Guide to Hiring Scaffolding Companies
Scaffolding is one of the building expenses which is necessary for lots of different projects, but one which many of us forget to add into the mix when we are trying to price up the cost for a project. It’s not just the major extension and building work which will require scaffolding to be erected around your home either; getting access to the roof or upstairs walls for jobs like replacing fascia boards, painting the outside of the house or replacing a roof will probably require scaffolding too. In many cases, when you are dealing with a professional building company, they will either supply the scaffolding or will subcontract the work out to a company they deal with regularly, so you don’t have to worry about the details of hiring a scaffolder and establishing whether the price you have been quoted is a fair one. However, if you are taking on some maintenance work yourself, or are hiring all the different trades needed for a larger project, you need to be aware of the costs of scaffolding, and what else you should be looking out for.
Scaffolding Rules and Regulations
There are obvious dangers associated with scaffolding, and not just when it is being used. Falls from height are one of the most common industrial accidents in the UK, and the danger of falling is as acute for people erecting the scaffolding as it is for builders and other trades who are using the scaffolding. There is lots of legislation governing how scaffolding is put up and the qualifications required to erect scaffolding. The Health and Safety Executive look after this area of the law, and the main regulations are the Work At Height Regulations 2007. The regulations state that companies should be carrying out risk assessments before work starts, that regular checks should be carried out and that hoists and protective barriers are used. All scaffolding companies should be adhering to these rules and regulations for the protection of their staff. Don’t be embarrassed about asking a scaffolder whether they work in accordance with the Working at Height guidelines and check them out online if you are unsure of their credentials; you don’t want anyone working on your house to have an accident and potentially leave you liable for paying damages.
Trade Associations for Scaffolding Companies
The best starting point when looking for a scaffolding company is personal recommendation. However, this can often be difficult as far fewer of your friends and acquaintances will have experience in hiring scaffolders than will have hired joiners or roofers. If you can’t get any personal recommendations, then the next starting point will be one of the Trade Associations. The main association in the UK is the National Access and Scaffolding Federation, or NASC. All members of this Federation are regulated to make sure they are abiding by the rules and keeping their employees safe while working. You can search through their database of members on their website to find companies in your local area to contact for a quote, or to check that a company which is telling you that they are members of NASC actually are. The website also has lots of other information about the rules and regulations and about the Federation’s codes of practice.
What Jobs Should I Be Considering Scaffolding For?
With the costs of scaffolding being high, the temptation can often be to try to complete jobs just by using ladders and managing the best you can. This approach could indeed save you a bit of cash, but isn’t exactly a safe method of working. If you are working on your own property by yourself and not employing anyone else to help you out, then it is up to you whether you decide to risk not using scaffolding, bearing in mind that of course we would always recommend that you work as safely as you can and use the correct scaffolding. If however you are employing people to do your roofing, or paying a friend or tradesperson to help you out on a job, then it is your responsibility to make sure that you are sticking to all of the rules and regulations and that the working environment is safe for people you have employed, or you could be liable under Health and Safety legislation.
Scaffolding Costs
Costs for erecting scaffolding will obviously depend very much on the type of property, and how high the scaffolding will be. Often, a roofing job will only need the scaffolding erected around two or three sides of the house rather than all of the way round, and for other types of job the scaffolding will be moves around the building as the work progresses. Because there are so many variables at play in terms of cost, it is more important than ever to make sure you get at least three quotes from scaffolding companies to allow you to make an effective comparison. Always get quotes in writing either in a hard copy or on email, and never pay the full costs of the work up front. As a very rough guide, expect to pay around £1000 for a company to erect scaffolding around a standard three bedroom semi-detached house to allow for painting or roofing work. Putting up a scaffolding “tower” to give you access to a chimney or for repairing guttering could cost you around £300, and building a scaffolding bridge over a conservatory to give access to the roof will cost around £500. Remember that these are costs purely for the scaffolding; you will have to add onto these sums the costs for repairing the chimney or clearing out your guttering. Always be very clear when asking for a quote about what area you want to access with the scaffolding, where you want it to be located and be prepared to move cars, plants or garden furniture out of the way to give the scaffolding company a firm base to work from.
