Vijay Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Thanks to Jamie (who planted another seed in my head lol) I've pondered the idea of trying to get Kwikstage scaffold for my build as it would take the pressure off trying to get things done on someone else's deadline. I've contacted a few companies from Ebay who either say they won't quote/don't get back to me/their price is sky high or one company quoted and said I might need more - great help there! lol For those who've gone down this route, how did you find the scaffolding price compared to hiring? Cheers Vijay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexphd1 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Never priced renting, but for two slow self builds it was a no brainer. Keep a eye on Gumtree. Are you planning to do the build yourself or get a contractor in? Edited June 12, 2017 by Alexphd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Originally I was speaking to contractors but all though nice guys, they were absolutely crap at getting back to me, one completely vanished, one was double the others price and then one said he could now only do the walls (and not the roof timbers anymore) after months of talking about what I needed, so to be honest, I got fed up and decided the only way to get this done is DIY - and luck! lol So you've used Kwikstage yourself Alex? Edited June 12, 2017 by Vijay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashburyselfbuild Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Also consider Cuplock. Similar to Kwikstage but thicker metal and galvanised, so will not rust and will hold a better resale value. Look out on fleebay and include various spellings in your search (eg cuploc, cuplok, kuploc and kuplok) I found mine listed as Kwikloc and the price I paid, I could have made a profit by just weighing it in at the scrapyard. Sell on when you have finished and get back most if not all of your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexphd1 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Yes we bought the kwikstage, can't comment on other brands but the kwikstage is idiot proof. As above, buy wisely and you can sale it for roughly what you bought it for but be aware we have had to ditch a lot of timber boards. We also stuck a set of casters on to a bay which has been very handy for the ridge beam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Like many here I bought my own Kwikstage. I bought a job lot on auction on ebay from a private seller completing a self build. I then had to hire a 7.5 ton flat bed and make a 600 mile round trip to collect it on a weekend hire. After the main build, I sold half of it, and got back just over half what it cost me to buy even including the truck hire and fuel cost. The rest I intend to keep so I have enough to scaffold one wall at a time for maintenance. It was some time between buying it and using it and I found some planks had gone rotten (poor storage) but I managed to buy some more from a local hire company. I prefer Kwikstage to cuplock, I think it's easier to erect short handed. The way cuplock works, when you undo a "cup" it loosens all the fittings at that layer, so needs more hands to get an initial stage erected. If you are really lucky there is a little galvanised kwikstage about but it's rare. It really was a godsend not being stuck with someone elses timescale and not having a weekly hire cost to worry about. Mine was up for well over a year, imagine the hire cost of that?. And when you need to alter it you don't feel naughty like you might if it was hired. Plenty of dealers selling packaged kits on ebay so I don't understand what your problem was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 If you buy a load @Vijay I will have it off you when you are finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Phone scaffolding companies and see if they have any older gear that they would like to shift on. It will all still be In good condition just not pristine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I've got Kwikstage and its brilliant ! We have 3 towers set up at the moment, one through a stair well too. I went for some options like the 2 board transoms and the hop up brackets and its been a godsend. It will be for sale - but not until I've got the vaulted ceiling done ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Cheers guys, I will look at the others too and will take into account what ProDave has said about easier install 14 hours ago, ProDave said: Plenty of dealers selling packaged kits on ebay so I don't understand what your problem was. They were the people I contacted, all the Ebay sellers in fact. I don't know if it's the quantity I need that put them off (don't know why it would though cos it's more money for them) as the outline is approx 129 linear metres. 14 hours ago, Russell griffiths said: If you buy a load @Vijay I will have it off you when you are finished. No problem with that 13 hours ago, Declan52 said: Phone scaffolding companies and see if they have any older gear that they would like to shift on. It will all still be In good condition just not pristine. You mean for normal scaffolding and not kwikstage type? Does Kwickstage type scaffolding use normal scaffolding boards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) What are the rules on Kwikstage or CupLok? If A Selfbuilder of Lower-Spiegelei-under-Bratkartoffel puts up some Kwikstage, can third party workers use it under HS regs etc without any certification, and is the self-builder's insurance still valid if eg the Batman or the Roofer falls off the scaffolding due to incorrect assembly and breaks his neck on an inconvenient breezeblock? Is the self-builder required to have a scaffolder qualification or employ someone qualified to build and certify it? (Aside - we had a large amount of real CupLok purchased in around 198x used for renovating a Victorian Mill, and then for other building jobs, of which I sold the last on ebay