On Sun, 6 Jun 2004 16:20:51 +0100, Frank Shute
wrote:

I need to put up scaffolding around my summer house in Finland in
order to do some work on the outside.

Since softwood lumber is plentiful and cheap there I was thinking of
building it myself.

I really wouldn't do this.

Steel tube scaffolding is quick to assemble and because it's re-usable
afterwards, the cost is reasonable. A free-standing steel tower is
even better.

For timber, then I know how to build semi-permanent staging. This is
strong, safe, and perfectly adequate to work from. However it takes
appreciable work to assemble it, even if the timber cost is free.
There's no way I know to build something with the ease and low labour
costs of steel tube and scaff clamps. I can do it, but not quickly.

If the timber is truly free, or if you're buying it anyway for some
other reason, then maybe this will work for you. But I can't really
see it, because of the extra workload and time involved.

It's also illegal to do this in the UK, unless it's entirely on your
own property, it's more than some magic distance from the nearest
public road, and no public or even other tradesmen have access to it.
The rules changed a few months ago and any "scaffolding" must now be
of approved design and checked by a qualified scaffolding rigger (NB -
you can still assemble it yourself, so long as they OK it). Given the
public hazards caused by some dodgy scaffolding in the past, then I
don't have a problem with this ruling.


BTW - You might like to post in uk.d-i-y too.


--
Smert' spamionam