During construction or finishing of a house you cannot do without scaffolding. To build them, you don’t have to turn to professionals; you can easily do everything yourself. The structure can be erected either from wood or profile pipe. The first structures will be disposable, but the second ones can be used a large number of once. Next, we’ll look at how to properly build both types of scaffolding with your own hands.
What does the structure consist of?
Before proceeding to the construction of scaffolding, it is necessary to clearly determine what elements they consist of. So, the design includes:
various braces that give rigidity to the structure;
floor crossbars;
boards that will serve as the floor of each floor;
supports that will give stability;
fencing;
staircase for ascending to the floors of a structure.
A homemade structure – isn’t it dangerous?
It’s very easy to make scaffolding yourself, but is it worth it? First of all, I would like to note that this is not a small portable structure, but a rather voluminous structure, which then needs to be stored somewhere. Even if it is disassembled, the existing boards and pipes will need to be attached somewhere. It’s good if the house can be heated with wood, then it can be useful, but if not, the wood will simply deteriorate over time. With metal scaffolding, everything is somewhat simpler - they can be rented out, but again, if there is a demand for them.
It is also worth noting that the use of hand-made structures is possible no higher than the second floor. The construction of scaffolding, especially of wood, at a higher height can be hazardous to health. In addition, you need to understand that if the structure will no longer be used, is it worth spending a lot of time on its construction? It might be easier to rent. Having assessed all of the above, you can decide whether homemade scaffolding is needed during the construction or renovation of a house. If the answer is yes, it will be necessary to create drawings where not only appearance design, but also indicates the amount of material required.
Installation of a wooden structure
In order to create a structure made of wood, you will need to prepare the following materials:
wooden boards for racks approximately 5x10 centimeters thick;
boards for the floor and crossbars 5 centimeters thick;
wooden boards for fencing and braces with a thickness of at least 3 centimeters;
In this case, the step between the posts should be approximately 2.3 meters, the width of the floor, in order for it to be safe to walk on, should be at least 1 meter, and the height of the structure should be no more than 5 meters. So, in order to create scaffolding from boards with your own hands you need:
use braces to fasten four posts together;
secure the crossbars at the required height;
fasten the boards that serve as the floor to the crossbars;
attach boards that will act as a fence;
install supports;
fix the ladder in the right place;
check the drawings.
All work on creating a structure made of wood is carried out only with the help of nails and a hammer (see video).
Metal structure
A structure made from a profile pipe is more reliable than a structure made from boards. When building a structure, it is necessary to take into account that the dimensions of one section should be approximately 1.5x1x1.6 meters (see photo). You also need to prepare materials such as:
pipe for supports with a cross section of 3x3 centimeters and a length of 1.5 meters;
pipe for braces with a diameter of 1.5 centimeters;
pipe for connections with a cross section of 2.5x2.5 centimeters;
the floor is made of boards about 5 centimeters thick and about 2 meters long;
So, in order to create a structure from a profile pipe you need:
cut pipes for braces for horizontal elements of 1 meter each and for vertical elements 2 meters each;
cut two-meter braces at each end, which will greatly simplify their fastening;
connect two supports to each other with horizontal braces, the distance between which should be approximately 30 centimeters;
secure the connecting elements;
drill holes for bolts on the braces and supports;
assemble the structure from a profile pipe to the end;
clean the structure and paint it;
check the available drawings.
How to do without forests?
It is worth thinking about scaffolding even at the stage of creating house drawings, but if this does not happen, what is the right thing to do? If the construction or finishing work of the building is carried out by professionals, then there is no need to think about them, because every team should have such structures. If they have a chance self-construction lost or no more work is planned where they might be needed, the structure can easily be rented.
But in order for scaffolding to really no longer be needed, everything Finishing work immediately need to be carried out with the highest quality possible. For example, it is better to use as finishing materials facing brick or other similar ones, because, for example, plaster and siding will require additional attention.
When constructing, finishing, and repairing low-rise buildings, you can confidently carry out work upstairs only on scaffolding, which is quite realistic to make with your own hands from wood.
Buy metal constructions It is not profitable for owners because they are expensive and are not used so often.
Homemade scaffolding can be made from materials available locally. personal plots. If there is such a thing in sufficient quantity If it doesn’t work out, you can buy boards and beams, and after construction is completed, use them for other needs.
Scaffolding materials
It is important that wooden blanks were dry and strong, so the presence of knots, cracks, and other defects on them is unacceptable. If possible, it is advisable to buy materials made from spruce; pine usually has more flaws. In principle, you can use any durable wood, the reliability of which must be checked before construction.
