are my Alum-a-poles set up correctly?
Craigabooey
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I bought a set of used Alum-A-Poles and scaffolding to put the vinyl siding on my house. I have to say the things are great but man do they wobble! I’m wondering if I set it up correctly. There were no instructions except on the sides of the poles but I could barely make them out. I’m going to try and attach some pictures of the way I have it set up. Also I’ve posted on here quite a bit so I’m also sending one picture of the house since the new second floor went on. Any advice is appreciated as always!
Thanks,
Craig
Replies
Your pictures are WAY too big to see, Maybe someone will shrink em' down for you but....
I have two pair set up right now.
Sounds to me like you should add a bracing bracket in the middle if the wobbling bothers you.
I've only used braces on the pole to the roof and feel very safe especially with the scaffold I stand on as well as the other scaffold I use on the other side of the pole on the jacks that dbls as a guard rail and a work station.
Alfred E. Newman for president (we'd be better off)
Sorry for the highjack, but what's that foliage in the foreground?
Sorry for the highjack, but what's that foliage in the foreground?>>>
Sorry...I forget what its called. Maybe someone else might know the name. Alfred E. Newman for president (we'd be better off)
craig , your pictures suck !
but near as i can tell... they are wobbly because you are pushing the envelope on the ht.
your brackets are up on the roof, so i'm assuming they're near the top of your 24' poles
after you pump up aways, you can set a 2d set of brackets UNDER your plank.. that will take the wobble right out
are you using two poles or three ?
a three pole set-up is a little stiffer ( side-to-side ) than a two pole set up
the wall braces are pretty good, do you use lags to secure them ? and the angle of the diagonal brase to the straight -arm brace.. that should be as close to the horizontal as possible.. so the diagonal will resist side-to-side sway
I'm assuming everything is kind of swaying back and forth as you make your way up the wall.You know those brackets that are clamped to the top of the pole and secured to the roof.If you add another bracket midway up the pole and secure it to the wall it will stabilize it quite a bit.Shingle up to the middle bracket,attach a couple of short shingles pieces on either side of the arms to give you something to clip the next course to.Leave the bracket attached to the wall,unclamp it from the pole,pump up above the level where it was attached to the pole,and then clamp it back on the pole.You'll feel like you're standing on the ground.On the way down,pull the middle bracket and the short pieces,and fill in the gap with a full shingle.
If you think the aluma ones wobble, give the wood poles a try! IMO, you just need to get your legs...or wings<g> whichever applies.
Seriously, coming from someone who just dumped wood for aluma poles, all you need to do is use it and before you know it you won't even notice the movement.
It's kinda hard to tell from your pics, but as Mike sorta said...the upper standoff braces should be mounted so that the straight rod is perpendicular to the wall and is positioned straight ahead dead center from the pole, and then attach the angled rod so that it controls any left to right movement. Horizontal bracing helps a little too, but if you secure the Pics(planks) to the jack using the chains, that'll snug things up a little more. As for fore and aft movement (in & out from the wall) add another brace 1/2 way up the pole or under the Pic your standing on. If your end poles are close to the corners, you can add a brace 1/2 way up on the outside of the pole and tie off to the side wall. That way, no bracing will be in your field of work. You could also back brace the poles to the ground with 2x4's. Plenty of ways to stiffen it up...it just depends on how anal you are.
Here's how I did it...one is with wood and the other with aluminum. Both are almost rock solid.
Edited 9/22/2006 2:35 am ET by caveman
almost forgot...watch out for the safety police. They lurk here in the shadows. You'll get cited for no fall protection. Get a harness, netting or put a back rail in place. It looks like you have the bench brackets above your jacks. At least put a Pic or 2x12 on it and you'll be safer.
Your braces are not set up right. As others have said, the main arm needs to be perpindicular to the wall. Also, set the braces so the angled arms oppose each other. Put a pic on the worktable brackets and the added weight will stabilize the rig a little, plus make you feel safer and give you a place to set your stuff.
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
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When I set up my wood poles , I always cross brace with 1 x 4 , every 10 or so feet up, use 'scaffolled double head nails' and it is quick to inslall and take down also. You willbe supprised how much this help take out the wobble, with alum. you have to make some sort of braket to attach, but shouldn't be that hard to come up with something .
IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYONE COULD DO IT!!!!
As a few mentioned, look at the brackets and understand how they work. When they are horizontal, or as close as possible, the bracket only would allow movement up and down which when attached to the pole and the roof/wall will not happen. If you have them more towards vertical, the pivot swings around and will allow the pole to move side to side somewhat.
I agree that if the movement is a mental thing, you just are not use to it and you are thinking about possible failure. If you set up is secured to the poles and the wall/roof correctly then it will never fail. The first time I went up high like that I was uneasy for the first day, each day after that I didn't pay attention to it. One thing I did for a little piece of mind was to dig a 4 or 5in hole and put the pole base in it just so I knew the bottom could never kick out.
If you can, take some more pictures but reduce the resolution so the show better on the site. The most important aspect is the bracket positioning.
The manufacturer's basic instructions:
http://www.alumapole.com/articleviewer.asp?ArticleID=9&ID=2&nPage=1
“Experience doesn’t bring wisdom, experience evaluation does. When you fail, stay down there for a while and figure out what went wrong. Don’t run away from your failures, evaluate them and learn from them.”
Dr. John C. Maxwell