Source for scaffolding towers?

[Lobster]

I'm thinking of buying one, approx 4-5m high - does anyone have any recommendations for a good outlet? What can I expect to pay? As a starting point, the ones on Screwfix seem to be around a grand which is a bit mind-boggling; is that about par for the course? Thanks David

[EricP]

Go to the Exchange & Mart site and search for DIY and then Scaffold Towers.

This usually produces a list of the bulk mail order suppliers. But remember it may pay to spend a bit.

[nightjar]

That's at the low end of the range for that sort of height. Unless you intend to make considerably more use of a tower than most DIYers, you are much better off to hire.

Colin Bignell

[Colin]

What sort of things do you need to look out for when buying a scaffold?

Colin

[nightjar]

If you've ever had to put one up, you'll know to buy aluminium, not steel.

Colin Bignell

[jacob]

I got mine from

their cheapest - working height 18ft. Wobbly at full height - needs out-riggers or better still bolting to wall which is a good idea anyway i.e. eye bolts and string ties. Very cheap, quality OK.

cheers

Jacob

[Cicero]

================== The sizes you've quoted (approx 4-5m high ) give approximate working heights of 19' and 22' (5.7 m and 6.9m) and both of these heights are a bit more than is required for the average semi so you might get away with something smaller depending on your needs. Having said that, I've been using two lightweight steel towers (6' x 4') with a nominal working height of 18'. 'Working height' is usually based on the height of the actual tower plus the height of an average man so my towers are about 12' high and my height brings the working height up to the notional 18' 'working height' which is adequate for working on gutters.

I got my towers from a firm in Wolverhampton (C & J Products, Noose lane, Willenhall, Tel. [phone]) about 8 years ago and the cost then was about £60-00 each plus the cost of plain timber boards from a local timber merchant. These have proved very satisfactory for all the work I've done but I wouldn't recommend them for anything which involved heavy loading such as large stacks of bricks etc. Because they're made from lightweight steel they're quite easy to erect and dismantle and subject to not overloading they should be OK for most DIY work. Occasionally I've added a few extras using standard scaffolding clips and poles so they're actually quite versatile for unusual situations like getting over a porch.

Cic.

[usenet]

I bought a galvanised steel one for about £150 a couple of years ago, I saw it advertised in the local paper. It was new and the seller claimed it was from a contract that fell through. He had several dozen of them to sell.

I've since seen others advertised at around the same sort of ball park price so maybe it really is what they cost (or are worth).

Anyway mine has been very useful indeed and I wouldn't be without it.

[usenet]

Not my experience, my steel one is fine to put up. OK, if I was assembling and disassembling it daily it would become hard work but that really isn't normally the case for DIY use. Mine can be moved once assembled so I can go along a wall for example without taking it down and putting it up again.

Given that steel appears to be a *lot* cheaper than aluminium in my case it's a choice of a steel tower or no tower at all.

[Dave Liquorice]

For Ali, yes. Exchange and Mart has been mentioned and you'll find suppliers of steel towers for much less cash.

Note the HSE legislation mentioned in the Screwfix cat that says anyone who can potentially fall more than 2m uses a fall protection system. It take that to mean a safety line and fall arrest block, rather than just safety rails/kicking boards but could be wrong. Anybody know?

[nightjar]

The guidance to the regulations states that a rail, not less than 1.1m high, with a second rail at half that height and a kicking board is deemed to meet the requirement for protection aganst falls. However, you still have to get up the tower, which will require a securely fixed ladder if you don't have a safety line. The towers with integral ladders in one end comply if there is a cage or other system to prevent you falling backwards once you get above

2m.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

I would be dubious about the safety of moving a 5m high tower about (presumably outside) unless it were on a very level surface.

I don't need one often enough to justify buying over hiring. I've borrowed a steel one and hired aluminium. Because the aluminium ones were made for commercial use, they had latching fixings to hold the tower components together and extra diagonal bracings, which made the tower a lot more stable than the steel one. They also had an integral ladder, leading up through a trapdoor in the platform.

Colin Bignell

[usenet]

I think mine is about three or four metres, I agree that moving anything five metres high would have to be done very carefully. As my house is not very tall (upstairs rooms are partially in the roof) it's not a problem for me. The only time I've used the tower at full height is when topping some very tall Leylandii and to do that I tied the tower to the tree (below the bit I was cutting off!).

I think the choice for most DIYers lies between buying a steel tower and hiring an aluminium one. For me the availability of the tower for 'spur of the moment' jobs is a real boon, especially as most jobs for which one needs a tower are weather dependent. It's also (for me) a long way to any hire ship as we live out in the country.

[usenet]

The aluminium (and professional looking) tower that the painters recently used at our office had an external ladder with no protection. Otherwise it looked very stable and sturdy and safe so I don't think it was 'a cheap bodge'.

[G&M]

If it's for own use then Machine Mart have a good aluminium one with outriggers for a few hundred pounds. B&Q also used to do a steel one for a similar price but haven't seen it recently.

But if for professional use you must get the more expensive approved ones which are often but not always steel.

[Peter Scott]

Bought some from: Lansford Access Ltd

Unit 8A East Park Trading Estate

Gordon Road

Fishponds

Bristol BS5 7DR

1.5 inch dia galvanised steel tube 6 feet by 4, 27 feet high with boards and outrigger legs- about 400 quid

You have to check the goods carefully as their delivery service tends to damage a few bits, but they replace quickly. Stable and so far fine.

[e-mail]

Peter Scott