Is anyone here familiar with scaffolding?

[quicksandfarmer]

You will NOT find me on that kind of scaffold or that high up. I can't even begin to imagine the time and difficulty in setting that up, lifting the pieces into place and then still not having a complete platform to stand on.

And then there's the weight. OP wants to set something up on a deck that looks to be elevated by some height. You'd be adding considerable weight on top of the deck.

It still looks like you have to climb straight up, which I cannot do.

I don't like heights. I don't like ladders, and I don't like walking roofs. If I'm going to do a job, I find scaffolding makes me the most comfortable. It doesn't wobble, so I don't get the moments I sometimes get on a ladder where the ladder starts shaking and my knees start shaking and it's hard to make it stop.

The safest way up is to use a ladder. I find that if I climb on the inside, with at least one plank on every level, I feel very protected.

 

[KilroyJC]

You should consider the Hardie boards as a replacement as long as it's only appearance and not structural. They're impervious to most every thing and holds paint very well.

I was actually considering Trex - I will look into Hardie and compare/contrast. THANK YOU,

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Here's the way I do it:

First level is on the ground, you do it standing on the ground.

Second level is only five feet off the ground, you do it standing on the ground too. I might have to climb about a foot to get the braces on.

Third level, the top of the second level is at ten feet. I put a plank at six feet, this is easily done from the ground. Then I lean all of the components for the third level against that plank, and climb up onto it. I'm safe and secure, with a cage on four sides at mid-chest height. I pick up the pieces that are leaning against the plank and put them in place, also at mid-chest height.

For four or more levels I use ropes. The key is "ropes," plural. I stack all of the components for one level on the inside of the scaffolding, and put a rope on each one. That way it's one trip up and down for each level. I put two planks four feet below the top, with a gap between them of about 8", and pull everything thing up through the middle of the scaffold through that gap. The whole time I've got a cage around me on all four sides and two planks under my feet. The 5' scaffold sections are only about 40 pounds and I'm only lifting them to mid-chest height so it doesn't feel sketchy at all.

I've also set up the more common 6'8" sections by myself and that is a lot scarier. They're heavier, they're top-heavy, and you have to lift them a lot higher, up over your head. That's why I bought the 5' sections.

Let me offer one more tip for when it's time to take it down: If you lower a section using a doubled loop of rope, you can let go of one end and pull the rope back up. That way you can lower everything down without ever having to go down the scaffold. For things like planks and braces that you can't easily loop a rope around, I go up with a bunch of short pieces of rope and tie a loop to them for lowering.

If you tie one end of the rope to the scaffold you only have to hold half the weight. The scaffold frames I use are only 40 lbs but that way I only have to hold 20 lbs. Plus you feel a lot more secure with one end tied off.

 

[KilroyJC]

Let me offer one more tip for when it's time to take it down: If you lower a section using a doubled loop of rope, you can let go of one end and pull the rope back up. That way you can lower everything down without ever having to go down the scaffold. For things like planks and braces that you can't easily loop a rope around, I go up with a bunch of short pieces of rope and tie a loop to them for lowering.

If you tie one end of the rope to the scaffold you only have to hold half the weight. The scaffold frames I use are only 40 lbs but that way I only have to hold 20 lbs. Plus you feel a lot more secure with one end tied off.

Work smarter not harder - I like that!

 

[MossRoad]

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I'm late seeing this scaffolding post, but for our new horse stable I bought scaffolding because I had lots of projects, lights, fan, etc.
I also bought stabilizer outrigger wheels that can easily be adjusted (out,in,sideways). Of all places I bought mine from Walmart online.
It's 24 feet up to the fan, base of roof cupola.
Floor is level concrete, I don't know how it would work outside on grass, I don't think it would well unless it was on level, probably on plywood.
For me it's worked well even with two 220# guys working on top platform.

 

[KilroyJC]

I'm late seeing this scaffolding post, but for our new horse stable I bought scaffolding because I had lots of projects, lights, fan, etc.
I also bought stabilizer outrigger wheels that can easily be adjusted (out,in,sideways). Of all places I bought mine from Walmart online.
It's 24 feet up to the fan, base of roof cupola.
Floor is level concrete, I don't know how it would work outside on grass, I don't think it would well unless it was on level, probably on plywood.
For me it's worked well even with two 220# guys working on top platform.
View attachment 758764View attachment 758765

I like those folding outriggers - something else to look for!

 

[KilroyJC]

I haven’t heard that in AGES —— THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Let me offer one more tip for when it's time to take it down: If you lower a section using a doubled loop of rope, you can let go of one end and pull the rope back up. That way you can lower everything down without ever having to go down the scaffold. For things like planks and braces that you can't easily loop a rope around, I go up with a bunch of short pieces of rope and tie a loop to them for lowering.

If you tie one end of the rope to the scaffold you only have to hold half the weight. The scaffold frames I use are only 40 lbs but that way I only have to hold 20 lbs. Plus you feel a lot more secure with one end tied off.

Today I had to take down a section of scaffolding where I had been repairing a rotten fascia board. It was three frames high with a guardrail. Standing level 16 feet off of the ground. I used a rope for the guardrail and the top frame, then the other two frames I got from the ground. One trip up the scaffold and one trip down.

I timed myself: 22 minutes to get everything on the ground.

 

[KilroyJC]

Today I had to take down a section of scaffolding where I had been repairing a rotten fascia board. It was three frames high with a guardrail. Standing level 16 feet off of the ground. I used a rope for the guardrail and the top frame, then the other two frames I got from the ground. One trip up the scaffold and one trip down.

