A Building Element Lift Enhancer is described. The Building Element Lift Enhancer provides for the movement and precise placement of building elements such as blocks or sheet products by one worker. The Building Element Lift Enhancer senses the force applied by a user to the building element and converts that user applied force to mechanically assisted force from the Building Element Lift Enhancer, allowing the user to precisely move and handle large, heavy or bulky building elements by direct interaction with the building element.

An apparatus for extracting a paver stone, and the like from a preset position, including a pair of lifting plates having a body containing one or more lifting aid insertion openings at one end, and at an opposing end, a blade portion having substantially concave tabs with tab edges formed along a pair of slots terminating in one or more of stress relief openings between the body and the blade, wedging a first blade between the paver and a first adjacent paver and wedging a second blade at an opposing end of a paver and a second adjacent paver, substantially compressing the tabs storing spring energy in the blades, pushing the tab edges below the bottom plane of the paver, releasing the stored spring energy thereby substantially decompressing and re-forming the tabs such that the tab edges contact and engage the underside of the paver to be extracted.

A log handling tool for gripping a log between a pair of engagement members while using a spacer to facilitate positioning of the log includes a front engagement member and a rear engagement member opposing the front engagement member. The rear engagement member is fixed relative to a main arm, and the front engagement member is pivotable about the main arm such that a log can be gripped between the front and rear engagement members. A spacer is also coupled to said main arm and extends therefrom to facilitate positioning a log between the front and rear engagement members.

Method and apparatus for lifting and removing substrate, such as a cut section from an underlying concrete slab. A plate assembly has a planar support plate and a u-shaped support bracket extending therefrom. The support plate is placed onto the section to be removed. The support bracket has adjoining first, second and third web portions to define an interior channel above the support plate. First and second apertures extend through the support plate on opposing sides of the support bracket and are used to secure the support plate to the cut section using attachment mechanisms such as anchor bolts. A lifting mechanism such as a fork lift inserts a fork through the interior channel to lift the plate assembly and cut section. The interior channel may be contoured to facilitate centering of the fork during lifting and movement of the plate assembly and the cut section.

Precast Portland cement concrete shapes are handled by a lifting assembly comprising an elongate plate-like metallic lift anchor and a standard shear bar. The lift anchor defines a pair of parallel opposed planar faces, a medial longitudinal axis, and a plane of symmetry parallel to the planar faces. A lift head portion comprises a lift head through opening and shear flanges symmetrically disposed along the medial longitudinal axis. A proximal embedment portion comprises a shear bar through opening and a reinforcing bar through opening. A distal embedment portion terminates in a foot comprising a pair of distal flanges symmetrically disposed along the medial longitudinal axis, and a throat. The lift anchor is forged. The shear bar through opening is oblong along the medial longitudinal axis, and the standard shear bar is interconnectable with the shear bar through opening.