Your Safety
The biggest advantage of a using a scaffold tower is that of safety and this is s a fact – you are far less likely to injure yourself on a scaffold tower than you are if you are precariously balancing on a chair. The guard rails and toe boards on the towers will prevent you from accidently leaning or stepping of the tower. Using a chair or stool you do not have this protection, I you are used to using a step ladder you may find that you frequently overstretch yourself and this can result in toppling ladder.

Save your energy
Let’s say that you live in an apartment that has very tall ceilings that you just happen to be painting. If you’re on a stool your going to have to keep getting up and down to top up your paint tray. If however you’re at the top of tower you will have enough space to store all of your paint and different brushes, you’ll have everything you need to hand thus saving you having to step up and down all day!

Save your time
Compared to traditional scaffolding systems aluminium scaffold tower can be constructed extremely quickly, what’s more you don’t need to have years of experience to safely construct it. Most designs of towers are almost fool proof – you simply can’t put them together the wrong way.

You can get more height
A scaffold tower will enable you to reach heights safely that would otherwise be impossible by any other method – you can get towers that will easily reach up to 10m (approx 30 feet).

You can reach further
From the top of a scaffold tower you can safely lean and reach hedges and guttering that would have been difficult to reach from a traditional ladder. A privet hedge for example simply wouldn’t support the weight of a ladder being lent against it.

They are durability
Aluminium will not corrode it’s lightweight and strong, compared to traditional steel scaffold towers for DIY and light trade use and aluminium scaffold tower is an obvious choice.

There is something called the Beaufort scale and in essence this is a gauge as to how strong the wind is. Many aluminium scaffold tower manufacturer quote Beaufort Scale in there instruction manuals trying to give you guidance when is safe to use your tower. In the real world though this scale has little significance and what you really need is a real world guide to when you should pack up shop and get down from the tower, and here it is:

Your real world guide to working on an aluminium scaffold tower in the wind and converting Beaufort scale to something meaningful.
 
Beaufort Scale 1 – 3
Wind Speed 1 – 12 mph

You don’t need to worry about this, slight breeze no problem you can happily keep on working up your aluminium scaffold tower.

Beaufort Scale 4
Wind speed 13 – 18 mph

You’ll know when the wind gets to Scale 4, loose paper and dust will be blown about, small branched will also move. At this level you are fine to continue working on the tower.

Beaufort Scale 5
Wind speed 19 – 24 mph

This would best be described as a fresh breeze – small trees with leaves will begin to sway. If you’re near some water (not the sea) you will notice small white crested waves. If you see any of these signs now would be a good idea to descend from the scaffold tower, you can still leave it set up though.

Beaufort Scale 6
Wind Speed 25 – 31 mph

At scale 6 on the Beaufort scale large branches will begin to sway, umbrellas will also be very difficult to use in these windy conditions. If you start to notice that telephone and electricity wires star to whistle not only should you stop work and get down from the tower, you should also dismantle it ASAP.

Hopefully these handy hints will allow you to identify when you shouldn’t be working on your aluminium scaffold tower.

Regardless of who made your aluminium scaffold tower here are some safety tips that can be applied to any freestanding scaffold tower:

1. Insure that your tower is set up on safe firm ground – if the tower you have has adjustable legs then you can get away with working on uneven ground. If your tower has fixed legs though – with no room for adjustment at all – you will need to shim it up so that the tower is horizontal.
2. You probably opted for an aluminium tower over a steel tower because of its lightness, but in certain situations working outside with a lighter tower can prove to be detrimental. Wind is a major factor that needs to be taken in to account when working up a scaffold tower outside. You need to be aware that there are certain positions where wind can be more of an issue; one of the worst places to use a scaffold tower can be between two buildings – the gap between them appears to actually suck wind in and so the actual strength of the wind can be magnified.
3. For similar reasons you should never attach a tarpaulin to the tower you are working on – you might think that you could do this to afford you some protection from the elements, but actually what you are doing is creating a massive sail that is just waiting to catch a bit of wind. When this happens you’re going to be in bother so don’t do this under any circumstances.
4. You can use you aluminium scaffold tower outside in the rain – it will not cause it any harm – but do be conscious of the fact that it will become slippery so you’ll need to be careful ascending a descending your tower.
5. Working that the top of a scaffold tower does not give you much protection from any of nature’s elements but in particular the sun. If you’re not used to working outside make sure that you slap on some good sun cream before going outside on a summer’s day.

If you take in to account and are aware of all of the points mentioned here you should be safe using your aluminium scaffold tower outdoors.

When buying any second hand scaffolding tower you need to be very careful, but when it is an aluminium scaffold tower you need to be particularly careful. An inherent property of aluminium is that it will break instead of bend (it will bend slightly but no where near the amount that steel would). So, where the traditional galvanized poles of a tower would bend if used incorrectly an aluminium pole would show tiny little hairline fractures and would eventually break.

