Working platform suggestions - internal blockwork

[Construction Channel]

Just now, Digmixfill said:

 

I have come across these type of things. They looked promising but I haven't spotted one that had a decent sized platform.

 

Those are for painting and nothing more. 

 

Personally I bought some tower scaffold very similar to this

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F352569337738

 

Probably condemned by h+s but they work very well. Then get a bunch of 13' scaffold boards ( you can always cut them into a 5 and 8 later if you need to) 

 

I have heard good things about kwikstage on here but never used or bought any personally. 

 

 

[Construction Channel]

I have got to check. 

@epsilonGreedy are you laying to a line or just laying each block with a level? 

[Digmixfill]

4 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

That is an apt description of me laying blocks ?

 

My internal garage block wall will not be dry lined so I am aware it will be a long term finish open to visitor scrutiny.

 

I bed per single block out of concern that anything further ahead will start to dry before the first block has received its Morse-code admonishment.

 

I agree that lifting blocks to a 7th course is not recommended, for the health of elbow or shoulder joints in my case. I don't lift my 15kg blocks above a 4th course now I have my 50cm high kick-along 60cm x 60cm mini platform as linked to above. This has been my best equipment purchase to date, shame it was after the elbow steroid injection.

 

So far I have waited 24 hours for each course to set before laying the next. My concern is that by the time I am ready to return 4m to the other end of the staging the mortar of the lower course will be setting and taps applied to the next course will wobble and break the mortar bond of blocks below.

 

Not sure what the OP's approach is on this subject.

 

I bed one block at a time. I can lay the second course without disturbing the previous. I leave the two courses overnight and the next day i install the insulation board and resin in ties ready for the next two courses.

 

I've put down 6 courses so far and looked at the 7th and thought "platform"

 

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Yes, well at least mine do.

 

I think the whole point about planks and trestles is they are for low working heights so the dangers are not as acute as say a high scaffold tower without a handrail. 

 

Thanks for the confirmation.

Just needed to know how many boards to price up a set.

[Digmixfill]

6 minutes ago, Construction Channel said:

Personally I bought some tower scaffold very similar to this

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F352569337738

 

That's the kind of thing I had in mind along with trestles and boards.

 

4 minutes ago, Construction Channel said:

I have got to check. 

@epsilonGreedy are you laying to a line or just laying each block with a level? 

 

I'm laying to a line along with all of the level checks ?

[epsilonGreedy]

Just now, Construction Channel said:

I have got to check. 

@epsilonGreedy are you laying to a line or just laying each block with a level? 

 

 

Both until I got to 8 blocks high at which point I am now above my Blakes profiles. I was going to reset them higher up for the final 3 courses but noticed the pro brickie team next door did not bother with profiles above 2m in height and built up corners instead. They are now at 5 meters.

 

[Oz07]

4 hours ago, Conor said:

One of those aluminium working platforms on wheels would be perfect. You need edge protection when working at height, trestles are not safe.

God help us

[Declan52]

3 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

 

That's the kind of thing I had in mind along with trestles and boards.

 

 

I'm laying to a line along with all of the level checks ?

It's much easier and quicker to check every 3 blocks assuming you have a good long level, 900mm. The top edge you can see how good they are by how close they are to your line. Then you plumb the middle of the first and 3rd block then use the level as a straight edge across the 3 blocks from the middle points to make sure you haven't the bottom edge in to far. The easiest method is to set your trowel on the wall flat and run it up and down to clean the snots. If it catches a block then it's sitting out to much. 

[epsilonGreedy]

1 hour ago, Digmixfill said:

I'm mortally afraid I will screw up and end up with un-straight walls.

I check the face of every block.

I place a level diagonally across the face and the previous rows.

I don't put enough mortar down.

I put too much mortar down.

Same with the perps.

 

 

Yes to all that, except the perp fatness because I noticed the pros don't worry about those.

 

I got off to a bad start because I found laying the first course on DPC problematic and it took until the 3rd course before I stopped correcting for the aberrations in the first course. Life gets simpler when building off 3 good flat and plumb courses below, no need for mental maths like "ok two blocks down there is a wonky block with 2mm outward lean which is throwing off the spirit level applied vertically to the block face".

 

Perfecting the mortar mix has been the greatest advance for me which required upping the plasticizer concentration to pro levels. I no longer make do with a bad mix, for example the other day I tipped a load into the wheelbarrow and though that feels dense. The first block would not level on the bed because there was no plastic bounce in the fresh mortar so I shoveled it all back into the mixer until it fluffed up correctly.

 

My Belle 130 or 150? is too large for my mortar consumption rate and I have noticed there is less churn applied to the mix at half load, which can lead to lifeless mortar. I should have bought a smaller DIY model say 100l in size.

Edited September 24, 2019 by epsilonGreedy

[Digmixfill]

29 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

It's much easier and quicker to check every 3 blocks assuming you have a good long level, 900mm. The top edge you can see how good they are by how close they are to your line. Then you plumb the middle of the first and 3rd block then use the level as a straight edge across the 3 blocks from the middle points to make sure you haven't the bottom edge in to far. The easiest method is to set your trowel on the wall flat and run it up and down to clean the snots. If it catches a block then it's sitting out to much. 

 

I'll give the third block checking a go for the next course.

How do you deal with the block edge against the line when the block edges are anything but straight?

The last pack of celcons had blocks with bulges on their face and the edges are always rough and wobbly.

12 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

I got off to a bad start because I found laying the first course on DPC problematic and it took until the 3rd course before I stopped correcting for the aberrations in the first course. Life gets simpler when building off 3 good flat and plumb courses below, no need for mental maths like "ok two blocks down there is a wonky block with 2mm outward lean which is throwing off the spirit level applied vertically to the block face".

