buying/renting scaffolding advice...

[DENNIS MIN]

All,

I"ve got some fascia, soffet, roofing, siding to get done upcoming spring.

So, I am looking at renting some scaffolding, but things tend to take more time than I"d planned for.

Any advice regarding buying some "sections" of scaffolding off e-bay/craigslist/etc?

I think I may need about 5 foot off ground, 45 foot long, for most of the spring/summer. I could stack the scaffolds for the gables.

Thanks in advance,

D.
 

[Zachary Hoyt]

Pipe scaffolding can be had off craigslist or at auctions sometimes, we have 4 sections but they are different sizes so we only can stack 2 high. It is very handy if you are doing a big job. For only 5 feet high I would look at building your own with rough cut lumber, it may not be all that expensive(provided that it is only for your own use or family/friends, I would not put a hired person on a home-made platform). Ladder jacks are another option if you have enough ladders, they are quicker to set up but to me they do not feel as stable as pipe scaffold, they are safe but they wiggle and shake as the ladders bend. Pump jacks are supposed to be handy but I have never used them myself.
Zach
 

[TomH in PA]

Check prices to rent by the week or month, probably not too bad compared to the time you"d spend buying/selling for one job.
 

[DENNIS MIN]

Zachary,

I failed to mention tht our family has constructtion roots...

We tend to do other projects as well. I am leaning towards buying, and eventually selling, key word is eventually.

I was looking at spending a third on rental, so why not own?

D.
 

[Zachary Hoyt]

I agree completely.
Zach
 

[Slowpoke]

I've got 2 sides of a 2 story building, 35' and 40'. To rent I think is about $150/week/section with planks and safety rails. That's 14 sections I am using plus 5-6 more 5' frames. I've had them for about 5 years, buying off CL over a period of time. In 2010-11, 6'-8" frames were going for $5 each, x braces and rails for $4 & $3 each. All the stucco people were closing business. Now things are picking up and cost are much higher. Call a local supplier and ask about their used stuff. You also want screw jacks, makes it much easier to level the sections. Remember, 2 sections need 3 frames.
 

[LAA]

www.surplusscaffold.com -- Got a good deal from these people a few years ago.
 

[Paul in MN]

Just a caution here. Make absolutely sure whatever kind of scaffolding you get is structurally safe.

My 40 yr old son who is agile as a cat used a borrowed scaffold with platform 5 ft from garage floor. He said it looked good, no visible damage but he did see a sticker limiting the load to 500 lbs. Since he weighs 200 and was installing fiberglass insulation in his garage ceiling, he could forsee no problem. No other weights on the platform, and it had a safety rail. It had rolling casters that worked easily. As he had both hands above him with a batt of insul being stuffed between trusses, he heard a SNAP and the scaffold collapsed. The fall was towards his backside, and he was immediately trapped by the safety rail. He landed on his back with his left arm behind him, with sharp broken tubing below and above him. He was working alone. Fortunately he did not break his neck or back or get impaled by the broken tubing, but his left arm and wrist was badly broken with L hand about 1.5" out of line with the lower arm. He drove himself to the hospital in extreme pain. They tried 3 different casts, and finally decided that he'd have to be operated on by a specialist wrist surgeon when the swelling went down, 6 days later. The surgeon worked for 3 hours and told us this is one of the worst wrist jobs he has ever seen with so many shattered fine bone pieces. This happened on the Thursday before Christmas day. The 4th or 5th cast has been put in place with the titanium pins cast into the plaster. He has gone back to work (outside sales), but is very limited in his hours because of the pain.

Long story, but short lesson... Make sure that whatever scaffold you buy or rent is construction quality and is in good structural shape. I think his borrowed scaffold came from the orient, painted yellow, and may have been purchased from Wal Mart or Menards. There are enough broken pieces that it is nearly impossible to determine what caused the failure.

I have 6 or 7 full cribs of construction scaffold in the 5 ft height, with 8 caster wheels. But he thought my stuff was too big and heavy, so he borrowed the lite weight stuff from a friend.

Safety First!!

Paul in MN
 

[El Toro]

You probably should rent one of these. It may be cheaper to hire someone to do it. Hal
Untitled URL Link

 

[WyoDave]

The cost in scaffolding is in the planks. Get aluminum planks if you can afford them. They are lighter and have better traction than wood planks. I always feel more stable standing on my aluminum planks than my plywood ones. I have 6 sets of scaffolding, and they are almost constantly in use either by myself, my family, or my friends. Definitely a good thing to own.

David
 

[George Marsh]

20+ years ago I needed scaffolding. It took me 5 years to completely remodel my house, so I built large saw horses and made my own scaffolding out of treated lumber. One pair of saw horses had 8 ft lets and the other pair had 4 ft legs. You can add longer legs to the 4 ft if needed. I still have the saw horses. They were easy to make. Haven't killed myself. Still use them. Very cheap to make. I even loaded them down with brick. Put 20,000 brick on my house.
 

[DENNIS MIN]

WyoDave,

I get the feeling once I've finished my project, the family/friend events will involve some borrowing of the scaffolding.

I'd probably ask for something in return for the use of it.

That's how I loaned my engine lift, asked for 20 bucks, and get it back to me when you're through.

D.
 

[JMS/.MN]

I built my own. Salvage yard had some 8 foot formed steel members I used as spreaders. Made uprights out of 2x2 steel tubing, smaller tubing bolted on top, cut and shaped to a point. Each support has a mid crossbar so when stacked, makes a ladder up the side. One section mounted on running gear, two more stack for max height of 16-18 feet. Everything stores on the trailer.
 

[Brad Buchanan]

Hey Dennis.

The only way I would buy used scaffolding is from a large rental/lease company or a local contractor who has been around for a while.

A lot of the used stuff around has been dropped, ran over or collapsed.

I much prefer laminated scaffold planks as they are more comfortable to stand on for long periods.

To each his own, though

Brad
 

[sflem849]

You might be cheaper buying a few flat racks and putting them end to end for that short of height.

Seriously (well seriously I have used a flat wagon for scaffolding) TSC has a pretty decent looking setup on sale right now. Somebody else might have an opinion on it.