advice on scaffolding

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You kindly gave me advice yesterday after I posted, but I think this needs a new thread to avoid confusion:

I sent a scaffolder a brief description of the site & some photos, incl. the 2 attached here. He replied with a quote which simply says:
"cost for a tower up to the roof level would be £600" & asks for dates.

That's nice & simple, but I've got 2 points I'd be grateful for help on ...

1. In 2019, a roofer did a site visit & said he'd manage the whole job, to include the scaffolding. It went straight across & didn't allow for the 'return' (round the corner). I heard him & his mate swear about reaching across a vacuum to do this roof repair. I should have asked him to get the scaffolders back, but I left it to him .... he said the repair would last 10 years ... and here we are.

I don't want to 'micro-manage', but I do want to make sure access works OK for a roofer & for this repair job. I'm worried about the words 'up to roof level'. I would assume it means the gutter will end up at eye-level, so it'll be hard for a roofer to climb on to the roof to lift tiles further up the roof, put in a dry ridge, or replace rotting internal timbers if needed. So, as professionals, what is your understanding of 'up to roof level' ?? Is it how I'd interpret it, or will the top platform level be at or near gutter level so they can just step on to the roof ?

2. Towers don't seem to come wider than 145mm, so the hot tub (178x244 xH:93mm) may be too large for a tower to span. The tub is close to the party fence & about 400mm away from the house wall .... Doesn't sound to me as if it can fit over the tub ?? Or am I wrong ?

The scaffolder is a director of the company. He's not suggested a site visit
and there's no mention of responsibility for injury, or damage (eg to nextdoor's satellite dish). So I need to take up those issues with him as well.
Is there anything else I should ask? I will, having seen your advice to other posters, get the quote & specifics in writing & won't pay in advance.

I feel as if I'm almost talking myself out of engaging this scaffolder ....
but I need the work done and will pay a reasonable amount for a reasonable job. It's unfortunately hard to find people with high work standards as you'll know, which is why I've come to this site. So if anyone can suggest a roofer & scaffolder near North London (outside the North Circular & so unaffected by ULEZ & whatever other restrictions there are now). Parking is free. I realise you're not allowed to advertise on this site, but are you allowed to make discrete recommendations or give pointers to where I can find someone ? Apologies for long post & 4 questions ...! Tia.
 

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A scaffolding company should provide you with a fixed scaffold that provides safe access to work on whatever you have requested.

Scaffolding is highly regulated, a bona fide company will have insurance and would only provide a compliant fixed scaffold.

your quote sounds like a text?
 
The simple answer, ask your roofer where he wants the scaffold . Get him to mark it on the pictures.

Then share it with the scaffolder for a quote.
We use a company that unless it's very tricky will work from marked up photos any time I want , usually quoting a few times a week.
They would do north London but not for 600
 
I would assume it means the gutter will end up at eye-l
In my case the scaffold is about half a foot below gutters. There needs to be adequate space to be able to install/repair fascias/gutters and a small step to step on the roof. In my case they got it wrong, of course, and the scaffold is too close to the soffits (almost touching).
 
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If access to the soffit is required then the scaffold needs to be set at a height that will allow the work i.e. about 450mm (finished board height) from the soffit.
Size and position (and height) should be a conversation betwixt scaffolder and roofer.
 
The last time that I personally got a scaffolder in was about 2 months ago (HA4 Ruislip, west London).

Terraced house with a curved front bay. The house was only two stories and I only wanted one lift (so that I could work on the soffits). I paid £250 cash. The first place that I found on Google wanted £600 plus VAT.
 
250 ..can't be good. ..

It was only one lift, 6 ft down from the underside of the soffit. Width of house is approx 6m

There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but the agreement was that I would not need it for more than a week (or so). He gave me the price after looking at a photo. He was recommended to me by a plasterer that I know.

It had the double rails and kickboards.

I have worked on many exteriors with scaffolding (I am a decorator). I had no reason to complain about it. The £600 ex vat option would not have been any better.

The guy that did it was a small outfit. It was just him and his helper that put it up. He had a transit type flat bed truck rather than a full length lorry.

From memory, the two of them were on site for about 2.5 hours (to erect it). I will definitely use him again (in about 4 weeks).

I would definitely recommend him to the OP if they want.

That said, the OP's job requires a lift higher up than mine. I would guess £350 (cash), but I am guessing.
 
Lucky you .
Do the sums something's wrong he couldn't even make his Insurance Premium out of that and wages and fuel..he did have insurance i take it ?
 
Lucky you .
Do the sums something's wrong he couldn't even make his Insurance Premium out of that and wages and fuel..he did have insurance i take it ?

It was just him and a helper. Distance wise- he travelled about 5 or 6 miles. I can only assume that he had insurance.

I had originally planned to use the company that a pointer I know uses (they normally have a team of 4 or 5 on a super long lorry. He probably uses them on about 15 houses per year. He told me that he could convince them to do it for even less (for cash), but this was after the storms, so they were turning down small jobs.
 
6 ft down from the underside of the soffit.
Nice.

Nothing boils my pi$$ more than having a scaffold lift positioned so that I have to bend down to access the work area. I once asked the lads to trestle up for a ceiling skim. I mounted the 'scaffold' and the three of us were bending over at the waist. The language was colourful as I explained that the trestles were adjustable and that it is far better to reach up, than it is to be bent over all frikkinn day.:mad:
 
Nice.

Nothing boils my pi$$ more than having a scaffold lift positioned so that I have to bend down to access the work area. I once asked the lads to trestle up for a ceiling skim. I mounted the 'scaffold' and the three of us were bending over at the waist. The language was colourful as I explained that the trestles were adjustable and that it is far better to reach up, than it is to be bent over all frikkinn day.:mad:

Agreed. I had extensive back filling with 2K filler (and sanding). To be honest, I would have liked it to have been a few inches lower but I was at fault for not mentioning that.
 
I would always recommend a house owner to let the roofer interface with the scaffolder.

Apart from anything else they will already know some an get better prices that you would.

Another problem is that if the scaffolding turns not to be to the liking of the roofer he will be complaining and wanting more payment for the inconvenience.

Most that I see has the scaffolding about 300mm to 600mm below the gutter height for roofing work.
 

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