Sometimes your own construction company crane breaks down. Sometimes you need a different solution for a heavy lifting problem. Sometimes you need a really alternative solution for an unusual sort of lifting problem. Crane services of all kinds can provide some answers. Here are just a few machines and pieces of equipment you can rent to finish a job that requires lifting heavy loads:

Tower Cranes

As the name implies, these are a special type of crane that involve building a hollow tower in which an elevator platform raises and lowers. The are exceptional pieces of equipment for lifting construction materials ever higher when building skyscrapers. They are definitely the go-to crane when boom cranes cannot safely go any higher without falling over. You can rent as many "stories" of framework for these cranes as you want, and rent the elevator platform and controls to go inside the frame. The tower cranes attach and detach to the side of the building on which you and your crew are working. 

Boom Cranes

Boom cranes are also known as "crawler" cranes because they move around on crawler tracks. Their boom arms can have multiple extensions, but the extensions are limited to what is safe and what can be safely lifted before the load might cause the entire crane and its boom arm to topple. You will need a crane driver to go with that crane, unless you have a licensed crane operator on your payroll. 

Scissors Lift

While not technically a crane, this platform holds a lot of materials, manages well with a ton of supplies loaded onto it, and can scissors-lift a crew of two or three up several stories with the supplies on the platform. It rolls around the base of the building like a truck, drives and steers like a truck, and can haul almost as much as most construction trucks can. If you just need something to lift crews and supplies up five stories or less, a scissors lift might be very useful. 

Overhead Cranes Premounted to Their Own Counterweight Bar

Overhead cranes can help too. The kind that is typically rented out to construction sites has its own counterweight overhead bar to secure it in place. The base allows you to secure it to any floor via a special mounting platform. You can easily remove the platform and remove the gantry crane when you do not need it anymore. The best thing about this option is that you can haul pallets up several floors while the overhead crane hangs out over the edge of the unfinished story of the building.