scaffold tower

WobblyDog

I'm nervous when more than 50cm off the ground. My experiences:

- I hired a commericial-quality BOSS aluminium tower for a couple of days. With the platform at 3.5 metres, it felt rock-solid, and I was quite comfortable repairing my gutters at that height.

- I bought a cheapish aluminium tower from Screwfix (less than half the cost of an equivalent BOSS tower). With the platform at 3.5 metres, it's a lot more wobbly that the BOSS, but acceptable to me. It has enough bits to go to a platform height of 5 metres. I haven't tried that. I suspect it would be safe-ish, but very wobbly.

Both towers were very good for house painting, gutter repairs etc. Also useful for pruning deciduous trees in Winter.
They weren't much use for pruning my conical conifers, because they are much wider at the bottom than the top, and it's not possible to get the tower close enough. If you have cylindrical conifers, a tower would probably be fine.

If you're nervous at height and want a platform height over 4 metres, I would recommend spending extra on a stronger and more rigid tower, otherwise you might find using the tower quite unpleasant.

WobblyDog

A couple of other things:
- Height-adjustable legs are very useful, and much better than having to pack-out the feet with bits of wood.
- Most manufacturers seem to quote a working height that is 2 metres above the platform height. This might be OK for a tall person painting a wall, but not for a short person using heavy power tools.
- The "aspect-ratio" of the platform is worth thinking about. Towers with squarish platforms are likely to be more stable and reassuring, and are not a lot more expensive than those with narrow platforms. On the other hand, long narrow platforms are great for working in restricted spaces, and are sometimes chosen because there isn't enough space to lean a ladder at a safe angle.

leveller2911

I can recommend this one as I have it....... Ordered over the web and delivered within 3 days.Quality is pretty good and Ive had it for nearly a year and its paid of itself...They actually sell this one up to 14 metres high, now that is scary....

http://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/acatalog/Loyal_Aluminium_Industrial_Scaffold_Tower_Single_Width_Double_Length-_7.2m_Working_Height.html


The Loyal scaffold is a bit more industrial than the DIY ones..

melipona

As a follow up to my original question. I ended up buying a 7m aluminium tower from BPS, it comes as a 5m tower with a 2m extension.

It was advertised at £499 on their website but I got it from their ebay site for £459, going via quidco gave me an additional £10 ebay cashback.

The tower is fine for my needs, obviously engineered down to a cost and the cross braces seem minimalistic but when erected and with the stabilisers out I feel quite safe when standing on the top deck.

It is easy to move around on hard surfaces, not so good on grass but that is to be expected.

Thanks for all the replies.

societys_child

Holy thread resurrection . . . just to spam us

:spam:

leveller2911

Its a bit sad to join a site and the only post they make is to advertise a company everyone will think they work for or own....