Since the man began to build, scaffolding has always been used to aid in construction and building. As a result, we’ve numerous historic buildings and construction marvels today.
With that, it won’t be an overstatement to say that scaffoldings play an instrumental role in the construction, cleaning, maintenance, and repair of high-rise buildings, monuments, and other structures, whether they are modern or ancient.
Let’s explore the uses of scaffolding at great lengths, along with what it entails, its historical background, and its components.
What Is Scaffolding?
Scaffolding, or Staging, is a temporary structure usually manufactured from metal poles and wooden planks that allows people to stand on a stable platform to people working at height.
These structures are used to provide support and stability to original structures as well as the construction workers, cleaners, inspectors, and any other professionals who need to work at height and require a platform to stand on.
They are often used in constructing, repairing, painting, maintaining, and renovating buildings, bridges, and other man-made or architectural structures, providing access to places that are hard to reach or at too high.
Types of Scaffolding As Per Their Use
It’s important to understand that scaffolding is different from shoring. Workers use bamboo sticks, wooden planks, metal rods or other types of materials to create a temporary but well-built, properly supported and strong structure. Steel or timber are mostly used for scaffolding.
There are two primary types of scaffolding: suspended and supported. More categories include:
- Supported scaffolding
- Single-point adjustable scaffolding
- Ladder jack scaffolding
- Pole scaffolding
- Tube and coupler scaffolding
- Mast climber scaffolding
- Mobile scaffolding
- Frame scaffolding
- Cantilever scaffolding
There are different types of scaffolding depending upon their application in construction.
Here are the types of scaffolding in construction:
- Single Scaffolding
- Double Scaffolding
- Trestle Scaffolding
- Cantilever Scaffolding
- Patented Scaffolding
- Steel Scaffolding
“Depending upon the specific type of scaffolding, they provide a particular kind of support or offer custom solutions catered uniquely to that industry, use case or professionals. – AscendUAE”
What is the History of Scaffolding Uses?
The use of scaffolding has a long history, dating way back to the Stone Age. Evidence shows that scaffolding was used heavily for construction over 17,000 years ago. This evidence comes from the famous paleolithic cave paintings at the Lascaux.
It is clear how Scaffolding has been used predominantly for building monuments and all kinds of construction and other works. In ancient times, there was documentation showing that rudimentary scaffolds made from wood and tied with ropes were used worldwide.
For example, there is such documentation through ancient paintings or other proofs, especially in ancient China and Egypt.
What are the Components of Scaffolding?
Here are the components of scaffoldings:
- Standards: These are vertical elements that are landed at the bottom in a particular way.
- Ledgers: The ledgers are the horizontal layers of the scaffolding that move parallel along the building.
- Toeboards: Narrow and horizontal parts of the wood are placed right above the platforms.
- Braces: These braces act as stable diagonal elements to connect the ledgers and the standards.
- Putlogs: The shorter parts that adjoin the ledger to the entire layout in one frame are called putlogs.
- Platforms: The elaborated area on which the employees walk on.
What are the Uses of Scaffolding?
Let’s explore the variety of uses for these temporary structures, scaffoldings or staging.
Construction
The primary use of scaffolding is to provide support, a stable standing platform at a height for the workers to build skyscrapers, high-rise constructions, or any building or house. Even for buildings near the ground, scaffolding or any such temporary structure is common.
Cleaning
Perhaps the most common use of scaffolding, which you might’ve often noticed, is cleaning the windows and other parts of high-rise buildings externally, which are usually not accessible for your day-to-day cleaners without using scaffolding to remain stable at height.
Industrial Inspection
Another dominant application of scaffoldings is to perform visual inspections of inaccessible areas for the inspectors or the assigned professionals. They also are heavily used in any type of NDT testing.
Inspectors use scaffolding internally and externally for large industry-size constructions such as pressure vessels, large-size industrial boilers and others.
Maintenance & Repairing
Another larger use case of scaffoldings is overall maintenance and repair work for huge skyrise buildings, industrial constructions, architectural marvels, and other historical sites, where regular maintenance and repair are required to sustain the building for years and years to come.
Other Uses Of Scaffolding
Apart from all this, there are various other types of scaffolding used, such as art installations, exhibition stands, ski ramps, observation towers, concert stages, film set construction, grandstand seating, shoring, and much more.
Conclusion
With a long history behind the application, scaffoldings are temporary structures providing a stable platform for professionals to work at heights. They are still used predominantly for construction, cleaning, maintenance, repair, renovation, and other use cases, even across industries. Different types of scaffolding, in general, and for construction, accommodate the unique requirements of the various use cases.
