.

See our field trial description on our site and learn how you can benefit from having a variety of these tools for your spring gardening chores! We also put the pictures up in a little larger format for a quick overview of the project.

Thanks Tip! You've got real "Star Power"!!

Back-saver, Re-carpeting project, Help Moving Woodworking Machinery

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:26:00 +0000

People buy BigSlider™ utility movers for many reasons...from birthday presents to woodworking machinery...here are a few from this week.

"I thought it was a great idea for a B-day present for my husband who just turned 68 and has a habit of moving large objects when I'm not around. I think it's a great idea that might save his back." -- PR, California

"I'm totally re-carpeting in three weeks and will have to move every piece of furniture in the house!" -- AR, Virginia

"I'm getting the Wider model to move woodworking machinery around the garage and also to move appliances." -- BB, Ontario

What are you planning to use yours for? Let us know at info@bigslider.com

Yard Chores with a Ruptured Disk?

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Many people have health problems of various kinds that limit or constrain their physical activity. These do not always mean that you have to give up your favorite hobbies. Sometimes you can make adaptations that allow you to continue to participate in those things that give you pleasure, like maintaining your garden.

We just sold a BigSlider™ to a man in Pennsylvania who said he has a ruptured disk and wants to use it to help him with his gardening. This is a good solution, because a BigSlider™ certainly reduces the amount of lifting involved in gardening.

To make your chores easier, make sure that a BigSlider™is in your closet of gardening supplies and tools.

Moving Boxes during Spring Cleaning?

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:38:00 +0000

What is your most challenging spring cleaning project?

Whatever it is, it will surely involve moving some heavy stuff around. For me, it is my garage. If I were smart, I would park my cars in my garage, and there would be no room for all the junk that accumulates there. Periodically (not every Spring, I have to admit), I have to get out and clean it up just so I can get through the garage to my car! It is never a happy chore. I still prefer it to doing my taxes, but the government encourages me to get those done!

Anyway, when I get into the task, it always consists of throwing things into boxes until I get them full, at which point I have to move them. It is surprising how heavy they can get in such a short time! With a little thinking ahead of the curve, I can have the boxes set up on my handy BigSlider™ so when the boxes fill, I don't have to lift them to move them. That makes the chore a lot easier on my back and helps me get it done sooner!

Think about how a BigSlider™ can make your springtime more enjoyable and easier and get yours today!

Gardening Supplies and Tools

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Springtime brings gardening chores, and that brings up the question of tools and supplies. Lots of gardening work consists of moving things around the garden. Starting a new garden area might mean moving dirt away, bringing in mulch or pavers for a garden walk, or bags of sand to provide a foundation for pavers, and on, and on, and on...

A BigSlider™ can save a lot of that work and avoid the back strain that comes from asking muscles that were not used through the winter months to suddenly lift these items into a garden cart. You can see an example of some of these tasks in our recounting of the building of a brick patio on our web site.

We have a variety of gardening supplies/tools for different needs and purposes. Look over the full line and do yourself a favor by having the right tools for the job before you begin the work!

Happy Gardening!!

Announcing The Newest BigSlider: the Heavy Duty Tray!

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:44:00 +0000

BIGSLIDER™ Heavy Duty Tray Field Test

Ever since we first designed the Professional model, people have wondered about moving very large loads of loose materials like soil, mulch or sand. Today we are happy to report a new addition to the BigSlider line: the Heavy Duty Tray. We received some last week and had a chance to field test it this weekend with more tree planting projects. We were thrilled with the results! Hear all about it in our Field Test story of planting the dogwoods and Japanese maple.

BigSlider Heavy Duty Tray is made in the USA of UV-stabilized, #2 recyclable HDPE, so it's tough and slick like all the BigSlider models. We'll have it for sale at www.bigslider.com soon.

Repairing a Brick Patio

noreply@blogger.com (RGMyers) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:55:00 +0000

The corner of Jeri's brick patio had collapsed, so she decided to remove the sunken area and re-sand it.

This project involved moving a heavy Pennsylvania bluestone stone paver around in her yard, as well as bricks, and getting a 50 lb. bag of sand (the only way it comes!) from the store to the patio to level the patio bricks and paver. She lifted it just once from the store floor into the shopping cart's child seat. From then on it was BigSlider to the rescue.

She draped it over the cart handle and slid the bag into the trunk. BigSlider also kept sand from getting all over the trunk. She used the rope threaded through the tail to pull it from the trunk to the driveway and drag the 50 lb bag to the patio.

This can become quite a chore for someone working alone, but the Bigslider family of gardening tools really paid of in making it possible.

Moving the 50 lb. bag of sand out of the trunk of the car was probably the toughest part of the job, but the Bigslider Utility Mover worked great to help her avoid lifting and possible back strain. All it took was a little creativity and maneuvering, and the job was done!

After finishing the job, Jeri had a great looking patio at her home to enjoy.

You can read the whole story on the site at "Repairing My Brick Patio by Myself".

Talk it up - help your friends move their heavy stuff!

info@bigslider.com (Jeri) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Here's a "shout out" to North Carolina, where someone found out about BigSlider by hearing about it from someone else (other than me :-)

"I found out about BigSlider from my appliance repair person & then a google search."
-- EC, North Carolina

And, a customer who purchased the Wider model last year just ordered her YardPal to work in tandem. A BigThanks to DV of Tennessee!

If you like your BigSlider™ utility mover, please tell someone else about it...We can't get the word out without YOU, our happy and faithful customers.

Thank you so much! Jeri