The Scaffolding Components You Will Need
If you are a builder or manage a construction company, and parts or all of your next project will necessitate workers operating at height, you will need a suitably safe and stable working platform. While, once, this would have been constructed from bamboo or timber poles bound together with rope, today, most scaffolds are now fabricated from metal, predominantly steel. Furthermore, the wide selection of scaffolding components now available has extended the range of applications for this tried and tested construction aid.
Several contingencies will influence which of the various parts may be required for a given task. Such factors include the profile of the building that the artisans will be working on and the condition of the surrounding terrain, and whether it will provide the necessary support for the elevated platform. If the latter is sufficiently firm, base jacks, standards, ledgers, hook-on boards, and an appropriate selection of connectors and couplers should cover the bulk of scaffolding components necessary to construct a tower or two. However, if, for any reason, ground-level support is impractical, the popular Kwikstage range includes cantilever brackets to overcome such difficulties.
In practice, the Kwikstage product requires a degree of skill to assemble and dismantle that is often unavailable to the small builder. Consequently, this product is generally favoured by the larger construction companies that are more likely to include experienced scaffolders among their workforce. It also has many items designed to improve safety and facilitate the building process. For example, other invaluable scaffolding components in the Kwikstage range include toe boards and clips to ensure loose objects cannot fall from the platform. There are also staircases and handrails for safe access, trap doors to cover gaps, and ladder beams to provide a bridge between two adjacent towers.
The wide selection of parts for this product and their innovative design explain its exceptional versatility and popularity with the country’s leading construction companies. No matter how complex the profile of a building may be, a scaffolder can construct a platform to follow it accurately with the scaffolding components in the Kwikstage range.
However, even though they often need to work at height, not all builders can afford to employ a trained scaffolder. Fortunately, there is a simpler option for the smaller building firms and the painters and decorators. The Selflock product is the perfect alternative for their purposes because it has been designed for rapid erection and dismantling by unskilled workers. Ready-made interlocking frames and the absence of couplings minimise the number of scaffolding components required and simplify its use. Both products are made from SABS-approved materials and are available in South Africa from Disc-O-Scaff.