Is anyone here familiar with scaffolding?

[grsthegreat]

This thread is timely for me, I was just on my scaffolding today and thinking how much I enjoy being able to access any point on any building on the property. I've used it three times in the past week.

Here's a picture of my sons painting the barn:

View attachment 758484

I have twelve frames that I bought from ScaffoldMart.com in 2019. There are several online vendors that all seem to be competitive, at that time they had the best deal but it was pretty close.

They are the standard frames that are 5' deep and 7' wide, but I went with ones that are only 5' high rather than the more common 6'8. The smaller frames are about 40 pounds and I find they're easy to set up with one person, you can stand securely on a platform while you lift the frame up shoulder high to do the next level. With taller frames you're lifting over your head to assemble and it gets dicey. I've been thinking about getting some taller frames to use on the bottom level. One drawback of the 5' frames is you have to duck to go under them which gets old if you're doing a lot of side-to-side work.

I got ladder style frames, so there are four levels that you can put a plank on each frame, and two levels where you can put three planks down and cover the entire floor. I bought three of the aluminum planks which I use for my main work areas. I also find it handy to have a bunch of 8' 2x12's as you can see in the picture to have a place to stand while going up and down, I don't like them for working from though. I put a piece of 1x2 on the end so they can't slip off.

Note that I have screw jacks on all of the feet. This allows me to get another 18" of lift in addition to making sure everything is level. In the foreground is a 2x8 with two screw jacks bolted to it, that's the way I like to have the base Note also the outriggers at the bottom which make it more stable. The ground around the barn is very uneven and the outriggers come in very handy.

In the picture the left side is on higher ground. I built a crib out of 4x4's to get even with the second level of the rest of the scaffold.

I bought one set of guardrails which is on the top in the picture. You can use regular frames as guardrails, but these are lighter and cheaper.

In 2019 the whole setup was about $1250 and shipping was about $450. I'm sure it's more now.

Once you get the base set it goes up pretty quickly. This barn is 35 feet to the peak so I wanted to be stable so I spent a fair bit of time on the bottom row. Once the bottom was set we moved frames around as needed. The next time I might treat myself to a few more frames so I don't have to move so much. On today's job I was fixing a soffit about 20' off the ground so it was simpler, it took about an hour to set up the scaffold, three rows plus the guardrails.

Glad you enjoy that……id have sore feet.

from toes grabbing onto boards to hold me inplace.

give me a manlift anytime.

 

[2manyrocks]

Buying in 2019 had to be cheaper than today. One of the problems with buying used scaffolds is so often they've been bent enough that they are hard to take apart.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Scaffolding can be rented for a reasonable rental rate. BUT - be aware, when (not if) you return it you will be hit with some high prices for missing pieces such as brackets, etc..

 

[Diggin It]

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.

 

[MossRoad]

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.

You set the base up from the ground, then put the decking on. Then you climb up on the nice solid decking and pull the pieces of the next set up one at a time. Pull up one side, set it in place, pull up the next side and set it in place. Pull up the bracing and hook it up. Pull up the decking and put half of it on. Lean the other half through the hole you’re standing in. Climb up and pull that leaned decking up and attach it. Continue. Easy Peazy!

 

[MossRoad]

H type scaffolding with 2 people.

 

[MossRoad]

Another type with 1 person.

 

[t1kilo]

An articulating man lift would most likely work, even with the deck and terrain issues.

https://www.unitedrentals.com/marke...-lift-60-ft-4wd-gas-or-diesel-power-available

The ability to reach out and over would allow you to work around some of the obstacles. Assuming you can get to two diagonal corners, you might be able to reach the entire thing.

Edit*
I forgot to mention that they have different length booms available.

 

[fidowanttobe]

I’m still looking for a used man lift in need of repair.

Or the old Pettibone/telehandler in the trees or behind the building somewhere? Me too !

 

[2manyrocks]

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 thought the opening in the deck sections was to allow climbing up between the two sections, but at that height, I'd have completely covered the scaffold with decking. Too easy to fall through the opening.