To do this, bricks, cinder blocks, and large stones of suitable shape are placed on two low supports.
You should put a board with a thickness of 30 mm, stand on top of it and jump several times. This must be done by a person with good reaction and coordination in order to land safely on the ground in case of failure. If the board passes the test, it can be used to assemble scaffolding.
To erect a building structure with your own hands, you will also need bars with a square cross-section and a side length of 100 mm, a tape measure, and a circular saw will be very helpful.
Screws and nails
Doubts about the choice of fasteners are quite understandable. Nails are easy to drive and provide strength to scaffolding because they have some flexibility to absorb the load. The inconvenience is that building structure almost impossible to disassemble without damaging the wood.
Self-tapping screws are convenient in this regard; they can be unscrewed without damage wooden surfaces, but they are characterized by great fragility. Black self-tapping screws made of hardened steel alloys can break when hit or simply under weight.
Note! Anodized self-tapping fasteners are somewhat stronger; they can be distinguished from ordinary ones by the greenish tint of the coating.
If the owner often works on the site with his own hands and the wood is needed in its most complete form, you can use anodized screws, and to be sure, hammer in only two or three nails at the junctions of the scaffolding, just in case, for insurance.
Design options
You can make construction materials with your own hands wooden scaffolding different types, the choice of a specific option depends on the specifics of the upcoming work.
Scaffold
If you plan to decorate the house lightweight materials, then scaffolding is quite sufficient, the manufacture of which requires less material and time. There are two types of attached structures, the diagram of each resembles the letter G.
The location of the construction scaffolding varies:
- in one case, the short horizontal part of the letter L rests on the wall, and its vertical part is slightly recessed into the ground under the working load;
- in the second type of scaffolding, the vertical part of the letter G rests against the wall. The entire weight is concentrated on the thrust elements, the upper part of which is driven into a corner - the junction of the two main bars.
The structure is often called Armenian forests, and the vertical part of them can be shortened, then the scaffolding takes on the form of a triangle, the base of which rests on the board. The entire load is concentrated on it.
Despite the fact that the scaffolding does not seem very reliable, in practice its strength and ease of use have been repeatedly proven. Triangular scaffolding should be located every meter; if possible, they are nailed to the wall; if there is none, then they are fixed with stops. To ensure safety, the place where the thrust bars are immersed in the ground is additionally wedged.
To make sure that the scaffolding does not move sideways along the wall, the stops are additionally sewn together with bars, which increases the rigidity of the structure. All thrust bars and boards must have a thickness of at least 50 mm; boards with a thickness of at least 50 mm are also placed on the flooring. The horizontal surface is nailed or secured with self-tapping screws, otherwise it is dangerous to move on them.
Construction trestles
Wooden scaffolding with this interesting name are known to everyone because they are often used both on construction sites and in major renovation apartments The convenience of construction trestles lies in the fact that they do not rest on the wall and allow covering with siding and many other facing materials.
Standing on top of a trestle, you can attach both the top and bottom of the panels, then move the structure and continue working on an adjacent section of the wall. Cross members are placed between the posts of such wooden scaffolding; they strengthen the structure and at the same time serve as a ladder. The racks on one side can be fixed strictly vertically, which will allow you to place portable scaffolding close to the wall.
Full scaffolding
The structure of traditional wooden scaffolding has not changed over the years. It is well known to everyone from movies Soviet years and posters in which charming girls, standing on scaffolding, smiled life-affirmingly at enthusiastically working young men.
To make such scaffolding with your own hands, you will need a lot of lumber; the advantage of the design is that it can withstand heavy loads and allows you to carry out work of any degree of complexity.
Before you start assembling scaffolding, you should stock up in advance on boards 50 mm thick and bars for crossbars up to 1 m long. At the first stage, racks are made from long bars or boards connected by crossbars. The scaffolding will be especially stable if the racks are placed at an angle rather than strictly vertically.
Depending on the future load on the flooring and the thickness of the boards on it, the racks are placed at a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 m from each other and reinforced with jibs. There is no such thing as too many crossbars and jibs; the more of them, the more stable the scaffolding will be.
Note! If the height of the structure exceeds 3 m, then additional jibs resting on the ground support the vertical beams of the racks.
IN last resort On the bars located along the perimeter of the racks on top, a flooring of boards is laid, which are carefully inspected the day before. The surface is laid in such a way that no cracks or gaps are formed at the joints, so that the result is a canvas similar to the floor in wooden huts. On such a floor, workers can confidently concentrate on their immediate responsibilities without fear of failure. On high altitude It is safer to work if there are railings; they must be made of durable material without cracks or other defects.
