Sensible max trestle working height.

[epsilonGreedy]

I need to buy some builders trestles for the upper courses of my internal garage blockwork and I will be working off a newly laid level concrete floor.

 

I reckon 11 blocks will get me up to a decent height for the roof joists.

 

Lifting a 15kg block up to the 7th course caused a few painful twangs in my elbow tendons so I would like to keep the lift differential to 5 blocks or say foot to chest height. Working the maths backwards this suggest a max trestle working height of 1.25 meters. Does this sound reasonable?

 

Size 2 or 3 from this supplier look suitable to me.

 

http://www.cylex-uk.co.uk/reviews/viewcompanywebsite.aspx?firmaName=scaffolding+supplies+limited&companyId=19151781

 

 

[joe90]

I prefer tower scaffold, you can build it in 2 ft intervals (height) and side by side which gives more  flexibility and allows up to 16ft single tower. Eg, two towers at 6ft, 4ft apart gives you a 4ft wide platform 14ft long.   also I have some full length scaffold boards to make that work.

[epsilonGreedy]

45 minutes ago, joe90 said:

I prefer tower scaffold, you can build it in 2 ft intervals (height) and side by side which gives more  flexibility and allows up to 16ft single tower. Eg, two towers at 6ft, 4ft apart gives you a 4ft wide platform 14ft long.   also I have some full length scaffold boards to make that work.

 

 

Ok this is interesting as I had not considered a tower.

 

In a single day I would be working along a 16ft and 12ft run down two sides of the garage. Even at my pedestrian block laying rate in one hour I would work my way down a 16ft long course. Would tower scaffolding support this horizontal working range without lots of reconfigs? 

Edited July 31, 2019 by epsilonGreedy

[ProDave]

2 bays of Kwikstage would no that nicely.

[PeterW]

Trestles are banned on most sites now - they don’t have handrails and even a fall from 4ft can be fatal. 

 

Buy some Kwikstage and be done with it - it will last you the whole build. 

[epsilonGreedy]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

2 bays of Kwikstage would no that nicely.

 

 

Is Kwikstage available for single story heights?

 

The kits at my supplier are all 16ft high and the smallest unit is an 8ft run for £540 inc VAT

[ProDave]

You put Kwikstage up any way you like.  So a "kit" sold as doing 1 bay 16ft high will do 2 bays 8ft high as well.

 

I bought all mine from a private seller on ebay just completing his own self build.

[ToughButterCup]

2 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

Is Kwikstage available for single story heights?

[...]

 

Yes.

[PeterW]

Kwikstage uprights are 9ft, ledgers are 8ft and transoms are 4ft 6” so minimum bay  is 8x4ft by 9ft high

[ProDave]

They also do the shorter uprights as well, handy for indoor use.

[PeterW]

Single 9ft bay fully boarded with toe boards and clips is about £200 from Scaffolding Supplies

 

They have a 56ft x16ft run for £1350 which is a bargain tbh

[joe90]

I have had my tower for many years and it’s flexibility is amazing, even used it on stairs to reach ceilings etc. They are usually 4’ square and go up in 2’ stages so you are never reaching far fir anything, I even use mine now (that the build is finished)for hedge cutting, and going to use it to wash the conservatory roof. Frankly I never see me getting rid of it (till I am in a rocking chair ).?

 

3 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

In a single day I would be working along a 16ft and 12ft run down two sides of the garage. Even at my pedestrian block laying rate in one hour I would work my way down a 16ft long course. Would tower scaffolding support this horizontal working range without lots of reconfigs? 

 

Two towers with a 4’gap will give you 12’. You could make the gap larger if you are not too heavy or stack too many blocks on it. Top tip, if you span a gap with scaffold boards screw a 2x4 underneath and across the middle of the span to keep the boards stable and to stop the boards bending independently .? also towers are easily dragged along a firm surface to reach the next bit. 

 

This is like mine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIY-Scaffold-Towers-5-5m-4-x-4-x-180-Working-Ht-Galvanised-Steel-Tower/261206309482?hash=item3cd11bfa6a:g:5TYAAOSwstxVdZKV

 

[Vijay]

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

Single 9ft bay fully boarded with toe boards and clips is about £200 from Scaffolding Supplies

 

They have a 56ft x16ft run for £1350 which is a bargain tbh

 

And they are great people to deal with, I bought a load from them

 

[Thedreamer]

Didn't realise that trestles had such a bad reputation. Our house is a room in the roof design and the trestles have been perfect for painting the walls. I'm just about tall enough to paint to soffit level. 

 

Once we have house finished I want to have enough scaffolding for one gable end and four trestles for painting/clearing gutting etc.

 

 

 

[Brickie]

There is a trestle system with handrails-I don’t have a link as they’ve always been supplied to me when I’ve used them. 

Personally-I hate doing masonry off a tower. Not enough room for your materials,harder to get up & down from & if you have to cut a block on them-minor earthquake. 

Yes,the handrail issue is true but in reality-you’ll load out your materials to the rear (open) edge of your platform,with alternate blocks & spot boards so the chances of taking a step in the wrong direction are negligible. 

However,should you trip backwards I suppose you could still tumble over your materials & down. 

Please don’t take any risks though,as others have said you can still do significant damage to yourself from even a small height. 

[joe90]

47 minutes ago, Brickie said:

Personally-I hate doing masonry off a tower. Not enough room for your materials,harder to get up & down from & if you have to cut a block on them-minor earthquake. 

 

If the tower is tall yes I agree but at small height quite stable, much better than trestles in my opinion, short ladder to get onto it, handrail is extra section at the back, 4’ wide like normal scaffold, two towers with gap and long boards on create long platform like scaffolding.(12’).

[Brickie]

@joe90 I hear what you’re saying,just don’t like it,especially if the blocks are on the heavy side. You want your feet virtually touching the wall as you lift & that’s impossible from a tower due to the frame,which means reaching further to lay,more strain on your body & even the risk of taking the wall over if you don’t judge the shift in weight correctly as you reach with the block. 

[dpmiller]

you can get kwikstage as close to the wall as you like with hop-ups.

[Conor]

Does kwickstage need a scaffolding tag like a normal scaffold job?

[joe90]

51 minutes ago, Brickie said:

@joe90 I hear what you’re saying,just don’t like it,especially if the blocks are on the heavy side. You want your feet virtually touching the wall as you lift & that’s impossible from a tower due to the frame,which means reaching further to lay,more strain on your body & even the risk of taking the wall over if you don’t judge the shift in weight correctly as you reach with the block. 

 

I hear what your saying, and we all have our opinion but the boards on a tower can be 2” away from the wall!, the thickness of the steel tubing, same as scaffold with poles against brickwork. I have laid blocks (small time not professional) and my builders used my tower on site with no complaint. I do understand why scaffold is best if you can afford it , mine is invaluable for lots of post build stuff.

[epsilonGreedy]

Lots of good advice in this thread, the problem is all contributions make sense.

• I like the idea of a general diy tower as that will be a useful longterm asset post build.
• An investment in whole house Kwikstage makes sense for a a slow paced diyMax selfbuild but feels ott for some 0.7m to 1.2m high trestle runs that will be shifted around near daily for block laying.
• I will look for a trestle option that supports a handrail.