Hi, What are the groups thoughts on the quality and stability of the cheap scaffold towers (150ukp - 300ukp) compared to the more expensive (1000ukp
- 1500ukp). The obvious difference in most is the material used in the construction I.E steel as against aluminium. Has anyone used the cheaper models and would recommend any makes/suppliers. I have Googled and found
I don't see why they have to be expensive. It is, after all, only tubing, which is a cheap material when bought in bulk. Any welds have to be done properly, of course, but it ain't rocket science. If you're only going to be using one occasionally, I see nothing wrong with the "cheap" brands. When I last toyed with the idea myself, I looked at Top Tower(s).
MM
It's almost entirely dependent on how high you want to go.
Steel towers are horrible, but bearable up to a point. I see they do a 27' one, which would be distinctly scary in my opinion.
What do you want to do with it?
Will
Replace sofit and facia on one side of house and remove tiles and re-felt (Tyvek) on both, and then just general maintenance and render painting from then on.
Cheers
Tank
I think you'll struggle to remove and refelt any significant amount of roof from any kind of scaffold tower, and certainly not a cheapy steel one.
Having *just* had a whole house re-roofed (scaffolding finished coming down yesterday), I have some idea what a roof's-worth of tiles looks like...
I don't think any commercial roofer would contemplate for a second using anything other than proper scaffolding.
What about hiring something decent (proper clipped tube if necessary) for the big work, and get a cheap tower for the painting afterwards?
Will
I have a similar type of steel tower, made up of sections. The first build up was very difficult. I had to do a lot of filing to get things to fit.
The sections are also quite heavy when you are carrying them high up. There was also quite a lot of flexibility, but I was able to tie it in, onto a chimney.
"Tank" wrote | What are the groups thoughts on the quality and stability of | the cheap scaffold towers (150ukp - 300ukp) compared to the | more expensive (1000ukp - 1500ukp). The obvious difference in | most is the material used in the construction I.E steel as | against aluminium.
Apart from height and any additional safety/duty ratings, the expensive ones are probably made to survive being on building sites in all weathers and subject to the tender mercies of site operatives.
I wouldn't want one that wobbled, though. Check the cheap ones for completeness eg all braked castors and toe boards etc.
Owain
To clarify, I have done half of one side and a quarter of the other,by moving the old tiles onto a new extension, by working from on the roof and a ladder, so any tower is an improvement!!
Tank
Well, I take my hat off to you! Did you strip one felt's width at a time and work up like that? What kind of felt are you using?
Will
The new extension made the roof into a 'T' shape so the run from the valley to the old roof had to overlap, so I thought I would take the old tiles from the back of the house and put them on the front of the new roof to match. While the old tiles were moved, I then replaced the old felt with new (Tyvek membrane), with the intent of stripping the rest later. So the whole half of the back was stripped and then recovered.
Tank
Hi
I need to put 20' of scaffolding on a steep slope: help!
Regards, NT
I bought the Quick-fit 18' tower. It's perfectly ok and reasonable quality at the price but at full height you would need to tie it in - ring bolts in the wall etc. as it is a bit wobbly. I also bought the castors but these are not so good - they don't all lock properly and even at half height they make the whole thing very shaky. But I use them anyway and if necessary I stabilise it all by packing blocks/wedges under. It comes with diagonal braces but I also stiffen it up by applying a spanish windlass across the other diagonal. You get what you pay for - expensive aluminium scaffold towers are much better - if you get one second hand you can sell it on and get your money back, which I would have done had one been available at the time.
I just did our roof + chimney repairs etc, chapel conversion 15M at highest point. But with real scaffolding all round. Expensive, but makes the job very accessible, safer, easier. quicker. All the slates, timbers and tools could be left up on the scaffold instead of endless carrying up and down. Trying to do it on the cheap with ladders, towers etc would have taken months and been very difficult, dangerous, virtually impossible
cheers
Jacob
True. Trying to bash a top section to fit while up a steel tower isn't much fun. A cheap one has to have stabilisers, boards, height adjustable feet etc added once you are up a few sections, the frames on their own are very inexpensive.
I would recommend the alloy type if you have the room to store and move it. My steel one fits in the back of the car, but the alloy one needs a Transit to shift it. Try agricultural / machinery auctions for second hand ones - steel £15>50, alloy £200>300. Ebay towers are about double that.
THe alloy one is a joy to use compared to the steel; just lift the stabilisers in and wheel it a bit further along.
Agreed. Ask Rod Hull.
Buy&sell is cheaper than renting, with the benefit of decent kit.
Just as a matter of interest, because I may want to do it one day, what do scaffolding companies charge? And do they charge by the week? E.g. what would it cost (very roughly) to put scaffolding up one front wall of a bog-standard three bedroom semi for a month? Let's assume only up to the eaves.
MM
Just a guess - £500 or perhaps less. They will happily give you a quotation. You would estimate the time you need it and they would quote for that. You also need to tell them exactly what you want to do so that they can put lifts, boards etc in the best positions. A 'lift' is a stage - each stage goes up at a workable height from the previous one. If you go over time then you would pay extra but they are generally a bit flexible - and in turn won't necessarily come and remove it all when you want them to The more jobs you do the better the value of course, so think roof , chimney, barge boards, rain water goods, aerials, sky-lights, etc. I was amazed at how easy it made our job and how much time it saved - things like repairing guttering are a struggle from a ladder but dead easy at knee height.
cheers
Jacob
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