Full-fledged construction sawhorses from lumber can be made with your own hands in a short time if you have the skills and a minimum set of tools, preferably with electrical system nutrition.
Features of metal scaffolding
If great desire make your own scaffolding from wood is not detected, you can purchase finished design made of metal. The costs will certainly be noticeable, but on such forests it is possible to carry out construction works any degree of complexity with heavy loads on supports and flooring.
Metal scaffolding is convenient in that it can be disassembled with your own hands at the end of construction and folded into utility room and then use when conducting repair work in future.
The industry produces several types of metal structures:
- pin;
- clamp;
- frame;
- wedge
In pin scaffolding, loops in the form of pins are welded on vertical posts, and the crossbars end with hooks designed for connection. Assembly is simple and quick; it is convenient to work on such scaffolding with buildings of standard shapes; if you have to finish protrusions and figured bay windows, it is better to choose a different base.
Scaffolding with a height of no more than 40 m is made from metal pipes, which are secured with special clamps. You can do the assembly yourself; if necessary, such scaffolding can be easily moved to a new location. It is not recommended to work with very heavy loads on them, because the clamp fastenings have load restrictions.
Metal scaffolding is often produced in the form of modules from frames, which are welded from pipes and reinforced with jibs. The design can be done using additional modules lengthen and increase in height. One section usually has a height of 2 m, a length of one and a half to 3 m, and the depth of the horizontal part is usually 1 m.
Wedge scaffolding made of metal has more difficult places connections consisting of disks with holes welded to vertical posts, and pipes with special locks reminiscent of the mouth of predators. The lock is placed on the disk, and a wedge is inserted into the through matching hole. Scaffolding can be easily assembled and disassembled with your own hands, moved wherever needed, and it is convenient to perform any work on them.
You need to choose the type of scaffolding carefully, taking into account the specifics of the work ahead, the load and financial opportunities. You can purchase lumber and make the structure entirely with your own hands or buy ready-made hardware, which only remains to be collected.
When building your house, you cannot do without scaffolding. They are needed both when laying walls and when finishing them; they will come in handy when roofing works and installation of drainage. Reliability is the main requirement for scaffolding, because the safety of builders depends on it.
If possible, it is worth renting industrial scaffolding. But if the construction takes a long time, or finances are very limited, you can make scaffolding with your own hands. Their design is simple, because private construction rarely requires scaffolding more than two floors high.
It’s still not worth it to heavily load homemade scaffolding; the maximum number of people working on them is two.
Types of scaffolding and their features
Scaffolding can be entirely wooden or made up of metal pipes and planks. The former are cheaper and easier to assemble, but withstand less weight. The latter will require a lot of money and time to construct, but can be used longer, disassembled and rebuilt if necessary. There are 4 types of scaffolding depending on the design and fastenings used.
- Clamps are the most difficult to assemble, but can have a variety of configurations, suitable for work on buildings with a wide variety of architecture.
- Wedge scaffolding can support more weight.
- Pin scaffolding is quickly disassembled and assembled.
- Frame scaffolding is economical to construct and lightweight; it can withstand weights of up to 200 kg per square meter its surface. Maximum height – 50 m. Most suitable for self-assembly and use in individual construction.
Design features and materials
Frame scaffolding is constructed from steel posts and frames, and the flooring is made from wood. Aluminum structures have less weight, but can also withstand less load. Recommended parameters for one section:
- height – 150 cm,
- width – 100 cm,
- length – 165-200 cm.
The number of sections depends on the height of the house and the length of its walls.
To work you need to stock up on materials. You will need:
- profile with a square section 3*3 cm, length 150 cm for vertical posts,
- pipe with a diameter of 15 mm for diagonal and horizontal struts,
- profile with a square section of 2.5 * 2.5 cm for connecting inserts on which the decking will rest, and fences,
- boards 4-5 cm thick and 2-2.5 m long for flooring,
- for lifting (can be used ready-made, or can be assembled from a profile between the side posts).
- Bolts with washers and nuts for connecting elements, self-tapping screws for fastening boards.
Tools you will need are a hacksaw or grinder, a drill with a metal drill bit, welding machine. Connections can also be made using special threaded fasteners.
We build scaffolding from pipes and boards
The preparatory stage before assembling the scaffolding is that the area of land where they will stand is well compacted. This way the whole structure will stand more securely. If construction work is carried out during rainy periods, drainage can be provided so that the ground under the scaffolding does not erode. Boards are placed at the locations of the supports for greater stability.
