Masonry Magazine March 2004 Page. 50
ADJUSTABLE SCAFFOLDING
Saving the Day... T
EACH AND
EVERY DAY
By Justin Breithaupt, Jr.
Owner, Non-Stop Scaffolding, Inc.
For efficiency and adaptability, elevating scaffolding leads the way.
Inside and outside corners and radius walls are no problem for adjustable scaffolding.
36 Masonry
March 2004
THE ART OF LAYING BRICK HASN'T CHANGED A LOT in the last 100 years. In many areas, it has gotten more technical, such as new mortar formulations and different materials, but the basic work of skillfully placing one brick or block on another is about the same. What has changed tremendously over the years is how to put those skilled craftsmen right where they need to be through the use of scaffolding.
In the Beginning
CONVENTIONAL FRAME scaffolding, invented in the early '30s, became commonplace after World War II. Trades of all types, including mason contractors, embraced this type as a solution to many of their problems.
In the '60s and '70s, several new elevating scaffolds - also called adjustable or climbing scaffolds-appeared on the market for mason contractors looking for an alternative to fixed frames. The main advantage of this type is you are able to winch the platform up the towers every couple of courses to keep the bricklayers working continuously at a comfortable waist-high level, without having to stop to raise the planks. This new concept was not only sound, but it was also proven in a government study to increase productivity by over 20% compared to the fixed frame variety.
A Versatile Option
MANY CONTRACTORS across the country have turned to elevating scaffolding because of the unique working advantages it offers them over other scaffolding systems available today. Many contractors become aware of just how versatile elevating scaffolding truly is during tough situations where their scaffolding needs just aren't being met.
One contractor, Lucia Incorporated of Houston, Texas, was faced with such a difficult job in Jackson, Miss., where fixed frames and mast-climbing scaffolds just weren't doing the trick.
"We were setting the stone on the new Justice Court Building downtown and saw right off our frames were not going to work," says Joe Campbell, Lucia's Safety Director. "We had to place the pieces of stone onto the scaffold with a crane, and the cross-braces would have been in the way. Since our elevating scaffolding has no obstructions above the five-board material landing area, we were able to land the stone with no problems. We just cranked the platform to keep it at the right height with the work all the time. This is really important when you're setting heavy stone."
Placing materials wasn't their only problem.
"The configuration of the job was a major problem, too" adds Lucia's Project Manager, Harry McGraw. "We had a lot of inside and outside corners and radius walls. We were using a mast-climbing system on the job at first, and it could have been made to work on these walls, but only