Buy Scaffold?

[Slowrenos]

I'm thinking of buying a scaffold.
In the ongoing saga of repairing my house windows, I'm now up to those on the high side (house is single-storey, but on a slope - garage is under the lounge-room). To deal with the lounge-room windows we'd need to be on a platform seven or eight feet off the ground. That means scaffold.
I know how slow I am, and I know I'd be spending a fortune hiring a Kennards scaffold for each window. So, buy one and sell it on Gumtree when the job's finished?
A firm in Dandenong has quoted me $1367 for a suitable brand-new aluminium scaffold. Salesman assured me that it would "hold its value".
Many questions: eg - Aluminium scaffolds come from China, don't they? Are they all of good quality? Would re-selling be a problem? etc.
I'd be grateful for any info or advice.

[ForeverYoung]

buy 2nd hand, sell 2nd hand.
you'll want adjustable screw jack stands, they can be expensive.
no need for aluminium.

I bought a heap of kwikstage which was perfect for my steeply sloping site.
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[ErrolFlynn]

I’m in a similar situation. I need to get myself 3.5 metres off the ground for a job I need to do. Slightly sloping land too, which doesn’t help.

The solution I’m planning is to use pallet racking. (That’s the shelves you see in Bunnings stores.) From time to time, you see racking come up for sale second-hand. Some of it’s reasonably priced. I don’t mean the cheap shelving you might store a can of paint, but the heavy-duty stuff that can support car engines. I like the idea of using it as scaffolding because it will have a use afterwards as shelving in my shed. It comes in various heights, which is good.

You might consider it as a possible solution.

In my case, because of the uneven ground, and because I want a deck on that side, I’m going to build my deck first. That will provide a level surface for the pallet rack frames. I was planning on having the deck posts carefully positioned so that the frame posts would be directly over the deck posts. The whole thing would still need to be braced and secured (perhaps bolted to the deck posts) before climbing onto it.

[ForeverYoung]

I’m in a similar situation. I need to get myself 3.5 metres off the ground for a job I need to do. Slightly sloping land too, which doesn’t help.

The solution I’m planning is to use pallet racking. ....

I sold off 80% of my kwikstage but kept some as I now have a 2 storey place and it might come in handy one day.
packs down nice since it is modular, no frames, just sticks.

I also have 2nd hand pallet racking in my shed.
strong and stable, even at height.
can climb all over it.
not sure how it would go on sloping/uneven ground tho - wouldn't like it myself.

I have 2 workbenches made with it as the spans are very strong.
I have castors on them so you can move them quite easily. Bought the castors from a pallet racking mob so they came with the right brackets for the base.

[ErrolFlynn]

I have 2 workbenches made with it as the spans are very strong.

I've seen this. Versatile things. Shelves under the bench would be so easy to do.

[Slowrenos]

Thanks both for your suggestions. I should have mentioned that the strip of ground between the garage/lounge-room wall and the neighbour's fence is level(ish), so a scaffold on 6-inch wheels could be moved as required.
Aluminium is great for a 9-stone little old lady working mostly on her own. (I know I can manage a Kennards scaffold, but the frames of the old steel one my brother lent me are too heavy).
Buying second-hand sounds like the way to go. Where to look, apart from Gumtree? Should I get on to Facebook?

[ForeverYoung]

... but the frames of the old steel one my brother lent me are too heavy).

the kwikstage is modular so instead of a frame with two vertical sides and some horizontal pieces like in a standard scaffold frame each piece is a single stick - so 2 uprights and then separate horizontal pieces at whatever height you want; so you are carrying a lot less weight with each piece and more flexibility with the set up.


...Buying second-hand sounds like the way to go. Where to look, apart from Gumtree? Should I get on to Facebook?

gumtree is pretty quiet but worth looking.
everyone seems to use FB MarketPlace these days but it is a bit of a mess; searching is problematic - you can search for an item you know is there but FB won't find it. You can set up Search Alert/Notifications but they might only tell you sometimes, and if they do it will be a few days after the item is listed.

There might be second hand dealers near you but they will charge a lot. Better off buying off someone who no longer has a use.

[ErrolFlynn]

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

[ErrolFlynn]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2111528522597350/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

[Slowrenos]

FY: They used Kwikstage quite recently on a building site a few blocks from here, and it was obviously good stuff, but I didn't see it being erected or dismantled. You'd need two people for setting-up, surely? - for the fiddliness, not the weight.
And is it possible to put a module of it on wheels?
EF: Now I'll have OH&S nightmares. (Love the plywood-braced triangles - but then, I just love plywood).

