I have an opportunity (boy I hate that word) to replace some siding on a two story house. Picture a simple square footprint with a gable roof. Then off one end is a single story garage. How do I set up scaffolding on the garage roof? It’s only about 4/12 pitch.
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Replies
Hi,
Short of building some kind of platform, probably hard to comply with OSHA. Vanguard Manufacturing makes some kind of adjustable scaffold base, for such a purpose, I believe.
Brudoggie
Stradle the ridge.
gl
I've told you a billion times not to exaggerate.
Pump jacks
Stradling the ridge works, but only right at the peak. What do I do closer to the gutters? I'm not familiar with pump jacks (never have used one). How would you set them up?
Set up scaffolding on the ground beside the gutter and span between the two with an appropriately sized walkboard. Or use pumpjacks. Or rent a boom lift.
http://www.lynnladder.com/products/LynLad/pumpjacks.htm
http://www.lynnladder.com/products/LynLad/Aluminumstages.htm
http://www.genielift.com/
gl
I've told you a billion times not to exaggerate.
Ok gl, thanks a million for the references. Makes sense now, especially for the two-story east end of the house. But we're losing something in the translation. I need to stand on the roof of the garage to get to the second story part of the house on the west end.
Can you span a plank from the "straddle the ridge" scaffold and some staging set up next to the garage? how wide is the house? otherwise I've done it using roofer's brackets (slides up under the shingle, gets nailed down then accepts a 2x6 for a walkboard, also called "toeholds") use them for a base and build up from there.
Well, it's a two car garage, so it's roughly 20'wide x 30' deep (there's a laundry room in the back). So I'd have to span a little more than 15' if I went from ridge to scaffold. Is that common?
Seems like if you went to a for-real scaffold place they could help you design a workable, safe solution.
15' not a problem. That's what I'd do. Just make sure you are using an aluminum scaffold plank, or something that will span that distance and support you safely.
I saw a set of aluminum scaffolding/saw horse type thingys. They are called Bronco's. They have three legs, and each is adjustable for length at the push of a button. Their feet are covered in rubber so they won't slip on an angled roof. The advertisement has them set up on a gable end over a pitched roof just as you mentioned. They have a working height that goes from a couple of feet,(using the bottom rungs), to around ten to twelve feet. I saw them up close at the JLC Live show in Providence, Rhode Island last year. I believe you can find them in Tool Crib catalogs. Good luck. D.
Dude...just build it and get it done. If it feels shaky....cross brace. A level and some 2x's should be enough to get this thing happening. Maybe some 3/4 ply for the rest of the scaffold to set on. You got a slope...you want a flat...make it happen...then set up and tie down the scaffold. Jeff "That's like hypnotizing chickens........."
Jeff, usually I do just jump in and adjust as needed, but I have never used scaffolding before, and age is telling me to ask for advice first. You know that saying 'if it feels unsafe, it probably is' well, just thinking about it I have some concern, so I thought I'd talk it out before I had the opportunity to come back later and tell a great story about falling off the roof.
OK...I'll reword that. Be safe...but don't overcomplicate things. All you need is a solid and level base. Just make one and go from there. Tie off the scaffold as needed and get to work. Jeff "That's like hypnotizing chickens........."
Make an elevation drawing to scale of the house side that has the garage attached. I have attached a drawing of my house that you can modify as you see fit. Take this drawing to the scaffolding shop (Lynn was great for me) and they can advise you as to what you need. Renting scaffolding is very inexpensive for this type of project.