Scaffolding and construction site stuff...?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
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It just occurs to me that (divided by a common language) I don’t know if you call scaffold boards… scaffold boards… or (more relevantly) what size they would be in the US… is there a standard?

Working on from there… anything about construction site basic gear like this would be interesting… jacks to hold beams up (we call them Accro Jacks)… jacks to hold the sides of trenches apart… steel frames that plasterers and brickies work on.

Heck… even what your standard brick, single and double block sizes are?

Are most lintels concrete or steel these days?

Just fishing for ideas…

I guess a lot of stuff arrives on site on palets now… when did this start/become common?

TIA

[:P]

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Scaffold boards are 2x12’s, sometimes 2x10s or 2x8s for short ones. Rule of thumb, one inch wide for every foot of span.

Longer runs use a Pick. Those are thick (6"), narrow (12"), aluminum ladders with an aluminum walkway across the rungs on one side. Generally 24’ long.

All the above are supported on pumpjacks in residential construction. A pumpjack is a metal frame that fits outside a pair of 2x4’s which stand vertically, and which are secured topside with a scrap of plywood with a 4"x4" hole tacked on the roof, or with a two legged steel brace made for the purpose. A foot operated pump lever causes the steel frame to climb the 4"x4" vertical, and a lever and crank allows it to descend.

Masons on residential, and all commercial construction sites use frame scaffolds. Masons often get away with 2x12 scaffold boards, but OSHA is tight on commercial sites, so they use commercial platforms designed for the scaffold frames.

The only time I ever jacked up a beam was when I got tired of listening to boss promises to get me some guys onsite and set it with a friend. Every other time, (hundreds) we used a gang, or a crane for really large beams. Steel beams on commercial sites always use a crane, 50 ton seems to be the standard size, but boom and jib size varies. Don’t forget the tagline, especially in high winds. The more vertical you can keep the boom, the safer the lift and the safer the crane. Modern cranes are not designed to go light on heavy lifts near capacity. Long before it will tip, you’ll see damage to the center pin and probably boom elements too. Max one and the boom usually folds up, not down.

Trench bracing is often doen with 2x12s, using 6x6s for vertical struts. Depending on trench depth, soil type and water table, you can go down 12 feet with no shoring. Been there, in a monsoon, with a 102 degree fever, it ain’t fun.

The steel scaffolds ar made of tubular steel, call it two inch diameter, usually yello

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Terrific! [bow][bow][bow] Thanks! [:D]

I’ll have to work on that and come back with more questions later [8D]

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I don’t know if it was this forum or another one where there was a side by side comparison of two differant scaffolds. One was made out of styrene and the other was built out of brass tubing soldered together. Both were painted the same but the brass tube with real wood was waaaay more realistic.
The same guy had also made a trench guard by kitbashing Atlas bridge girders.

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http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/590-17180 will get you to some scaffolding. Although it is European, it’s not much different looking than US scaffolding. Jeffers answer is excellent.[tup][tup][:)]

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Superb answer! [8D] Thanks! [8D]

Now I just need to get round the language thing a bit more if you don’t mind…

Okay, that’s fine. Our boards are std thickness and length - mine are on loan at the moment so I can’t go check what they are… [banghead] When new they have a steel wrap around the end… this can give a vicious cut if it gets loose. Half boards are also std while boards get cut to short lengths to fit some site situations… these aren’t approved as the ends without the steel can split.

Can’t get my head round this [8)]. Is this a free standing frame that people like painters work off of?

Any chance of a pic please? I think I have an idea what you are describing… but it’s pretty hard to describe. (I’ve just tried to describe the system we use that I think is similar… [banghead][B)]

[quote user=“jeffers_mz”]

Masons on residential, and all commercial

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Scaffold photos here

I think mine are 1-1/2" diameter, not 2" but close enough for scale work.

Pump jacks here, also stages

jeffers_mz wrote:

Basement center bearing lines are universally 4 inch diameter steel columns, with steel I beams spanning between. Figure on 4 inch flanges and 8 inch webs, W31 (31 pounds per lineal foot) is pretty standard. On a long span, I’ve seen steel as heavy as W90, with a 12 inch web. Once in a great whole, 8 inch flanges, maybe a W127 profile. The only normal variable I’ve seen there is on commercial, and involves base plate thickness on the columns. Anywhere from quarter inch to one inch is common. Connections usually use 1 inch diameter bolts in this type light steel construction.

