MARTIN PLACE · SYDNEY CBD · COMMERCIAL HEAVY LIFTING
Commercial Heavy Lifting in Sydney: Five-Tonne Marble Sculpture Removal
A commercial heavy lifting project in Sydney involving Italian marble installed in 1986: a four-tonne base, one-tonne top and 500 kg wall-marble sections. JB coordinated specialist stone work, gantry lifting and crating at Martin Place before the marble was sent to Brisbane.
- LOWER PIECE
- 4 tonnes
- UPPER PIECE
- 1 tonne
- WALL-MARBLE SECTIONS
- 500 kg
- DESTINATION
- Sydney → Brisbane
Commercial heavy lifting project at Martin Place, Sydney CBD
JB Removals undertook a delicate marble removal project at Martin Place in Sydney's CBD. The central sculpture comprised two pieces: a four-tonne lower section and a one-tonne upper section. The marble had come from Italy and was installed in the building in 1986.
The work required substantial planning because weight was only one part of the challenge. The two sections were glued together, specialist work was needed through the top piece, and the building exit meant the pieces had to be crated in a tilted position. The scope also included removing 500 kg marble sections from the walls.
JB brought the moving work together with specialist core drilling and support from a crating company. The marble was removed from the building and sent to Brisbane.
Specialist marble removal: separating the sculpture sections
Diamond-wire separation for heavy marble removal
The bond between the two sculpture pieces needed to be released before they could be handled separately. Diamond wire was used to cut through the glue at the joint. This separation was a distinct part of the removal scope, ahead of handling the individual marble components.
Specialist core drilling for the sculpture removal
JB engaged a specialist to carry out core drilling through the top piece. Bringing this specialist work into the project was part of the preparation required for the removal, alongside the gantry systems and crating arrangements.
The job therefore combined specialist stone work with heavy moving. Each stage needed to fit the next: separating the components, handling their individual weights and preparing them for the building exit.
Gantry lifting for heavy sculpture removal in Sydney
Four-tonne and one-tonne marble components
The combined sculpture weight was five tonnes, made up of the four-tonne lower piece and one-tonne top. These were separate components within the removal project. The photographs show gantry frames, chain hoists, slings and protective padding around the stone during handling.
Heavy lifting inside a finished commercial lobby
The removal took place inside a finished building interior, surrounded by marble floors and walls. The photographs document the team preparing the gantry components on blankets, working around the sculpture sections and coordinating with the timber crating already in the lobby.
This setting made the project about both substantial loads and delicate stone surfaces. The equipment, specialist input and crating needed to work within the available space and the planned exit arrangement.
Specialist marble crating for restricted building access
Coordinating the crating company and heavy moving team
JB engaged a company to assist with crating the marble. The photographs show timber crate panels, support framing and padding being prepared around the separate components. Crating formed part of the removal plan inside the building.
Tilting the crated marble to exit the building
The pieces had to be placed in their crates in a tilted position to come out of the building. That access requirement shaped the crating arrangement and was one of the reasons the project needed extensive planning.
The removal approach linked the internal handling work to the practical constraints of getting the packaged pieces out. It was a project involving separation, lifting, crating and access coordination.
Commercial stone removal: 500 kg wall-marble sections
Alongside the sculpture, JB also removed marble sections from the building's walls weighing 500 kg. These pieces formed an additional part of the stone-removal scope and required delicate handling as they were taken out in sections.
The wall-marble work added another set of substantial stone components to the project. It sat alongside the sculpture removal and specialist crating within the overall planned operation.
Interstate sculpture transport from Sydney to Brisbane
Following the removal, the marble was sent to Brisbane. This connected the complex extraction inside the Sydney building with an interstate relocation, with the separate pieces prepared for transport through the crating stage.
The project demonstrates JB's experience coordinating heavy sculpture removal, specialist stone handling and crating within a commercial building. The defining challenges were the glued joint, the individual four-tonne and one-tonne loads, the tilted exit arrangement and the additional wall-marble sections.
Planning a commercial heavy lifting project in Sydney
Connecting specialist stone work, gantry lifting and crating
This commercial project required several disciplines to work together. The diamond-wire separation addressed the glued joint, a specialist undertook core drilling, gantry systems supported the handling work, and a crating company assisted with packaging the marble. JB coordinated those elements within the overall removal.
For heavy sculpture movers, the component weights alone do not describe the complete job. Here, the four-tonne base and one-tonne top also needed separation, individual handling and a crating arrangement that suited the exit. Planning connected the specialist stone work with the physical move and the onward transport to Brisbane.
Commercial building access and exit constraints
The Martin Place building added a specific access challenge: the marble had to be tilted within its crates to leave the premises. This requirement shaped the packaging and removal arrangement inside the lobby. The photographs also show the finished stone interior around the work area, making the relationship between the load, equipment and available space clear.
The additional 500 kg wall-marble sections expanded the commercial removal scope beyond the sculpture. Delicate stone removal and substantial individual weights therefore formed part of the same Sydney CBD project.
Sydney commercial heavy lifting project photographs
The gallery records the real work inside the Martin Place building. It includes equipment preparation, the sculpture components, gantry handling, timber crating and the team.
Commercial removalists for heavy stone and sculptures in Sydney
The Martin Place case study brings together commercial removals in Sydney, heavy sculpture moving, gantry handling, marble crating and interstate transport. It shows how a specialist heavy item can form part of a broader commercial relocation scope, with stone-removal work and building access considered alongside the move itself.
For businesses planning a heavy marble move in Sydney, a useful project brief includes known component weights, dimensions, existing joints, access photographs, the intended destination and any wall-stone removal. Include the need for crating or specialist stone work so the assessment covers those stages as well.
JB's heavy moving assessment can bring the item and access requirements into one project discussion. For a sculpture already installed within a commercial building, the brief should address how the pieces will be separated, handled and packaged before the onward transport is arranged.
Explore more JB removal projects and discuss your sculpture with our heavy moving team in Sydney.
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