Source for old scaffold poles ?

[Geoff]

I am in the process of making a climbing frame out of scaffold poles, anyone know of a good source of supply in the East Surrey or West Kent area ? 

I am only after 3 x 2M lengths.

Cheers, Geoff.

[Cicero]

================================== Yellow Pages > Surrey > Scaffolding Sales > R.W.Smales (and others of course).

I buy odds and ends from their Wolverhampton branch.

Cic.

[Geoff]

Thanks for that, seems they have a localish branch.

[Andy Hall]

I needed some of this type of material and fittings to make a substantial rack for timber. I looked at local scaffolding suppliers and most of what was available was quite beaten up, bent and otherwise damaged; plus I wanted some fittings.

In the end I looked at various suppliers and found a reasonable source of supply from an agricultural merchant in Bath who would ship. Delivery wasn't particularly expensive IIRC.

's a comprehensive range of fittings and I think that this would make a good basis for a climbing frame.

[Geoff]

Thanks for that, not worried about the fittings as I have welded the frame together, a 2 mtr cube, not that worried about the condition of the poles either as long as they are straight as they are getting sprayed.

[Andy Hall]

Oh well, fair enough, then.

Sounds like an impressive production. have you designed the whole thing yourself or are you working from some other design?

[Autolycus]

Try a request to your local freecycle group. They seem to come up fairly regularly in my area.

[Geoff]

Did that, collected a old aly clothes line pole ;-)

[Geoff]

It all stated when we were given a stainless steel slide from an old climbing frame that used to be in a pub garden, it was just going to be a frame for that, it sort of grew from there, ideas shamelessly stolen from the various bits at the local rec.

[The Medway Handyman]

Sounds cool. Can we have a picky when its done?

[Andy Hall]

You could branch out.

Think of the liability insurance, though.

[Owain]

Liability insurance for adventure playgrounds is actually less than for 'manufacturered' playgrounds - children tend to have fewer accidents with some rope and old tyres than they do with swings and roundabouts.

Owain

[Andrew Mawson]

roundabouts.

So the premium for my old primary school in Leeds in the early 1950's should have been pretty low, where the 'toys' were just half bricks that we chucked at each other - apart from the odd round of ammunition left over from the war that kids tried to set off by chucking bricks at them rather than each other

AWEM

[Frank Erskine]

That's probably because the type of parents who encourage their kids to use adventure playgrounds are less likely to litigate for incidents than others.

[Geoff]

Yea I'll put something on our website.

Not sure if that was a pun or not !

SWMBO is insisting on digging out the base and filling it with bark.

[Dave Liquorice]

Messy stuff bark, wind will blow it every where when dry, when wet it'll start to rot, makes nice dark stains on clothing.

Whats wrong with children learning that falling over/off things is not a good idea and should be avoided by being carefull and holding on? OK tarmac, concrete, gravel or slabs around play equipment is not a good idea but grass kept at an inch or more rather than bowling green length is soft enough to take a bump but hard enough to instill a learning experience. Heavy wear areas, foot of slide or middle of a swing can have a slab or two without presenting a serious hazard.

[Andy Hall]

Actually, this time it wasn't. I do try to drop them in where I can though, just to make sure that people are awake.

The local pussycat population will love you.

Do make sure that you have the area well drained beneath the bark though.

I reckon that changing the bark every two years or so would be needed.

You might also think about some thick rubber mats like horse mats. Probably more expensive initially, but less over time.

[Roger]

The message from Andy Hall contains these words:

You can get thick interlocking rubber tiles. Much cleaner and more effective than bark but not necessarily more long lasting. There were used in a children's play area near my house but as it was a public area they were quickly torn up and used as missiles.

[Owain]

The earth often tends to wear away around the slab, leaving the edge of the slab exposed, which I think is more hazardous than a flat surface.

I learned to tricycle on a crazy paved garden and the worst bits for injuries were the edges of the paths.

Owain

[Geoff]

That was one of the original plans, they soak up the water like sponge and get very slippery when wet.