I timed myself: 22 minutes to get everything on the ground.

This is the kind of info I like - thank you for doing the timing!!!

 

[JJT]

I'm up 4 sections and will only setup and break down once while I paint the front of my house, my scaffolding is on wheels. Less than 30 minutes of build time, and only 2 minutes to unlock the wheels and move it over 8'. When I get over 3 sections high I tie off an extension ladder to the stack, it's an effective outrigger. The wobble is minimum.

 

[KilroyJC]

I'm up 4 sections and will only setup and break down once while I paint the front of my house, my scaffolding is on wheels. Less than 30 minutes of build time, and only 2 minutes to unlock the wheels and move it over 8'. When I get over 3 sections high I tie off an extension ladder to the stack, it's an effective outrigger. The wobble is minimum.

Thank you!

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Today I had to take down a section of scaffolding where I had been repairing a rotten fascia board. It was three frames high with a guardrail. Standing level 16 feet off of the ground. I used a rope for the guardrail and the top frame, then the other two frames I got from the ground. One trip up the scaffold and one trip down.

I timed myself: 22 minutes to get everything on the ground.

OK, another update: today I set up the scaffolding to get up on the roof of the barn to fix a loose shingle. I timed myself, it was 34 minutes to set up three sections plus guardrails. Just getting the bottom section level and set was 14 minutes, from there the rest goes faster. This is as tall as I go without using a rope -- 16 foot standing level -- it is slower if you have to use a rope.

So figure on an hour to set it up and tear it down at that height.

 

[Raul-02]

I have a dozen sections of scaffolding, and stain at least one side of my 2 story house every summer. I'd love to rent a lift, but I don't want to paint 8 hours a day, for a week, because the meter is running on the rental. I leave the scaffolding up for 3 - 4 weeks and take my time. Scrape, wire brush, catch the loose nails, set a few screws, recaulk, two coats of stain, then two coats of on the trim and then spot check/stain all my drips......

With the scaffolding I can work for an hour or for a complete day, there's no rush to get the rental out the door. I go through 6 - 24 gallons of stain a year, depending on how much I get done. We have a big house with an attached garage as well as a 3 bay detached shop/garage.
For planks, I use 8' 2x10 with a 2x4 stringer screwed to the underside to stiffen and prevent the plank from sliding off the scaffolding rails. I'll set 4 at different heights so I don't have to move planks while I'm painting.

Sounds like a good job for an airless sprayer

 

[KilroyJC]

What I am looking at getting, now that I have more info, and this will be x2 so I can set up two towers to straddle our 8x6 entryway vestibule on the other end of the house with a stage between them:

three 5’ walk-through section
one 3’ section
top guardrails
standoff arms to attach to the house
multiple floor panels
two long (12’) stages to put between the towers
leveling feet

what am I forgetting?

thank you!

 

[quicksandfarmer]

What I am looking at getting, now that I have more info, and this will be x2 so I can set up two towers to straddle our 8x6 entryway vestibule on the other end of the house with a stage between them:

three 5’ walk-through section
one 3’ section
top guardrails
standoff arms to attach to the house
multiple floor panels
two long (12’) stages to put between the towers
leveling feet

what am I forgetting?

thank you!

What I found most cost-effective was to start with a tower package and accessorize it. This is the one I started with:

16' Deluxe Stationary Tower - Scaffolding - ScaffoldMart.com

16' scaffolding tower consisting of three 5' X 5' sets, level jacks, walkboards and our deluxe safety guardrail system.

scaffoldmart.com

 

[KilroyJC]

What I found most cost-effective was to start with a tower package and accessorize it. This is the one I started with:

16' Deluxe Stationary Tower - Scaffolding - ScaffoldMart.com

16' scaffolding tower consisting of three 5' X 5' sets, level jacks, walkboards and our deluxe safety guardrail system.

scaffoldmart.com

Yeah - that is what I was looking at, but adding in the two 3-ft extensions for the very to for the highest part of the house.

 

[3Ts]

What I am looking at getting, now that I have more info, and this will be x2 so I can set up two towers to straddle our 8x6 entryway vestibule on the other end of the house with a stage between them:

three 5’ walk-through section
one 3’ section
top guardrails
standoff arms to attach to the house
multiple floor panels
two long (12’) stages to put between the towers
leveling feet

what am I forgetting?

thank you!

Don't forget the pigtails to tie the sections together. The way I read this is that you plan to have an 18' tower with the guard rails at the top. You'll need 16 pig tails for each tower.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Yeah - that is what I was looking at, but adding in the two 3-ft extensions for the very to for the highest part of the house.

The hard part about this is trying to think of every use scenario. That sounds like a good setup, but let me throw out two thoughts:

First, there is a certain usefulness to having all of your frames the same size, that way they're interchangeable. The three-footers aren't that much lighter or cheaper than the five-footers, it might be more useful to get a five foot frame instead of the three-footer. The three-footers also aren't walk-through, so if you're working side-to-side you have to go down a level and go back up to go sideways.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as the lawyers say, I sometimes wish I had some 6.5 foot frames for the bottom two rows. When you've got your feet on solid ground the bigger frames aren't any harder to handle, and you get up 13 feet without leaving the ground. If your bottom two frames were 6.5 feet you wouldn't need the extra three feet. At ground level the 5' frames are kind of a pain because you have to duck to go through them.