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Window replacement and decorating work at a three-storey property on South Street in Worthing required scaffolding that followed the building’s angled frontage while keeping all windows operational. The ground floor was occupied by a café with a fully glazed shopfront.
Our scaffolders erected a three-sided splay scaffold approximately 10.5 metres high, comprising five working lifts. Mays Scaffolding supplied this access structure, providing the contractor with the required working platforms for the window replacement and exterior decorating.
For other building projects in the area requiring scaffolding, our Worthing scaffold erectors install access structures for a range of properties, including those with restricted ground-level space or unusual layouts.
Instead of running in a straight line, the scaffold was splayed to match the three faces of the front elevation. From left to right, the sections measured 6.4 linear metres, 4 linear metres and 5.5 linear metres. The left and right sections had platforms six boards wide. The middle section, which took in the bay window, was built between six and seven boards deep.
The standards were set at least two boards back from the window frames. This gave the fitters enough room to open and close each window fully while the new frames went in.
The client chose the lift heights so no ledger tubes or standards would interfere with the windows. Each platform sat 300 mm below a row of sills or 300 mm above a row of windows, which kept the tubes clear of the frames.
The second lift was positioned at 4.5 metres, approximately 300 mm below the lower window sills, with the third lift at around 7 metres, 300 mm above the windows. The fourth lift was set at 8 metres, approximately 300 mm below the upper window sills, followed by the fifth lift at 10.5 metres, 300 mm above the windows. This highest platform also gave the decorators access to paint the top section of the building.
Where the scaffold changed direction, putlog couplers were used to connect the standards at the splayed returns. Because these fittings are not designed to carry structural loads, we installed additional transoms beneath the connections and secured them to both standards using double couplers. The transoms provided the necessary load-bearing support at each return.
With a business trading on the ground floor, this commercial scaffolding installation required positioning the scaffold standards around the café’s 3-metre-wide entrance on the right-hand elevation, keeping the doorway accessible throughout the work.
To bridge the entrance, a 4-metre beam section was installed at around 4.5 metres high, two lifts above ground level. This consisted of two 4-metre beams, each 780 mm deep, with plan bracing fitted at 2-metre intervals. Puncheon tubes, which are vertical standards supported by the beams rather than the ground, were installed above. Both beams were X-braced, with structural transoms secured to the bottom chords to provide extra support.
Because the ground-floor shopfront was fully glazed, there were no suitable fixing points for ties on the base lift, so it had to remain free-standing. To improve stability, double ledger bracing was installed using 10ft tubes secured with double and swivel couplers.
Above the shopfront, Apollo ties were fitted to the building at multiple points across the third, fourth and fifth lifts. These additional connections helped compensate for the untied base lift and resist the increased wind loading from the sheeting fitted to the upper levels.
The client requested scaffold sheeting around the working lifts. The fourth and fifth lifts were covered with 2-metre sheeting, while 3-metre sheeting was used on the second lift. Bungee ties secured the sheeting at 300 mm intervals horizontally and 1-metre intervals vertically.
The photograph showing the sheeted scaffold was taken after installation was complete, while the remaining photographs show the structure before the sheeting was fitted.
Because the scaffolding stood on the public footway, it needed a scaffold pavement licence for permission to occupy the highway.
To protect pedestrians passing beneath the scaffold, the second lift was double-boarded with a layer of polythene between the boards to prevent debris from falling onto the pavement. Yellow protective foam was fitted around the standards and bracing, while the base plates were supported on yellow Tredda plates positioned on the paving. All scaffold boards were secured with retaining clamps to prevent movement or lifting.
The scaffold was hired for six weeks at £4,500
Project Details
Location: South Street, Worthing, West Sussex
Property: Three-storey building with ground-floor café
Project: Scaffold for window replacement and decoration
Dimensions: 6.4m x 4m x 5.5m three-sided splay x approx. 10.5m high
Lifts: 5 (second at 4.5m, third at approx. 7m non-working, fourth at 8m, fifth at approx. 10.5m)
Pavement Licence: Required
Hire Period: 6 weeks
Cost: £4,500
Another local access challenge involved scaffolding over a conservatory on Nelson Road, Worthing, where a working platform was needed above the glazed structure for gutter replacement.
