Scaffolding - penny for your thoughts

[ErrolFlynn]

I need to do some repairs to a hut. I’ve been putting it off because I don’t have any way of getting as high as I need to be, and while ladders are fine, I want both hands free. Of course, some sort of scaffold seems the obvious choice.

I need to get myself 3.5 m off the ground and, ideally, it would have a platform 4 m wide. That’s the width of the hut.

I could buy one of those mobile scaffold towers you often see advertised. They would get me high enough, but they generally don’t have the width I need. And they need a good solid flat surface to rest on, which I don’t have. And they are super expensive. Though, having wheels could be useful for future use. My current situation is for the structure to rest on slightly sloping ground (which slopes away from the building).

Idea 1: Build a scaffold tower 4 m wide using timber. Just like I’m building a free-standing deck. I could then reuse the timber for other projects.

Idea 2: You sometimes see second-hand pallet racks for sale (ie. the steel shelving you see in large hardware stores). They can be way taller than 3 m in some warehouses. Use the pallet racks as scaffolding.

Both of these ideas would require the structure to be anchored securely. Take that as a given.

I’m leaning toward Idea 2 because I could use this setup in my shed, as shelves, when the job’s done. What do you think?

[droog]

First off, when you say 3.5 metres off the ground, is that the height of your platform or the height you need to reach to so more like 1.5 m platform height?

Pallet racking is intended for static vertical loads its footprint is as wide as the rails. A live load really should have wider footprint to maintain stability.
The racking also does not address the sloping ground.

A picture is said area may help with ideas.

[havabeer69]

I need to do some repairs to a hut. I’ve been putting it off because I don’t have any way of getting as high as I need to be, and while ladders are fine, I want both hands free. Of course, some sort of scaffold seems the obvious choice.

I need to get myself 3.5 m off the ground and, ideally, it would have a platform 4 m wide. That’s the width of the hut.

I could buy one of those mobile scaffold towers you often see advertised. They would get me high enough, but they generally don’t have the width I need. And they need a good solid flat surface to rest on, which I don’t have. And they are super expensive. Though, having wheels could be useful for future use. My current situation is for the structure to rest on slightly sloping ground (which slopes away from the building).

Idea 1: Build a scaffold tower 4 m wide using timber. Just like I’m building a free-standing deck. I could then reuse the timber for other projects.

Idea 2: You sometimes see second-hand pallet racks for sale (ie. the steel shelving you see in large hardware stores). They can be way taller than 3 m in some warehouses. Use the pallet racks as scaffolding.

Both of these ideas would require the structure to be anchored securely. Take that as a given.

I’m leaning toward Idea 2 because I could use this setup in my shed, as shelves, when the job’s done. What do you think?

couple of cheap/2nd hand A frame ladders and a couple of scaff planks inbetween?


legally I think you're allowed to build the regular bash together metal type scaff up to 4m with out a license. I would talk to some hire mobs, at least this way you can just use it and then get rid of it when not required so you don't have to pull apart and store timber, its also pretty idiot proof.

I would also look at hiring some of the mobile stuff. It's only like $350 for a week from places like Kennard's. they are levelable so they don't need perfectly flat ground to rest on.

I don't think you're going to fine a pallet racking solution for less then what actual scaff is going to cost to hire

[ErrolFlynn]

3.5 m above the ground would take the platform to the lowest point that I need to begin work.

I agree that stability is essential. Before I get up on, whatever I end up using, it would be well braced. I wouldn’t climb on anything that wabbles too much.

If I use the pallet rack solution I’d have to prepare the base. As you say, the racking is meant to rest on a level surface. I would have to prepare the ground. I was thinking of some concrete pads in the right locations to rest the uprights on. (If it can be worked, maybe some steel embedded in the concrete to bolt to the uprights might be better.)


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I thought of a couple of A-frame ladders and plank. But I also thought of the 3 m and quickly changed my mind on that idea. I’d fall off. I know I would. And I really do need it 4 m wide too. That would be a very long plank. I have some weatherboards I want to put up there. So, I need to be able to move from one end to the other.

The thing about renting scaffold is that I know the repair would take me ages. The mobile scaffold I've seen is not as wide as I've seen. The location is a long way from home. I don’t get there as often as I’d like. I’d be renting it for months. And the access is not so easy. All the materials will have to be walked in.

You occasionally see used racking coming up for sale. Not often, but it’s there. And that stuff would be really nice in the shed afterwards; though I suppose I’d have to cut it down to size in order for it to fit inside a shed.

[Moondog55]

Is the building frame strong? If it is why not put a few large timber uprights on the exterior, batten screwed to the top and bottom plates and the noggins. Then a horizontal beam at the correct height and 45degree braces and members at a spacing to hold the planking.
I could see 4 exterior studs in the right places. The wood involved would be cheaper than buying scaffold and safety rail an breeze to put up too.

[ErrolFlynn]

Is the building frame strong?

