Scaffolding

Scaffolding 

auxiliary equipment used in construction and repair work to provide access for workers and for the placement of building materials at appropriate locations, mainly outside a building or structure. Staging is usually used for work within buildings (ceilings).

In modern construction work the development of industrial methods, the mechanization of much of the work, and the increase in size of structural components of buildings have necessitated scaffolding that is light and convenient to use and consists of standardized metal components that are easy to assemble and disassemble. Such metal scaffolding is replacing the formerly used wooden scaffolding, which required a great deal of labor for its assembly and could be used only once. Wood scaffolding consisted of round or roughly shaped timber (hence the Russian name, lesá, “timber”).

Structurally, modern scaffolding is a three-dimensional framework consisting of a number of standardized components. Such a design makes possible versatile use of the same components, regardless of the terrain of the locale and the layout of the building or structure. The most widely used types of scaffolding in the USSR are the tubular metal scaffolding fastened with clamps, designed by the Central Scientific Research Institute for the Organization, Mechanization, and Technical Assistance for Construction, and the “boltless” Promstroiproekt scaffolding, which is assembled by means of hooks and sockets. Scaffolding is fastened to the wall by anchors set into the wall.

The scaffoldings described above are used in erecting walls up to 40 m high and for finishing or repair work on buildings up to 60 m high. Scaffolding may also be of the suspended, cradle, self-propelled, or self-elevating type, depending on the method of installation and movement. In a number of cases scaffolding can be used to maintain structures being erected in the required position, if such structures in themselves do not have the required stability during the construction period (for example, platforms, cast concrete or reinforced-concrete shells, and brick arches).

M. IA. EGNUS