End frame
bottom legs of the two end frames.
I set two braces where I can reach them as I stand up the first end frame. Holding the end frame with one hand, I slip the braces onto the toggle pins of the frame with the other. With the braces in place, I can leave the first end frame upright but leaning at an angle while I fetch the second end frame. When I attach the second end frame to the braces, the first section of scaf
folding is assembled and in the right place.
MASONRY WORK
A scaffolding section is made up of two cross braces and two end frames.
Leveling feet can be used to make the section level on uneven terrain.
To level the assembly, I determine which end frame is the higher of the two. I clamp my level to the top bar of that end frame and raise the leg on the low side by rotating the threaded bracket on the level
ing foot. Leveling feet are not absolutely necessary (you can raise the lower side of the end frame by setting scraps of wood under the leg), but they are very convenient.
I recommend renting or buying these leveling feet whenever you have to use this kind of scaffolding.
Mter I get the first end frame level, I place my level on a straight board that bridges both end frames, and bring the second end frame up level with the first.
Once I get the first section nice and level, I set a few scaffolding boards across the top and lean two end frames and two braces against the standing section of scaffolding so I'll be able to reach them from I install the braces. Trying to install this second tier of end frames from the ground is a direct approach that, at first, seems like the natural way to go. But when you hold the end frame upright from the bot
tom, you surrender a serious mechanical advantage. It's much easier and safer to work with gravi
ty and lower the end frame into place from above. I never begrudge the time it takes to climb up on the scaffold because I know I'll have to get up there anyway to install the braces.
To erect subsequent layers of scaf
folding, repeat the process, setting scaffolding boards in place then installing each end frame from above. I leave the boards in place
Scaffolding that is over three sections high should always be attached to the house to pre
vent it from tipping over. To con
nect the scaffold to the house, I attach a scrap of 2x4 to the house, screw the brace to the scrap, then attach the scaffold to the brace with metal pipe strops. These are rigid and fit snugly over the round bars of the scaffold end frames.
I use screws throughout this opera
tion, both because they hold better than nails and because they're easier to remove when I toke down the scaffolds.
as I move up, both because I need something to stand on to safely install each new section of boards and because I'll need to have some
thing to stand on later when I take the scaffolding down. When I get above the third tier of scaffolding, I use a rope to pull the end frame up; later, when I'm taking down the scaffold, I use the rope to lower the pieces to the ground.
SElTlNG UP SCAFFOLDING
)S
hen you finish the founda
tion and turn your attention to the frame, you confront a new and very different set of problems as a solo builder. Happily, though, this phase of the job begins not over uneven ground but on a square and level surface
the top of the foundation. This not only provides a tangible reference to measure against and a level base to build on, but it also gives you something to hook or clamp your tape measure to.
These very real advantages should not be overstated, however. Laying out the vari
ous parts of the frame is a big job, and there are hundreds of measurements
involved for most residential frames, some of which are quite difficult for a person working alone to do.
Yet the layout is not nearly as diffi
cult as the second basic challenge that solo builders face: moving, lift
ing, and installing framing materi
als. In contrast to the compact and easy-to-manage masonry units that make up the foundation, the solo builder is now faced with boards that are 1 2 ft., 1 6 ft., even 20 ft.
long, and sheets of plywood that are 4 ft. across and 8 ft. long. To compound the problems (literally), it's often convenient or necessary to combine these materials into larger components before lifting them into place.
The materials of the frame are not only large and unwieldy, but they are also far from perfect. Wood products are, by their nature, dimensionally unstable. By the time builders get their hands on them, wood is often cupped, bowed, or twisted. Seasoned car
penters expect these flaws and respond by culling the worst speci
mens and by pushing, pulling, torquing, and levering the others into a reasonably straight line as they install them. This process is not too difficult when two or three carpenters are working together, but when a carpenter works alone it takes some unique thought and effort.