Is anyone here familiar with scaffolding?

[2manyrocks]

I have a set of 5x5 scaffold that I bought used.

The Northern Tool set doesn't look that terribly heavy. It's manageable working with it it piece by piece to assemble. All of it together will be heavy to transport and store.

Make certain that you don't ever let the X braces close on your fingers while putting the scaffolds up or taking them down. You could lose some fingers.

If you have a long wall to work on, you could support an aluminum walkboard between two sets of scaffolding...but it can't be allowed to slip and you have to watch yourself not to fall off. You need to assess whether you would be better off using all scaffold or whether adding a walkboard makes sense in your situation.

If you are going to work from the scafford, you could use 2x10 or 2x12 PT for a deck. This is an affordable option for scaffold that will be left exposed for a longer period, and the PT is easy to store.

You want to make sure that whatever you use for a work surface can't slide off the scaffold.

On uneven terrain, having some screw jacks made for scaffolding legs would be pretty useful to get it level. Like everything else, they won't be cheap.

The base has to be solid and level. Once you get it all assembled, it's going to be so heavy that it will be hard to make adjustments later. The pipe legs of the scaffolding have to rest on 2x material or something solid so they don't slip into the ground. You also need to be sure the scaffold leg can't slide off the support material.

You need to position the scaffold close enough to the wall you are working on to be able to do your work, but not so close that it interferes with your access to the work.

Years ago, we were building some habitat houses on sloped lots. There was another group who had a pretty good head start on their house, but they were using ladders. Our group started after them, but put up scaffold. We got done first because it was more efficient than climbing up and down ladders all day to install the siding. We had enough workers that it wasn't that much of a deal to put up the scaffolding.

The scaffolding will take you longer to put up, but once it's up, then you will have a stable place for working, and it will make the job easier overall than climbing up and down ladders a zillion times.

As for the cost, scaffolding prices just seem to go up. You could resell it, but you probably won't if you expect to have to do this kind of work again in the future.

 

[grsthegreat]

If you have a large area to do, moving scaffolding sucks. Been there done that. Used scaffolding when i built my 2 story house. When it came tome to repaint, i rented a towable man lift. Man, that was worth every cent.

i never felt secure walking on scaffolding. No issues with man lift.

 

[JasperFrank]

Go to your local scaffolding rental company, and ask what they have that they are getting rid of. You will need to sign a waiver.
I rented way too long before I outright purchased my set.
How ever i recouped a bit loaning out my set to other people. And of couse they had to sign a waiver.

 

[2manyrocks]

If you have a large area to do, moving scaffolding sucks. Been there done that. Used scaffolding when i built my 2 story house. When it came tome to repaint, i rented a towable man lift. Man, that was worth every cent.

i never felt secure walking on scaffolding. No issues with man lift.

Moving scaffolding to do a large area is a total pain. So much of a pain that IMO, buying an aluminum walkboard to use between sections of scaffolding is something to consider.

If it isn't properly secured, an aluminum walkboard will slide on a metal scaffold like ball bearings on a sheet of solid ice.

It's very important to be certain that the scaffold is set up properly and that all of the decking is properly secured in place.

 

[grsthegreat]

im sorry, but someone not familiar with setting up scaffolding properly is just risking life altering injury to save a few bucks. watch the type of scaffolding and how its set up by professional companies and compare with the junk you can rent. no thanks. il stick to manlifts.

 

[4570Man]

Scaffolding is heavy and time consuming to set up. Assuming a man lift is absolutely off the table using 2 extension ladders with a walk board in between is probably the most practical option.

 

[JJT]

Wow - every year?

we are on year five with Cabot semitransparent oil-based stain, and I am planning ahead for next year to do this!

but what you said is why I want to own - no clock ticking. Work when you can, as much as you can.

I do one side of the house every year, that way I stay ahead of things. If I miss a year, like last year due to the rain every other day, it's not a big deal. Complete coverage in a 4 - 5 year average.

 

[3Ts]

I needed to reside my barn in 2006. It is 2 story with the roof peak at 25'. I knew it was going to take awhile to do the whole thing so I looked at both man lifts and scaffolds. The siding was 12' long hardie planks so 1 person wasn't going to be able to do it. Thus 2 man lifts would be needed, or lots of scaffolding. It was going to be cheaper to buy and resell than to rent. I ended up with commercial grade scaffolding. I expected the job to be about 6 months, but took a year due to "life events happening". Instead of selling it, I held onto it and still have it to this day. I use it instead of ladders. It is much more stable than a ladder and sways less than a man lift so I feel more comfortable on scaffolding than any thing else.

I have both 5' tall and 3' tall legs. I have the cross braces for each (5' cross braces don't work on 3' legs). I have the safety posts and guard rails. I have both the pad feet with the adjustable screw that has an 18" adjustable range and a set of wheels. The scaffolding planks are important! There are 3 types that I'm aware of a) 2x12 planks that are scaffold rated (not the 2x12s from the lumber yard) b) an aluminum frame with hooks on the end and a plywood center and c) all aluminum planks with hooks on the ends - these are extruded with ridges the length of the plank to keep things from sliding or rolling off and they do that very very well. I went with the latter since they were going to be out in the weather for a long time. Each piece of scaffolding weighs less than 40 pounds. I am 73 and still set up and take down scaffolding by myself and I do 2 or 3 levels at times. I do not tie into the building, but that is preferred if you can do it. Instead I have 2 poles 24' long that I tie into the scaffolding at 10' height and run out to a ground anchor. You can probably get away with no anchors at 10', but I don't like things I stand on to wiggle. It is very important that the first level be plumb and square. If you go more than 1 level, be sure you use the pigtails to tie the levels together (I have had them come apart when climbing up and down if you don't use the pigtails).

My vote is for purchase of the better grade of scaffolding. I've had it longer than I anticipated and has come in handy for more things than I ever imagined. I have a burned out light in my barn that is 15' up so I'll be using 3' legs on top of 5' legs to reach it and I can do it when I get a round-2-it.

 

[LD48750]

Have you considered ladders & ladder jacks?

Amazon.com : ladder jacks

 

[KilroyJC]

I do one side of the house every year, that way I stay ahead of things. If I miss a year, like last year due to the rain every other day, it's not a big deal. Complete coverage in a 4 - 5 year average.

Oh - okay. I thought you were doing the whole house every year!!