It is absolutely essential that you view the tower before you exchange money with the seller. Do not be swayed by any persuasive sellers no matter how low the price is – if you’re 5m up the tower and a part fails you’ll wish that you had checked the tower more carefully.

If you can’t inspect an aluminium scaffold tower prior to purchasing it – don’t buy it.

Before you part with your cash you should check the following:

Aluminium Castings
If the kit you are looking at features aluminium castings make sure that they are free from cracks. If you see even the smallest hairline crack in a part that cannot be replaces you should not buy it.

Welds
Like the castings the aluminium welds on the module of the tower should be free from cracks.

A small hairline crack in an aluminium scaffolding weld - this is what you need to avoid at all costs.

Poles, Braces and Rungs
Check that all of these are straight and don’t have any cracks in them. An aluminium scaffolding tower is going to get dented as it is a far softer material than steel, however if you find any dents that are more than 5mm (less than about ¼ inch) you, again, should not buy the tower.

Platforms
Check that any platforms included in the sale are free from damage and look well looked after. If the platforms have any trapdoors check that these operate correctly and lock in place positively.

Castors
If the type of tower you are looking for has castors you should check that they rotate freely and most importantly that the brakes work.

Outriggers/Stabilisers
If the kit you are buying is over 5m (approx 15’ high) I would expect it to come with outriggers. Like the poles check that these are straight free from cracks and that the feet are flat.

If you have checked all of the above on the aluminium scaffold tower, and it all seems OK, go for it!

From the simple question such as what height do aluminium scaffold towers come in? To what do I need to look out for when buying a second hand tower?  The Aluminium Scaffold Tower site has all of the answers.

Although aluminium is a much more expensive material to make scaffold tube out of than the traditional galvanized steel tube, it is significantly lighter and has a higher corrosion resistance. The lightness, durability, ease and speed of assembling the components that make up an aluminium scaffold tower has made them a very popular choice for DIY and light trade users throughout the world.

Unlike traditional scaffolding which comprises a kit of parts that you can make almost any structure in any shape and any height that you require, a DIY aluminium scaffold tower comes as an easily assembled set of modular parts that can be put together. Scaffold towers are purchased as kits that have different fixed heights and footprints so you cannot adjust them as much as you could a traditional scaffold structure. To explain that further let me give you an example, a scaffold tower that has a footprint of  size of 0.83m x 1.75m (2.75′ x 5.8′) (excluding stabilisers) will come in four different height kits – 0.9m (approx 3′), 1.8m (approx 6′), 3.5m(approx 11.5′) and 5.2m (approx 17.3′) the image below will demonstrate this better:

Now, here’s a tip, to be sure – and if you have the budget – it would be better to buy a scaffold tower that was slightly taller than what you wanted it for. Why? Well, I can guarantee you that if you want to buy a tower for a certain task that needs doing now, come two years down the line you’ll come across another task that requires and extra meter of height and there is nothing more frustrating than being a meter short!

Having a tower that is too short for the task also puts you at risk of over stretching and balancing precariously that could result in a serious injury. Buying an aluminium tower that is too tall means that you will be able to reduce the height to complete the task that you want to do now. Different manufactures have different dimension for the aluminium modules that they use in their towers and consequently you will need to check with them as to what adjustability – in terms of height – you will have with that specific tower. You may be able to put a platform at 0.5m (approx 1.6′)  intervals for one manufacturer and 1m (approx 3.3′) intervals with another manufacturer. I would choose the one that gave me the most adjustability – i.e. the 0.5m intervals.

If you don’t like the idea of being restricted as to what you can do with a predetermined aluminium scaffold tower kit don’t for one second be duped in to thinking that you can buy a cheap set of scaffold parts of eBay and build your own – although a scaffold structure looks simple it takes years of experience to become adept at building a safe and secure structure. If you are not experienced in scaffolding then do not attempt to build your own – get a tower kit instead.

If you’re reluctant to fork out the cash to buy a tower then you could always rent one. Personally, looking at the prices the aluminium scaffold towers are being sold for on eBay then I would buy one suitable for my need, use it, look after it and then sell it on. This method will not only mean you potentially pay less than hiring it – you will also have no time pressures of having to return it or the hassle of transporting it from – and back to – the hire store.

If you’re on the other side of this and you are looking to buy an aluminium scaffold tower second hand then there are certain checks that you should do before committing to parting with your money. Always, always, always make sure that you view a used scaffold tower before you buy – the tower doesn’t need to be assembled for you to ensure that it is safe to use. What to look for when buying a second hand aluminium scaffold tower is outline here.