Important! Even slight play in connections or insufficiently tightened threads can lead to scaffolding destruction and injury.
First of all, the profile and pipes are cut. The pipe is cut into pieces of 200 cm for diagonal struts and 96 for horizontal struts, which will connect the sides. They are cut at 7-8 cm from the ends and flattened. In these places they will then be connected to the profile.
Vertical posts are connected with profile sections, making sure that they are positioned strictly horizontally. Then the horizontal sections of the scaffolding are connected with ties on which the boards will lie, welding them every 30 cm. Holes for bolts are drilled on the racks and spacers. Level the racks and attach spacers to them.
Adapters are used to connect several sections of scaffolding. You can make them yourself. Cut 8-10 cm of a profile with a cross-section of 3*3 cm, thread sections of the profile with a cross-section of 2.5*2.5 cm into it and connect them by welding.
Boards are laid on horizontal ties and secured with self-tapping screws. Scaffolding can be painted.
If you decide to make scaffolding, you will have to choose from two materials: wood or metal. In the first case, you will get a disposable structure that can be made by anyone who knows how to work with wood, and in the second, it will be reusable, but also quite easy to make. In this article we will tell you how to make scaffolding with your own hands from metal (profile pipes) and also from wood (boards), demonstrate diagrams, photos and video instructions.
Although metal or wood is predominantly used for the manufacture of scaffolding, they may differ in the method of fastening, and accordingly have different functional elements in their design. So, let's look at the main types of forests.
The component elements are connected by a special wedge fixation. Scaffolds of this design are highly reliable. They are able to withstand quite heavy loads. At the same time, they are easy to use and can be quickly assembled and disassembled. The use of wedge scaffolding during construction and lifting is especially important heavy materials and nodes.
The main element of this design is a rigidly mounted frame. They are mainly used for painting or plastering works. The frame in this design is connected to horizontal posts and diagonal braces thanks to node connections. The main advantage of frame scaffolding is its low cost. Their construction does not require large investments.
In these scaffoldings, the connection point, as is obvious from their name, is the pin. This type of scaffolding is very popular among builders, as they are very easy to assemble and disassemble directly on site. construction site. It often takes a day or even two to assemble the scaffolding. In this case, assembling the pin scaffolding will not take much time.
If the object where repair work is carried out has complex configuration, then the clamp scaffoldings are great solution. The fastening method used is professional. And for their manufacture, height and size play an important role. working area, distance between tiers and pitch of racks. All this is selected individually for each facility.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with a simple guide to making scaffolding from boards. To do this, follow a few simple sequential steps:
- Lay out 4 racks or boards parallel to each other on a flat area. Their size must immediately correspond to the height of the scaffolding.
- The racks are connected to each other by horizontal jumpers, on which the flooring will later be laid.
- Place the 2 frames made horizontally opposite each other, tie them diagonally and horizontally with boards that will serve as ties.
- Lay the flooring from the boards on the horizontal ties and attach it to the lintels with self-tapping screws.
- Attach the railings to the posts and secure the stairs.
If it is necessary to lengthen the scaffolding structure, connect several similar sections of boards together. The boards are placed on the support posts.
When assembling wooden scaffolding, if nails are used, it is recommended to pre-drill holes to prevent the boards from splitting.
Design
All forests consist of the following elements:
- racks;
- diagonal and horizontal struts (they give spatial strength to the structure);
- flooring lintels;
- a flooring made of boards on which a person will stand;
- stops (to create stability of the scaffolding and prevent it from falling away from the wall);
- a fencing element (so that a person standing on the flooring does not fall down);
- ladder (stepladder) for climbing to the desired level of scaffolding.
Made of wood and boards
You can find quite a lot of advice on how to make scaffolding on the Internet. Moreover, the recommended designs differ mainly from each other only in the thickness of the board and the size of the scaffolding itself. To avoid getting confused in all this “diversity,” try to focus on the following values:
Let's get started:
- Prepare the necessary materials in advance:
- boards with a thickness of at least 50 mm and a width of 100 mm (or round timber, or timber 10x10 cm) - for racks and stops;
- boards for spacers and fencing 30 mm thick;
- boards for lintels and flooring 50 mm thick;
- nails (screws in this case are less reliable).
Photo instructions
We invite you to view a number of photographs on the topic of how to make wooden scaffolding yourself:
From a profile pipe
Now about how to make scaffolding (collapsible) from metal (dimensions of one section: height - 1.5 meters, width 1 meter, length 1.65 meters). Determine the number of sections based on the height of the scaffolding you need.
