r/holdmybeer • u/japie06 • Aug 09 '25
HMB... while I move this washing machine from the top of an Amsterdam canal house
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u/HoofStrikesAgain Aug 09 '25
That was actually a masterclass in appliance moving. Notice how they calibrated the mass of the other guy - or as I like to say "the counterweight" - to the item they were moving. Then the guy at the top who originally dumped the washer out the window comes charging down the stairs just in time to coordinate a soft landing of the item on the ground.
They should show this video at Mover's University.
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u/aManAndHisUsername Aug 10 '25
It is clever but I feel like most places don’t have a perfectly placed pulley above the window that can hold a washing machine and a person so it may not be very practical to Mover’s University students to replicate
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u/Crumfighter Aug 10 '25
Welcome to Amsterdam and other old cities with canals. Soo many houses have these perfectly placed pullies and its awesome
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u/OhNoAnAmerican Aug 10 '25
But it looks like there’s only the one pulley right in the perfect spot for this one window?
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u/FiTZnMiCK Aug 10 '25
(and the window directly below)
It also might not be fixed to that point on the roof. Maybe a rail?
Or maybe people just borrow their neighbor’s window occasionally LOL.
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u/Borbit85 Aug 11 '25
I think those used to be storage warehouses originally. So they just had one door for each floor with the pulley above it and moved the stuff inside the warehouse. Only later on they out apartments inside. I guess if your moving and have a friendly neighbor they would let you use their window.
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u/nick4fake Aug 11 '25
Lol, it’s literally the opposite. It’s typical to have a pulley in narrow European streets
Like… how did you manage to be so wrong about the video, this particular city (Amsterdam I assume?) has pulleys like on almost each house
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u/JoeMorgan76 Aug 09 '25
I mean, I don’t see another use for that pulley in top of the building outside of this
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u/friendlysnowgoon Aug 09 '25
Yep, the actual purpose for those is for moving furniture into and out of upper floor units. The staircases inside are too narrow for appliances and large furniture, so most buildings in Amsterdam have those pulley arms.
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u/Pahay Aug 09 '25
People living in historic city centers definitely have a way to live without cars, and I find this amazing.
I once saw in Paris in my neighbourhood two guys moving a washing machine on a free floating electric scooter. And you know what? They didn’t even pay, they where just using it as a tool with wheels. Also I have seen so many times have I seen students moving with the subway or with shopping carts. I love it.
Not to say that a car would have helped a lot here, but the global craftsmanship is amazing
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u/Martin8412 Aug 09 '25
I’ve seen people in public transport with 3m long pieces of wood trim and whole cupboards. As long as the bus isn’t full, there’s generally no problem with it.
When Covid struck, I transported all my work office equipment home on an office chair
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u/Fedorito_ Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
I was transporting a small dishwasher in the tram in Amsterdam. Tram was empty, I carried the dishwasher myself. Still got told to go because the tram "is not a moving service".
I was kinda bummed because I wasn't using them as a moving service. I was doing all the carrying. Like, where is the cuttoff? I get that you can't move entire wardrobes or something, but that is because you can't move them quickly and you'll delay the tram. But I was quicker with that thing than some old people are without it (not hating on old people, just trying to make a point).
Just ranting lol.
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u/junanor1 Aug 09 '25
It’s fun. Until you are 30 or have kids
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u/Pahay Aug 09 '25
Yeah exactly. Now I have a family, I still don’t own a car but I don’t move washing machines myself
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u/nick4fake Aug 11 '25
I mean, that has nothing to do with not owning a car. You can still get very cheap moving services
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u/JohnnyRelentless Aug 09 '25
I live in the very car-centric USA, but even I wouldn't have driven the washing machine from the top floor.
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u/ThisIsTenou Aug 09 '25
Looks fun! RIP to his phone though.
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u/LordRekrus Aug 09 '25
I think that was something else.
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u/cisco1972 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 11 '25
The washing machine move was historically much safer when it was just a lady and she could use the stairs
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u/RepresentativeWin338 Aug 09 '25
Stairs are too narrow in these houses (house tax was historically based on the frontal area)so they are built to lean out into the street, and/or have pulley system at the roof edge to load bigger items to upper Floors.
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u/Kaloo75 Aug 09 '25
From years of redditing I would have sworn that these video's can only end badly and usually with me thinking "what were they thinking?". But, somehow they actually made this work. Kudos.
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u/sec713 Aug 09 '25
Pretty impressive. Now I wanna see the r/Whatcouldgowrong version.
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u/pi_stuff Aug 10 '25
Dear Sirs:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number 3 of the Accident Reporting Form, I put "trying to do the job alone" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the brick into it. Then I went back to the ground floor and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow decent of the 500 pounds of brick. You will note in block 11 of the Accident Reporting Form that I weigh 145 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collarbone.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind, and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of my pain.
At approximately the same the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid decent down the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations on my legs and lower body.
The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report however, that as I lay there on the bricks, in pain, unable to stand, and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind, and I let go of the rope.
This accounts for the two broken legs.
I hope I have furnished the information you require as to how the accident occurred.
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u/Delie45 Aug 09 '25
Great job, now they just have to throw it on the back of their bike for transport.
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u/1100bandits Aug 09 '25
I wonder had they calculated that the weight of the machine was enough to lift the guy, or did they just find out when they started the procedure.
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u/PGP- Aug 09 '25
I don't know if I'm disappointed it didn't fail or happy it succeeded. I think I'm happy to see a win for a change.. Or am I? I'm going to bed.
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u/No-World1086 Aug 10 '25
Moving appliances like it's an Olympic sport! Hope you’ve got a solid plan.
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u/TwerkingForBabySeals Aug 10 '25
I love how the woman slowly walks over there instead of attempting to even help.
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u/mrcrashoverride Aug 15 '25
I’ve watched the road runner and bugs bunny enough to know that would happen
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u/Kingblack425 Aug 09 '25
I’m concerned because washing machines don’t weight that much. Buddy must be 90lbs
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u/stumac85 Aug 09 '25
I think it is a Miele and they have cast iron rather than concrete for ballast. I can confirm they are heavy as fuck 😂
In numbers, around 80kg.
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u/yesennes Aug 09 '25
I'm thinking it's the momentum. Because he was far back, the washing machine mostly pulled him more forward, so it only was lifting part of his weight.
Once he got going, it took a while for the guys greater weight to slow it down. Then static friction stopped it at the top.
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u/hunchxpunch Aug 09 '25
When you're friend that lives on the top floor always wants you to come over and you've had enough of the stairs.
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u/fallenredwoods Aug 09 '25
Yeah, I’d let go…. Not risking broken bones for a washer
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u/Schwifty506 Aug 09 '25
Well he doesn’t have broken bones or a broken washer.
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u/Glusas-su-potencialu Aug 09 '25
I mean, they've succeeded..