I’m not sure. The previous owners were proud of their hut. They stomped on the floor to demonstrate how solid it was. And sure enough, nothing shook when her foot hit the floor. But the hut is far from a solid build. As for strength, I kind of wince each time the door shuts to see the wall vibrate. I suspect the timber used may have been a lighter gauge than it should have been. But to be fair, the hut is only used as a weekender and I’m pleased to have it.

Timber probably would be cheaper. It occurs to me that if I used timber, when the job was done I could cut the uprights down to size, and use them as posts for a deck.

The end of the hut shown in the picture isn’t much to look at, but with your back to the hut the view in front is of a small valley and quite serene from that point. It could be a nice place to sit and contemplate the world.

[Moondog55]

That idea isn't mine BTW; it's how I've seen American bricklayers lay-up tall walls on U-Tube. If they need extra tall bracing they just run extra long timbers back down to the ground in the same way we brace walls when framing up houses. Use and re-use ordinary framing timbers.
So running diagonal bracing back down to a star stake works well. Cheap and effective

[havabeer69]

3.5 m above the ground would take the platform to the lowest point that I need to begin work.

I agree that stability is essential. Before I get up on, whatever I end up using, it would be well braced. I wouldn’t climb on anything that wabbles too much.

If I use the pallet rack solution I’d have to prepare the base. As you say, the racking is meant to rest on a level surface. I would have to prepare the ground. I was thinking of some concrete pads in the right locations to rest the uprights on. (If it can be worked, maybe some steel embedded in the concrete to bolt to the uprights might be better.)


537676


I thought of a couple of A-frame ladders and plank. But I also thought of the 3 m and quickly changed my mind on that idea. I’d fall off. I know I would. And I really do need it 4 m wide too. That would be a very long plank. I have some weatherboards I want to put up there. So, I need to be able to move from one end to the other.

The thing about renting scaffold is that I know the repair would take me ages. The mobile scaffold I've seen is not as wide as I've seen. The location is a long way from home. I don’t get there as often as I’d like. I’d be renting it for months. And the access is not so easy. All the materials will have to be walked in.

You occasionally see used racking coming up for sale. Not often, but it’s there. And that stuff would be really nice in the shed afterwards; though I suppose I’d have to cut it down to size in order for it to fit inside a shed.


Makes alot more sense now with that information.

Might be easier to just build your self a frame. I would i still enquire about hire rates for the metal stuff, its normally pretty cheap even for months.

[ErrolFlynn]

It might well be. But I will enquire about scaffold pricing too.

On the pallet rack idea, I had written to a company (SSO Handling and Storage) asking about load capacity. I told them what I was going to do with it. Their response, FYI:

"The only issues I could foresee would be to do with any scaffolding rules and/or uneven ground.
While Racking is certainly strong enough, you would need to ensure it is setup in a safe manner for the task.
A common beam rat5ing for racking is 2000Kg with around 6000Kg per bay. This is all dependent on the size and height.
We have a range of frame and beam options available to suit whichever load ratings are needed though."

[r3nov8or]

It's shouting out for a deck and pergola/veranda which doubles as the basis of scaffold :D

[ErrolFlynn]

I think you're right.

[ForeverYoung]

in the past I found hiring scaffold to be uneconomical
for sloping ground I found kwikstage modular with adjustable legs ideal.
I bought a heap, then sold most of it after usage. Kept some for the current house in case I need to go up 7m.

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[ErrolFlynn]

Yes, buying and reselling seems like it might have potential. Seven metres sounds like a scary exercise. I've never been impressed by the prices of hire equipment. Thanks for the pictures.

[ErrolFlynn]

I doubt I'd be confident to try some of the ideas that havabeer69 and Moondog55 suggested. But this is an intriguing site that shares those ideas.

https://riversonghousewright.wordpress.com/about/17-improvised-scaffolding-cranes/

[Moondog55]

Some good ideas and Medieval techniques at that in the linked site

[havabeer69]

its all fun and games till you fall off the thing and suddenly its "geez I wish I spent $500 more and did it properly now that i'm laying in hospital for weeks with a broken pelvis"

[ErrolFlynn]

Anything involving height needs to be done carefully.

In fact, when I saw this, I thought you have to be kidding.

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Those props would have to be well anchored and solid enough to take the weight. That arrangement seems so vulnerable. Then I realised it's not so different from a ladder and platform. Maybe it's not such a silly idea.

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[ForeverYoung]

Anything involving height needs to be done carefully.

...

Those props would have to be well anchored and solid enough to take the weight. ...

I agree. their angle looks suss to me.
would prefer them to be more vertical.
hope they are not too flexible.

says the guy who has done cantilever scaffold with gym weights of his own body weight on the other end.
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[ErrolFlynn]

Have to laugh. But you're still around. So, presumably, it worked. If it didn't work, you might have had a song/poem or two written about your experience. There's one about a bucket of bricks being pulled to the top of a building with a pulley arrangement that goes wrong.

Here's another couple that made me laugh. A mobile scaffold to die for.

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