[droog]

And is it possible to put a module of it on wheels?


There are wheels specifically for Kwikstage
e.g. https://www.victoriascaffolding.com.au/products/scaffolding-suppliers/base-jacks/caster-wheel/
https://www.richmondau.com/castors/scaffold-castors/

[ErrolFlynn]

plywood-braced triangles
You'd want to be careful, and use suitable materials, but it seems to work despite looking precarious.

[ForeverYoung]

FY: ... You'd need two people for setting-up, surely? - for the fiddliness, not the weight....

I erected myself on a steep site as per my pics, and I'm a 9 stone old man. So, similar situation :)
But, easier with 2 I would think - as long as you are both on the same wave length :)


... Now I'll have OH&S nightmares. (Love the plywood-braced triangles - but then, I just love plywood).
safety first.
do as I say, not as I do.

[ForeverYoung]

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I just went and looked at a couple of utube videos and they were nonsense, but there should be some good ones out there.
the pic above is one from a pdf I downloaded years ago.

[Slowrenos]

Thanks for the two links, Droog. (Victoria Scaffolding is one of the names of the crowd I've been talking to. And I think I've visited that castor place in my time).
FY: Thanks for pics. Actually my chippie and I are on good terms, and the time we assembled a Kennards scaffold together it went up very quickly. I'm a good gofer.
Things to do:
1. Have a look at youtube videos.
2. Get a Kwikstage quote from Victoria Scaffolding/Scaffeast/AUSF/Whatever they call themselves.

[ErrolFlynn]

So, this (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/920605066271995/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_general&referral_story_type=general&tracking=%7B%22qid%22%3A%22-814769656248386056%22%2C%22mf_story_key%22%3A%22302756885737099219%22%2C%22top_level_post_id%22%3A%22302756885737099219%22%2C%22commerce_rank_obj%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22target_id%5C%22%3A302756885737099219%2C%5C%22target_type%5C%22%3A6%2C%5C%22primary_position%5C%22%3A6%2C%5C%22ranking_signature%5C%22%3A2570911038586853101%2C%5C%22commerce_channel%5C%22%3A501%2C%5C%22value%5C%22%3A0.00010932709605462%2C%5C%22upsell_type%5C%22%3A3516%2C%5C%22candidate_retrieval_source_map%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%228697280397052707%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%228727978353950135%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%229452265734789353%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%228644816832299696%5C%22%3A3043%7D%2C%5C%22grouping_info%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%2C%22lightning_feed_qid%22%3A%22-814770343328701280%22%2C%22lightning_feed_ranking_signature%22%3A%222465810172591680514%22%7D)is probably past your use by date, but I thought it would interest people here.

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[Slowrenos]

Very, very scary. Definitely not for me. If I'm seven or eight feet off the ground, attacking sill bricks with plugging chisel and hammer, I want to be on a solid, railed platform.

[havabeer69]

So, this (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/920605066271995/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_general&referral_story_type=general&tracking=%7B%22qid%22%3A%22-814769656248386056%22%2C%22mf_story_key%22%3A%22302756885737099219%22%2C%22top_level_post_id%22%3A%22302756885737099219%22%2C%22commerce_rank_obj%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22target_id%5C%22%3A302756885737099219%2C%5C%22target_type%5C%22%3A6%2C%5C%22primary_position%5C%22%3A6%2C%5C%22ranking_signature%5C%22%3A2570911038586853101%2C%5C%22commerce_channel%5C%22%3A501%2C%5C%22value%5C%22%3A0.00010932709605462%2C%5C%22upsell_type%5C%22%3A3516%2C%5C%22candidate_retrieval_source_map%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%228697280397052707%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%228727978353950135%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%229452265734789353%5C%22%3A805%2C%5C%228644816832299696%5C%22%3A3043%7D%2C%5C%22grouping_info%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%2C%22lightning_feed_qid%22%3A%22-814770343328701280%22%2C%22lightning_feed_ranking_signature%22%3A%222465810172591680514%22%7D)is probably past your use by date, but I thought it would interest people here.

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wouldn't the platform be angled towards the house on the same angle as the ladder. on a rung it might not be noticable but on a flat surface you'd be for ever leaning forward?

[ErrolFlynn]

It looks as though some adjustment is possible.