Structural issues outside the house are normally dealt with using your tools and a ladder to get you there. The ladder is all well and good for small projects but if you need to carry something heavy as you climb up, this quickly escalates into a hazardous situation. One slip of your foot and it can lead to serious injuries. Positioning is another thing to consider. Even if you manage to get to where you need to, you’ll only be able to reach as far as the current placement of ladders allows you. That said, this is where the scaffolding shines.
If you’re not familiar with it yet, it’s essentially a temporary structure used to support a worker and their materials to aid in the process of constructing, maintaining, and repairing a building, bridge, and other man-made structures. They are commonly used on big construction sites to safely access as much work area as possible while still being able to carry around the materials you need right beside you. For small projects, a ladder can be a more practical solution but as you move onto bigger jobs, scaffoldings will be a necessary tool to use.
COMMON TYPES OF SCAFFOLDING
1. Bamboo/Wood Scaffolding
This type of scaffolding is commonly used because it is cheaper and easier to construct. Although it is considered unfit for tall structures or industrial use because of its poor durability in various weather conditions.
2. Suspended Scaffolding
It is often used for cleaning glass windows and transporting materials from any location within the structure. This is a movable platform to easily access one floor to another with ease, making it an effective and efficient scaffolding
3. Coupler Scaffolding
This scaffold platform is made using metal or steel hole pipes. Commonly used for industrial projects because of its ability to withstand harsh environments and heavy materials for construction projects.
Now that we know what scaffolding and the common types being used, let’s take a look at the pros and cons when using scaffolding to help us with our construction projects.
PROS
1. Accessibility
Scaffolding can interconnect more layouts or bridging points to ensure access to other areas of the structure and helps create a safe and secure working space for workers. If a scaffold is built around a structure, building, repairing, cleaning, and transporting materials can be done quickly and make work a lot faster.
2. Durability
Scaffolds are planned and built carefully to withstand any workload, by using metal or steel materials will make the scaffold more durable and long-lasting.
3. Safety
The main purpose of scaffolding is for workers to work safely especially on tall structures. So using and building it is definitely a must for maximum safety.
CONS
1. Assembling and Dismantling
Assembling and dismantling the scaffolding is no easy task, the higher the structure is, the higher the scaffolding is made. So building it and removing it can be a bit of a hassle.
2. Build Quality
The quality of scaffolding will depend on the materials used to build it, weather conditions, and the amount of time the scaffold will be used will also be a determining factor. If you build a wood scaffold in a rainy environment, the chances of the wood absorbing the water is extremely high making your scaffold soft, easy to break, and unsafe overtime.
3. Requiring large area
Building will require an area to build it, using scaffolding on tight or small areas is not ideal and may only cause danger and hazards to both the worker and the structure.
Depending on the timeframe, location, and structure size of a project, you can easily identify what type of scaffolding you are going to use. There are other options that you can use aside from scaffoldings to reach high places especially when the area you are working on is very limited. To know more about scaffolding alternatives, check out our article about it here. You can always reach out to our team at GetPro Construction and we’ll be happy to discuss what you have in mind for your project and guide you on the best and safest route to take in all your construction projects. To learn more about our services, contact us at (734) 822-9595 or send us an email at info@getproco.com.
