Scaffolding is essential for any professional painter working at height. It provides many advantages over ladders or other types of platforms and is often required to comply with Australian law. That’s why – here at ALTA Scaffolding – we recommend consulting with our team of experts to make sure your scaffolding installation is safe for your next project.
Do Painters Need Scaffolding?
Scaffolding is extremely useful for painting building exteriors, and can also be used for interior work on new construction projects. It offers two main advantages over other types of equipment.
The first is stability. A much steadier platform from which to work is required. This is a crucial safety consideration.
Second, more reach is required than a ladder. Scaffolding provides a horizontal platform, allowing painters to cover wide areas of the wall simply by walking across it.
Do Painters Usually Hire Their Own Scaffolding?
Some painters like to have their own scaffolding, especially if they specialise in a specific kind of painting work where they are able to re-use the same pre-built platform for every job.
However, many painters prefer to hire scaffolding, for several reasons:
1. Design and assembly are regulated
Scaffolding requires expert design and assembly and has to be tailored to the specific project and building shape. These are skills that painters typically don’t have. Australian law mandates that only licensed professionals may erect scaffolding above a certain height. This would require painters to undergo unnecessary certification in something that isn’t their core market offering.
2. Additional time and maintenance
Erecting scaffolding can add significant time to the painting project, much of which can be saved using a skilled, professional scaffolding company. Scaffolding also requires maintenance, which takes up valuable time that a painter could be using to work instead.
3. The hire option
A popular option among many painters is to simply use the scaffolding that the construction company provides (if it’s that kind of project). Otherwise, they will contract a scaffold hire company to quickly design and erect scaffolding platforms for independent jobs that only require painting.
Related:
What is the Best Scaffolding to Paint a House?
Aluminium scaffolding makes a good choice for house painting. It’s a very lightweight material when compared to other options like steel. This makes it quick and easy to assemble and move around the house. It can be used internally and externally and is designed for portability.
Advantages over Ladders for Painting
Scaffolding offers a few advantages over ladders, especially better stability and hence safety. Painting at a dangerous height using a high ladder can be perilous, and it’s certainly not to be recommended.
Scaffold not only provides vertical stability; it can also be erected with guard rails to help prevent falls. Scaffolding significantly reduces the risk of accidents.
A scaffold also provides far more room to work. It allows horizontal freedom of movement so that painters don’t have to keep moving ladders, and there’s much more space for tools like brushes, and paint containers. This all helps to speed-up the project.
What Scaffolding Platforms Do Painters Use?
Painters use a variety of different types of scaffolding platforms. A mobile scaffold platform is one of the most popular options. They’re ideal for various types of house painting work. These are simple scaffolding towers, usually made from aluminium so they’re easy to move around.
Different painting projects can also require different types of scaffolding, primarily depending on their scope. Small residential projects seldom require more than the above portable platforms.
Trestle scaffolds are also extremely useful for painters. These are simple planks placed over A-frame trestles. They’re recommended for indoor use, at heights of up to five metres.
A-frame scaffolding combines the portability of a mobile painters scaffold with the strength of Kwikstage-type scaffolding components like braces, bases and railings. These are modular designs that can be tailored for painting entire house exteriors or to work on medium-sized buildings.
Steel scaffolding is usually the best option for larger painting projects. It’s very commonly used on outdoor construction sites and provides a high level of strength and safety.
When very tall buildings need to be painted, suspended scaffolding is generally used. Instead of being supported by a framework anchored to the ground, the platform is suspended by cables from the top of the building. It has the advantage of reaching heights where it wouldn’t be feasible to erect many storeys of scaffolding from the ground up.
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