Hope this helps, ask if you need more info.

Your great help has completely lost me on this one! Sorry!

He’s talking about the shape and construction of the steel I-Beams W is the weight per foot. Web is vertical with flanges top and bottom.

I hope this helps.

Karl

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OSHA is the Occupational Safety & Health Administration… or something like that. their site is www.osha.gov

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“Pick” is a manufacturer of aluminum walk boards, used interchangeably with other brands, much like “Coke” can refer to other brands of soda. Walkboard only, something else has to hold it up.

Here’s a pic of a Pick:

Here’s a scaffold buck, with built in ladder:

It takes two scaffold bucks and two X braces to make a scaffold frame. Frames are stacked vertically using removable pins inserted into the vertical tubular members to maintain vertical alignment and rigidity. A scaffold tower or array can rest on just the bucks, on pavement or blocks, or on wheels for portability, or on threaded screw jacks on uneven terrain.

Here’s a pumpjack:

You can see the horizontal arm that holds the walkboard, the foot lever for ascending, the vertical cage that goes around a pair of 2x4’s nailed together, the pumpjack poles, and the rollers and crank that allow it to move up and down.

Here’s a fully assembled pumpjack setup, with poles, braces, a pick walkboard, and handrails, which often are omitted in residential construction:

There are two pumpjacks on one pole in the image above, each carrying a separate pick, it looks like they are using one as a workbench or to store materials. We never did this, nor did we use attachment braces for the poles at the bottom, only at the top. If we got up 20 feet or more, we might nail a temporary brace below the walkboard, to keep the whole setup from swaying too much. A block nailed to the building, a horizontal scrap running from block to pole to counter in and out sway, and a second block and brace run diagonally and horizontal to counter end to end sway of the walkboard.

The setup feels pretty flimsy, you get used to moving in

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[^][:P][bow] Terrific! Thanks! I’m going to have to take time and study these. [:D][:)][:D]

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Interesting Larak, we found and used two of the same example images.

Small world, aye?

:slight_smile:

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I see I’m not the only contractor (retired) here!! Excellent answers & links all!![bow]

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Perhaps great minds think alike? Great explaination BTW.

or perhaps …

Google is guiding our every move, adjusting our options, telling us what to think and what to believe. It’s them I tell you it’s them !!! ha ha ha ha

Sorry. It’s been a long day.

Karl

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Well, I for one welcome our new Google-powered overlords.

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[quote user=“jeffers_mz”]

If the house is over a basement, the block piers are replaced by 4 inch diameter steel columns, which are usually filled with concrete after erection, and the lintels are almost invariably steel, usually I beams, occasionally H beams fior heasvy loads where vertical clearance is an issue, and sometimes, usually on high end houses over a million dollars, laminated wood beams.

Newer innovations, like engineered joist systems made up of plywood glued to resemble I beams, microlams, made of sawdust glued together to form a wooden timber, and various other oddities can get around the need for a center bearing wall, but these are not often taken advantage of by architects. Most homeowners don’t have a need for that much open space. I have put up structures where the TJs (plywood I beams) span front bearing wall to back and all interior walls are built as non-load-bearing partitions, but that is the exception, not the rule.

[/quote ]

I lived in Alaska for 8 years, and most new homes and commercial buildings were built with glue lams substituting for I beams in the construction process. My house had a 4" by 18" glue lam beam in place of the standard I beam.

Also, regarding the trench shoring process, contractors also used a trench box that they placed in the hole for deep trenches that they would pull along as they excavated the trench, the men would work in the box and put down the bedding and pipe and then the trench would be backfilled right behind the pipe.

I was involved in a scaffolding accident where the mason contractor did not properly secure the scaffold, and when our project manager went up the scaffold and tried to pull himself up on the top railing it gave way and he impaled himself on another piece of scaffold completely destroying his liver, luckily he survived the accident and returned to work months later.

Rick