- Prepare the necessary materials:
- for racks - profile pipe (square section) 30x30 mm - length 1500 mm;
- for spacers - a pipe with a diameter of 15 mm;
- for connecting inserts (adapters) – profile pipe 25x25 mm;
- Make the flooring from boards 40-50 mm thick and 210-220 cm long.
- for diagonal elements – 2 meters;
- for horizontal elements connecting the racks from the sides of the structure - 96 cm each.
"Pros and cons"
Firstly, scaffolding is not a small scaffolding, but a rather bulky structure that will need to be stored somewhere after the need for it disappears.
Wooden scaffolding, of course, can be disassembled later, but the work is labor-intensive, and the boards, if you don’t need them in the near future, also need to be stored somewhere. Do not forget that wooden scaffolding is assembled using nails, not screws, so the boards will no longer be completely intact. In addition, when working on scaffolding, the wood often gets dirty with mortar or paint.
Self-made metal scaffolding can not only be disassembled, but also rented out in the future.
Secondly, non-prefabricated scaffolding is designed to work maximum at the second floor level (from the ground). Operation at higher altitudes homemade scaffolding becomes dangerous.
Thirdly, scaffolding is required quite rarely (only for repairing the facade of a building), so the assembly and disassembly of such a temporary structure is not profitable in terms of the time spent on this work.
Fourthly, scaffolding often has to be made long (for example, at least 6 meters for installing siding). Accordingly, their weight increases, and moving homemade wooden scaffolding to the other side of the house becomes a problem even for three or four people.
It is worth thinking about forests at the stage of designing a house.
If facade works you do not plan to do it yourself (but are going to hire construction team), then you don’t have to think too much about scaffolding, since builders usually come to the site with their own scaffolding and scaffolding.
However, after construction is completed (and after some time has passed), scaffolding may be needed for minor facade repair work. Can this be avoided?
Certainly. And first, make sure that the facade of your house does not require repairs for many years. To do this, it is enough to use facing bricks when constructing walls. Now it is produced by many manufacturers and in a fairly wide range of colors.
But others facing materials(such as siding, plaster and others) will periodically require your attention and, accordingly, additional costs, since you will not be able to make scaffolding (buy or rent) for free.
Video
From this video you will learn how to make scaffolding for apartment renovation:
Photo
The photographs show various designs scaffolding:
Scheme
The diagrams will help you design your own scaffolding:
During the construction or maintenance of a private house, it is necessary to perform work at heights. Not all work can be done with a stepladder or ladder. In such cases, it is necessary to use scaffolding.
Scaffolding can be made from various materials. The most common are metal and wooden scaffolding.
Metal scaffolding has great advantages. They are distinguished by their stability, safety and durability. But the cost of this design is quite considerable. Yes, and difficulties in assembly and large dimensions of the structure are not the most acceptable option.
An alternative metal scaffolding are wooden, which are easy to assemble and their cost is several times less. Another advantage of wood scaffolding is that they can be assembled with almost any available materials, using only available equipment. Wooden scaffolding can be transported to any distance independently and stored disassembled for a long time. Due to many advantages, many choose wooden scaffolding for construction and installation work.
Making wooden scaffolding is not difficult. It is enough to choose high-quality and durable wood the right size. Since the structure of the scaffolding is temporary, it can be made from wood and boards, which are “not in good condition.”
Scaffolding process
1. First of all, you need to make a base. To do this, we take two beams and fasten them together using auxiliary boards. We secure the boards with self-tapping screws.2. Upper part We cut the timber at an angle. The bevel on the beam is necessary for further fastening of the remaining parts of the structure.
3. The finished part of the base looks like:
4. Next, we attach a 1 m long board to the cut site.
5. Sequentially attach three more parts of the manufactured beams to the top bar. Thanks to the presence of bevels on the beams, the structure takes on a stable shape.
6. To make the scaffolding structure more reliable and durable, it is necessary to strengthen it with the help of auxiliary strips. We fix the planks in the upper and middle parts of the structure. We do this work on both sides of the stand.
7. Additionally, we secure the stand at the base on several sides.
8. The finished part of the scaffolding looks like:
9. You can also strengthen the structure of the stand in the central part, while placing fastening boards diagonally.
10. To perform the work, lay out wood flooring, which will serve as a place of movement.
11. Scaffolding stands can be made as many as necessary to complete the safe work. The stands are easy to move from place to place without disassembling them. In addition, such a design can be used on various terrains and when performing work of any complexity.
12. The height of wooden scaffolding can be adjusted by increasing the height of the wooden deck.
