Realistic to work off scaffold tower for re-pointing work?

[clive.r.long]

Hi,

Although not a DIY question, the people on this group may well have relevan t knowledge and experience.

I have a flat, in a small block of nine, with three floors (storeys), groun d, first and second. On the upper storey there is a lot of pointing missing and although it may not affect the wall's ability to rsist water ingress, the big gaps in the pointing looks unsightly. As the block is going to be d ecorated it seems penny-pinching not to address this pointing. As I underst and, to make a durable job some of the mortar needs to be raked out before putting in new pointing mortar. If the gaps were just filled with mortar wi thout raking I am told the mortar would fall out in a "few" years. Because of the height, and the nature work involved, I am told (and it seems correc t to me) it would be difficult and probably dangerous to try to do this wor k from ladders. I am also told to scaffold the whole block is "expensive" ( although I don't have a price). Does anyone think it is realistic for the w ork to be done from a moveable scaffolding tower that was somehow securely tied into the wall wherever particular work was being done? We could even b uy a tower and resell it if that proved cheaper in the long run.

Thanks in advance,

Clive

[Nightjar]

Hi,

this group may well have relevant knowledge and experi ence.

with three floors (storeys), ground, first and second. On the upper storey there is a lot of pointing missin g and although it may not affect the wall's ability to rsist water ingress, the big gaps in the pointing loo ks unsightly. As the block is going to be decorated it seems penny-pinching not to address this pointing. As I understand, to make a durable job some of the morta r needs to be raked out before putting in new pointing mortar. If the gaps were just filled with mortar with out raking I am told the mortar would fall out in a "f ew" years. Because of the height, and the nature work involved, I am told (and it seems correct to me) it wo uld be difficult and probably dangerous to try to do t his work from ladders. I am also told to scaffold the whole block is "expensive" (although I don't have a pr ice). Does anyone think it is realistic for the work t o be done from a moveable scaffolding tower that was s omehow securely tied into the wall wherever particular work was being done? We could even buy a tower and re sell it if that proved cheaper in the long run.

I h ave always found scaffolding towers to be cumbersome, particularly if you need to keep moving them. I woul d get a quote for (a) proper scaffolding and (b) the hire of a cherry picker or, depending upon having s uitable access at ground level, a mobile scissors lift .

[tabbypurr]

ant knowledge and experience.

und, first and second. On the upper storey there is a lot of pointing missi ng and although it may not affect the wall's ability to rsist water ingress , the big gaps in the pointing looks unsightly. As the block is going to be decorated it seems penny-pinching not to address this pointing. As I under stand, to make a durable job some of the mortar needs to be raked out befor e putting in new pointing mortar. If the gaps were just filled with mortar without raking I am told the mortar would fall out in a "few" years. Becaus e of the height, and the nature work involved, I am told (and it seems corr ect to me) it would be difficult and probably dangerous to try to do this w ork from ladders. I am also told to scaffold the whole block is "expensive" (although I don't have a price). Does anyone think it is realistic for the work to be done from a moveable scaffolding tower that was somehow securel y tied into the wall wherever particular work was being done? We could even buy a tower and resell it if that proved cheaper in the long run.

of course.

Missing pointing affects rain ingress & if a lot is missing, structural int egrity. Re raking, you just need to ensure the new mortar meets the bricks above & below.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Having fairly recently had my house scaffolded for painting, it pays to shop around. Quotes here varied by 100%. Get an idea of a guide price then perhaps grab a scaffolder working in the area and get him to quote. That's how I got the best deal.

[Rednadnerb]

Having done it before I don't see a problem with re-pointing from a tower. It is is not like painting where you would have to keep going back to the same area to prime, undercoat etc.

[Tim+]

Consider a cherry picker. I hired a small towable one when I painted my house and it was a huge help.

Tim

[Robert]

Scaffolding may be cheaper than hiring a cherrypicker for several days. You or whoever does the re-pointing can then take their time and avoid working in bad weather. If going the scaffolding route get a price for erecting, dismantling AND hire for worst case scenario timewise. Does anyone else in an adjacent flat need to do work ? Can you share the costs ?

If the whole block is going to be decorated, the block may well have to be scaffolded anyway - can you not do the work then ?

[Bill Wright]

Hi,

this group may well have relevant knowledge and experi ence.

with three floors (storeys), ground, first and second. On the upper storey there is a lot of pointing missin g and although it may not affect the wall's ability to rsist water ingress, the big gaps in the pointing loo ks unsightly. As the block is going to be decorated it seems penny-pinching not to address this pointing. As I understand, to make a durable job some of the morta r needs to be raked out before putting in new pointing mortar. If the gaps were just filled with mortar with out raking I am told the mortar would fall out in a "f ew" years. Because of the height, and the nature work involved, I am told (and it seems correct to me) it wo uld be difficult and probably dangerous to try to do t his work from ladders. I am also told to scaffold the whole block is "expensive" (although I don't have a pr ice). Does anyone think it is realistic for the work t o be done from a moveable scaffolding tower that was s omehow securely tied into the wall wherever particular work was being done? We could even buy a tower and re sell it if that proved cheaper in the long run.

Thanks in advance,

My house is a similar height. I pointed the brickwork where necessar y and repainted last year. I found that a scaffold t ower was cheapest because of the amount of proper sc affold it would have needed. It is possible to move a tower of that height but the surface has to be dead

level and smooth. Definitely not grass. Obviously y ou need a proper tower, 4ft x 6ft. Figure out how many 'lifts' (floors you need for convenient working. T he first thing I did at each location was drill the wa lls and insert anchor bolt eyes at two heights at 2m intervals. These stay in and will be useful in the future. They made the tower very secure. You must rak e out deeply and fill properly. Don't leave a gap behi nd the new mortar. You can buy a suitable tower for about £1,700 + VAT. I hired at £120 per week.

Bill

[newshound]

The devil is in the detail, though. It's easy to run mine along the front of the house, which has a narrow concrete "path" adjacent to the wall and using scaffold boards for the outer wheels over a lawn. I have a second hand professional aluminium one which is about 6' x 4', with outriggers it is perfectly stable up to the gutter of the 3 story bit.

Mine cost about £600 off ebay, it was well used but still functional. The buffalo board on the platforms is beginning to look a bit tired after about 10 years stored outside since I bought it.

I would strongly recommend a second hand aluminium "pro" tower over a budget steel one. But yes, cherry picker or scissors lift may be another option.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I had scaffolding erected when I repointed, but it had to go to the top of, and around, the chimney in my case. It did make it very easy to do the work. IIRC, it was around £450 for a gable end plus up and around the chimney at the roof apex, with several lifts (working platforms) to access the higher parts of the wall and chimney, and a pulley and rope. In comparison, it was £300 to have scaffolding up to the gutter line on the front or back walls, with two lifts, and strong enough to store the concrete roof tiles whilst I refelted and rebattened part of the roof. This was some years ago, and prices vary by location - much more expensive in London for example.

IME, the cost includes erecting, dismantling, and 4 weeks hire. The cost per extra week is tiny and not worth worrying about (and they have never bothered to charge me it anyway). It can be more of an issue getting it taken down at all. Many scaffolding companies can only store a small amount of their scaffolding and rely on most of it being erected somewhere most of the time, so it can end up staying up until they have somewhere else to move it to. This is not great if you just had lots of new lead flashing fitted, and would rather the scaffolding was taken down before someone uses it to steal all the lead.