Scaffolding

[indyld]

It sounds like you might want something made from modular rectangles, like Steeldeck, as Paul suggests. The only issue with flexibility is your site and how level it is. It can take an age to get a decking stage level by using different length legs etc. If you are going to be erecting it on a fairly level site (with plywood foot pads under the legs, of course, especially on grass!) then Steeldeck is ok. You can adjust the height of each deck an inch or so with the legs and use extra wood packing for anything a bit larger. I certainly wouldn't want to anti-rake a Steeldeck stage any great amount.

 

The transport issue will hit you , whatever system you use. The scaff systems such as Layher, Kwikform etc break down into small pieces but usually get loaded into stillage and forklifted on and off the (big) truck. All metal work is heavy and don't forget that you still need "decks" to put on top. The old versions of these decks were damp heavy chunks of 8x4 with 3x2 frames on the back. They have got a bit more sophisticated (and lighter) not by much and it all still needs moving from A to B.

 

The scaff systems that staging companies use are very quick to erect properly if you have a crew who are practised, efficient and know what they are doing. I would highly recommend the relevant course for erecting and undstanding the systems. When I did some of these courses a good few years ago, they were only 1 or 2 days BUT it also takes quite a few "real" builds before you get to point where you are not wandering about wasting time and faffing about.

 

I would not think of using pipe and fitting scaff for building a simple performance stage. It is just not what it is designed for so it takes too long and you have to do all kinds of mods to fix a good safe decking on top. By the time you have fitted all the safety covers to the ends of the exposed clamp threads, it's time to take it down again!

[Seano]

It sounds like you might want something made from modular rectangles, like Steeldeck, as Paul suggests. The only issue with flexibility is your site and how level it is. It can take an age to get a decking stage level by using different length legs etc. If you are going to be erecting it on a fairly level site (with plywood foot pads under the legs, of course, especially on grass!) then Steeldeck is ok. .

 

I'd say basejacks and legsavers are an absolute must for anyone wanting to use Steeldeck or similar outdoors. Adding/removing ply basepads is too coarse an adjustment if you want to do it right imo. A (relatively) cheap rotating laser level might be a good investment too.

 

To the OP: you mentioned using a Transit pickup for transport. I think you should do some sums and see just what area of staging you can carry in a single journey, you may find its not quite enough for a decent sized stage.

 

Sean

x

[Bencouchtechie]

do want to be a scaffolder? I'd suggest it's not hugely fulfilling work.

 

No I don't really want to be a scaffolder, like you said its not very fulfilling.

 

 

To the OP: you mentioned using a Transit pickup for transport. I think you should do some sums and see just what area of staging you can carry in a single journey, you may find its not quite enough for a decent sized stage.

 

Yea I will do some sums, but I think it should be big enough, its a pretty big truck, a long wheel base one, and I have used some steeldeck before so I roughly know how big it is.

[MrPete]

It's not necessarily the size when people say "big", it's the weight. Afaik, a tipping transit's maximum weight, including load, is only 3.5 tonnes so you could soon find yourself either overloading the vehicle or if the vehicle is a 4.5tonne (I don't think ford do a 7.5 tonne transit tipper?!) then you can't drive that on a normal car driving licence.

 

 

HTH, Pete :)

[Bencouchtechie]

It is a 4.5 tonne one I think but the person that would be driving it has a 7.5 tonne licence as well. I do know that they weigh a lot, hence me looking at scaffolding, but I may just hire a trailer stage if it is too much hassle.

[Wuddy]

As regards transporting your scaff. as far as I am aware the largest Transit Tipper is the long wheel base with a pay load of 1500Kgs and 50mm steel scaff weighs about 4.5Kgs per metre so if only carrying pole, you could carry about 300 Mtr.

[Bencouchtechie]

that is plenty though, I'm not talking about a Glastonbury sized stage here, just a small one for little local events. 300 metre of scaffolding is loads for this.

[Ike]

Completely irrelevant though as for a low stage the weight of the deck, couplers, basejacks and spreaders will far outweigh the weight of the tube.

[Wesley Commons]

We have a outdoor truck stage which we have just bought, we did have steel deck stage but found it was to heavy we tried to fit 12 decks and about 30m of tri-lite in a luton van, I worked out the loading and it did all fit but the van was not very fast! if you can find one I recomend for outdoor jobs a trailer stage or truck stage, we bought a new one in france for about 10k

[soundiesam]

Just Wondering how big a stage are you Planning on buying???

sam

[simantec]

Hi, what do people think of scaffold staging and are any qualifications/training needed to erect a scaffold stage as I am thinking of buying some.

I would recommend that you take a look at what Layher have to offer. They can supply you with a specialist stage decking system that sits on top of their Allround scaffolding system which is very flexible in terms of possible heights and configurations, its fast, neat, strong stable and complies with all relevant British and European legislation. Stages also need handrails, wings roofs, barriers, ramps, stairs, towers, mix positions etc, all of which are relatively easy to build with Layher. They can also provide you with designs and calculations as well. The basic components, such as base jacks, standards, ledgers and braces (Not the stage decking system) can be hired in from many scaff companies that carry it, which are increasing in number so if you do need extra bits you can get them for a one off.There are other scaffolding systems such as Cuplock and Quickform out there, which some companies use but in my experience Layher (For stage work) is the easiest to use, climb, and the neatest.Steeldeck has its uses but it is heavy and cumbersome and does not cope with unusual ground conditions very well. When you build high stages it’s not easy to get the decks up there (Flipping tables!) and you have to start tying the legs together at ground level and introducing tube and fitting braces to make it stable.Aluminium decks that work on the same principle are lighter but have the same problems outlined above.I had not heard of the Wango system mentioned in a previous posting but must say it looks good if you don’t need the flexibility and add ons that a scaff system can offer.As qualifications, there’s no substitute for experience training and Layher do run courses. As I understand, you do not have to be a qualified scaffolder to erect system scaffolding for some applications but I would check on that in your area and try contacting someone like the PSA for more definitive advice. I would definitely recommend working with one of the big staging companies to gain experience.

[Bencouchtechie]

Just Wondering how big a stage are you Planning on buying???

sam

 

About 5metre by 10metre ish, and about a metre off the ground.

Obviously it isnt a exact size, this is just roughly what I would need.

[MarkPAman]

That's 16 bits of 8'x4' steeldeck. Now add the 1m legs and that's about 1440kg, not leaving much over for tools & people, let alone things like steps, railings etc.

[Bencouchtechie]

We have a outdoor truck stage which we have just bought, we did have steel deck stage but found it was to heavy we tried to fit 12 decks and about 30m of tri-lite in a luton van, I worked out the loading and it did all fit but the van was not very fast! if you can find one I recomend for outdoor jobs a trailer stage or truck stage, we bought a new one in france for about 10k

 

Yea I will just look into buying a trailer stage, as it would be so much easier, I'll just give up with the scaffolding idea now. For now I will just hire a stage in.

[simantec]

For that size and height of stage keep it simple. The comment from someone about getting a system that someone local to you uses for cross hire is a good one to bear in mind. Good luck with it.