in about 2012 - still perfectly sound. I did not sell the planks, however.) Ferdinand Edited June 13, 2017 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiehamy Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 If you misassemble Kwikstage the question is not whether yet are competent to erect scaffolding but if they are fit to build a house. Seriously, anyone with half a brain can erect it safely. Guards rails are a must however, do order more ledgers and standards to take this into account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) @Ferdinand, that's a good question, as there don't seem to be any well-defined regulations or laws, just guidance and mention of competence. Like many, I expect, I used a scaffolding company, and they effectively certify the scaffold, in that it is there responsibility for ensuring that it is erected safely and is fit for purpose. They don't actually hand out any certificates, though, it's just a case that they are deemed to be competent and have the necessary insurance. We did have one company ask whether the scaffold we were supplying for them to use was certified, and they were satisfied by a verbal reassurance and being given the name of the scaffolding company. I would guess that they recorded this as a part of their own risk assessment process. I have no idea what they would have done if I'd said that I'd erected the scaffold, they may have been OK if told it was Kwikstage, for example (ours wasn't), or they may have baulked at using it. All told around 6 different companies/tradespeople used our scaffolding, plus me. The majority were pretty laid back about certification, with some just modifying the scaffolding themselves, something that caused me to get the scaffolders out twice to put right. I think that if you used a self-erected scaffold, then you would have to take responsibility for its safety, and that would almost certainly mean getting better insurance, as I doubt a standard self-build policy would cover it. Whether any insurer would provide cover for a self-erected scaffold I'm not sure, but they might well be OK with a recognised self-assembly system like Kwikstage. It's probably a bit of a grey area, though. I think my main concern would be liability, and the fact that people on site will re-arrange the scaffolding the moment that your back is turned. Never under-estimate the ability of people to be very stupid.......... In terms of risk, then I have a feeling that traditionally accident involving scaffolding have been amongst the most frequent types of accident on building sites. Edited June 13, 2017 by JSHarris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I think, certainly in England, Kwikstage is not used by the hire firms. They tend to use traditional scaffold. Someone once told me because of the nature of kwikstage and the ease of altering the configuration, it cannot be "scaf tagged" that may or may not be true. But hire firms up here seem happy to use Kwikstage and cuplock and it's rare to see traditional scaffold here. I had no problem with my builders using my kwikstage to erect the frame, other than it was them that told me some planks were rotten and I had to go and buy some more. Building control visited at least twice while my scaffold was up and didn't say anything. Then later on the guy that did the rendering was happy to use it. Use common sense and brace it properly, including a bracing tower on a longer run and if you really want to do it properly, two handrails and a kickboard. Re boards, both Kwikstage and cuplock only support the boards at the ends, so you cannot use ordinary scaffold planks. They must be rated for the job. The metal strap on the end should say "support every 2.4 metres" They are somewhat thicker than ordinary scaffold boards. Kwikstage and cuplock boards are not interchangable, the cuplock ones are about an inch longer. I guess you could take a cuplock board and shorten it for use on kwikstage. If you have any doubt about the integrity of the planks, my test method was support the two ends of the plank at ground level on a concrete block, then jump up and down in the centre for all you are worth. If it did fail you only drop 4". If they passed that test they got used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 2 hours ago, JSHarris said: @Ferdinand, that's a good question, as there don't seem to be any well-defined regulations or laws, just guidance and mention of competence. The relevant legislation is the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The regs are not really meant to be applicable to diy work and self-builders however there's an obvious potential for liability if you employ someone to work on scaffolding that you have erected for them. . Extract from the regs: (3) The requirements imposed by these Regulations on an employer shall also apply to— (a)a self-employed person, in relation to work— (i)by him; or (ii)by a person under his control, to the extent of his control; and (b)to any person other than a self-employed person, in relation to work by a person under his control, to the extent of his control Some HSE links: http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/the-law.htm http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/faq-scaffold.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I have a sign that says scaffolding has to be checked daily - brickie has to check and tap each wedge. My site insurance covers self erected scaffold - I will see if I can find the wording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiehamy Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Easy solution to timber planks - steel stage planks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 9 minutes ago, jamiehamy said: Easy solution to timber planks - steel stage planks! I bought all new planks and they are bloody heavy !!! Reckon they are about 60mm thick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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