 

Perfecting the mortar mix has been the greatest advance for me which required upping the plasticizer concentration to pro levels. I no longer make do with a bad mix, for example the other day I tipped a load into the wheelbarrow and though that feels dense. The first block would not level on the bed because the was no plastic bounce in the fresh mortar so I shoveled it all back into the mixer until it fluffed up correctly.

 

My Belle 130 or 150? is too large for my mortar consumption rate and I have noticed there is less churn applied to the mix at half load, which can lead to lifeless mortar. I should have bought a smaller DIY model say 100l in size.

 

I absolutely hated the DPC course. Trying to manipulate the block, the DPC and dress the DPM under the DPC was plain nasty.

 

I have still to perfect the mix. It just never turns out as buttery smooth as the tutorials i've watched.

 

Ditto on the Belle 130. With a small load in the drum i've found the stuff falls from the rear of the drum better if i prop up the rear legs by an inch or two.

[Declan52]

1 minute ago, Digmixfill said:

 

I'll give the third block checking a go for the next course.

How do you deal with the block edge against the line when the block edges are anything but straight?

The last pack of celcons had blocks with bulges on their face and the edges are always rough and wobbly.

 

I absolutely hated the DPC course. Trying to manipulate the block, the DPC and dress the DPM under the DPC was plain nasty.

 

I have still to perfect the mix. It just never turns out as buttery smooth as the tutorials i've watched.

 

Ditto on the Belle 130. With a small load in the drum i've found the stuff falls from the rear of the drum better if i prop up the rear legs by an inch or two.

Buy better blocks!!!

There isn't much you can really do if they are that bad. 

[Digmixfill]

My current technique involves running the edge of the trowel across the top block edge before placing.

There's nothing i can do for the bulges and they bugger up running a level across the face

[Construction Channel]

54 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

 

That's the kind of thing I had in mind along with trestles and boards.

 

 

You won't need the trestles as well. Each lift is about 2'.  I'll dig out a video with them in

 

Edit. About 1:20 is them set up how I liked them but they are used throughout 

 

 

[Temp]

1 hour ago, Construction Channel said:

 

Those are for painting and nothing more. 

 

Personally I bought some tower scaffold very similar to this

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F352569337738

 

 

That's the sort of tower we used. They seem fine for indoors but outside I prefer the Boss type with bigger tubes.

[Digmixfill]

4 hours ago, Construction Channel said:

Edit. About 1:20 is them set up how I liked them but they are used throughout

 

Thanks for finding the video.

 

Are the five boards on the far tower ordinary scaffold boards? What are the longer boards you are using on the near section?

 

 

[epsilonGreedy]

18 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

How do you deal with the block edge against the line when the block edges are anything but straight?

 

 

Not encountered that problem I am building with medium hemelites. I have encountered a few blocks with bow across the whole face and others with sizable bits of plastic junk in the block mix. I run the profile line a couple of mm off the absolute edge of the new course which means a block with a manufacturing error does not push the profile line out.

 

23 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

I have still to perfect the mix. It just never turns out as buttery smooth as the tutorials i've watched.

 

 

I found adding water from a tipped bucket was not accurate enough, in the end I commandeered one of Swmbo's fancy ceramic internal plant pots which has the volume of about two cans of coke. If it has not rained for a week and the sand is dry I know I can start with 3 plant pots of water then I add extra water in small controlled splurts. Patience is needed so I then browse the forum for 10 minutes or cut some blocks before the mix is ready.

 

28 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

Ditto on the Belle 130. With a small load in the drum i've found the stuff falls from the rear of the drum better if i prop up the rear legs by an inch or two.

 

 

I got a tip from two pros who laid my first two courses of heavy footing blocks after the foundation concrete pour. They wedged the wooden handle of a large builders shovel under the alloy bit that sticks out from the electric motor. I found the mixer tries to shake itself free of the shovel handle when the mortar is turning as an asymmetric lump because the mix is too dry.

[Construction Channel]

8 hours ago, Digmixfill said:

 

Thanks for finding the video.

 

Are the five boards on the far tower ordinary scaffold boards? What are the longer boards you are using on the near section?

 

 

Yes the 5 are standard scaffold boards. The 2 bigger ones are called young man's which are good and can span a much bigger distance but they are a lot heavier to lump around and you can't exactly cut them to fit. 

[Digmixfill]

5 hours ago, epsilonGreedy said:

Patience is needed so I then browse the forum for 10 minutes or cut some blocks before the mix is ready.

 

You mix for 10 minutes? Perhaps that is the secret i'm missing.

I've got a special super accurate water measurer, it use to be a yogurt pot.

 

The wedged wooden handle would have the same effect as propping up the rear feet of the mixer. It makes quite a difference.

Have you tried shovelling out of your Belle? The lip in the centre of the drum is most annoying.

 

5 hours ago, Construction Channel said:

Yes the 5 are standard scaffold boards. The 2 bigger ones are called young man's which are good and can span a much bigger distance but they are a lot heavier to lump around and you can't exactly cut them to fit. 

 

I'm going to look at a tower section later. I'll measure to see how many scaffold boards this particular one will take across the top.

Do you fasten anything under the boards to stop them walking off the tower or do you find they stay where they are put?

[Construction Channel]

5 minutes ago, Digmixfill said:

Do you fasten anything under the boards to stop them walking off the towe

Nope they tend to stay roughly where I put them 

[Digmixfill]

The towers I have picked up have 4ft between the uprights. 5 scaffold boards fit across them with a little to spare.