# Forum Home Renovation General Odds & Sods  Scaffolding rent or buy?

## paddyjoy

I'm planning on putting a second storey on our house in Sydney and will need scaffolding for a few months. After getting some quotes for rental it seems that it would be almost cheaper for me to buy new or second hand kwigstage and then either keep or sell it on ebay afterwards. 
I like the idea of buying because it takes some of the time pressure away, allowing me to complete the project over a longer time frame. 
Does anyone have any experience with this? What did you do?

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## Whitey66

I looked into this before,I couldn't believe the price they were asking for rental.
If I was you I would either buy new,or preferably second hand,then sell it afterwards.
I was lucky in the end with mine,I borrowed it from a mates dad who is a builder.It only cost me a carton of beer  :Smilie:   .

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## woodchip

I also looked into this last year, in the end I ended up hiring, unless you have a scaffolding ticket & associated insurances, I believe the risks are too much, especially if your going to have other tradespeople up on it, & definitely hire if your going to be having brickies up on it, due to the extra weights they load on it. I did over-run on my time schedule by a couple of months due to weather & other work commitments, so I too could of "almost bought" it, but still happy with my decision to hire, cheers

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## shauck

I'd agree with woodchip, if many others will be using the scaffold. If the work you are doing is lightweight and your doing most of it, owning your own scaffold is a good idea.  
I did this for a job about a year ago. It was primarily a painting job and after looking into scaffolding and the associated costs (delivery, erecting, removal, etc), It ended up cheaper for me to buy it and charge the customer 2/3 of the cost and they then had a set price, regardless of how long the job took. Now I have a mobile scaffold that I use whenever needed and it's gotten me some work and made other construction, cladding, painting work much easier.  
Not sure if mobile is suitable to you. It can depend on purpose and ground conditions. Moving it along on uneven ground can be tricky, especially without assistance. I've nearly lost the scaffold onto a neigbouring fence when one of the wheels fell into a dip and I had to stand there holding it upright for 15 minutes before help arrived to sort it out. That was not fun. Don't recommend moving them on uneven ground unless you have a hand and they know how sensitive they can be. When moving them on uneven ground there's a fair bit of inching forward and adjusting wheel heights here and there to keep them level as you move along. Really only suited to flat ground, concrete, etc. If you can go down this route and it suits your purpose. and you have level ground, I'd suggest it over kwikstage because you only need one section and so cost will be lower but there will be time taken to move it about.  
The one I got is narrower than most and it fits in some pretty tight spaces too. Means less room on the platform but I find it plenty good enough.

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## Moondog55

My old boss just did the night school and got his scaffolding ticket. buying at auction was his preferred option

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## Gaza

If worried just buy gear and hire scaffolders on day labour to erect.

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## barney118

> I also looked into this last year, in the end I ended up hiring, unless you have a scaffolding ticket & associated insurances, I believe the risks are too much, especially if your going to have other tradespeople up on it, & definitely hire if your going to be having brickies up on it, due to the extra weights they load on it. I did over-run on my time schedule by a couple of months due to weather & other work commitments, so I too could of "almost bought" it, but still happy with my decision to hire, cheers

   

> If worried just buy gear and hire scaffolders on day labour to erect.

   :Wat they said:

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## jatt

Yep Gaza has got it figured.  
I needed a couple of trestles and planks.  Ok its not as dear as proper scaff and didnt need a ticket, but had the same rent verses buy issue. 
Once I had enquired about the cost of renting two 3.6 mtr trestles and a couple of 4 mtr planks over a period of time... well it was a no brainer, I bought em.  After asking a couple of tradies I know selling em off once finished wont take much effort, and the trestles at least will attract a reasonable resale value.

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## paddyjoy

Thanks for all the replies. 
I'm leaning towards the buy option at this stage. I won't have many people up there as I'm only adding a 9m x 6m second story and my chippy will do all the framing and roof tiling. He is happy to do it without the scaffolding but I'm not comfortable with that for obvious reasons.... 
The best hire price I have so far is: 
Delivery $100
Erection $900
Dismantle $800
Weekly rental $480 
So for 8 weeks I'm looking at $5,600 and if the schedule blows out by a month it will go up to $7,520. 
I can buy a shed load of qwikstage for that price. The mobile isn't an option unfortunately due to the uneven/sloped ground. 
Does anyone know if there is a scaffolding standard out there that has standard bay sizes, bracing requirements etc.. that I can use to come up with a design/BOM?

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## paddyjoy

Some thing like this is more than enough for my needs.  Scaffold Kwikstage Painted Green | eBay 
Assuming it costs me $1k to get it erected professional and I can sell it afterwards for $2k the total cost for the project will be $2,800 regardless of time frame. 
Seems like a no brainer, what am I overlooking?

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## heeythere

Hi, 
I would definitly buy as the quote for hiring scaffold was $18000 for 6 weeks.
Bought $7000 worth of scaffold and moved it round the house as I clad it. I have had it for 5 years
and will sell it soon. 
Definitly a great investment. I was also on a sloping block,  we built over 5 levels so could not use a mobile scaffold.
Inow can now sell it and recoup most of my money.  
Good Luck Jamie  Think Big Create Big

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## shauck

> Does anyone know if there is a scaffolding standard out there that has standard bay sizes, bracing requirements etc.. that I can use to come up with a design/BOM?

  Here's my trade school notes on scaffolding. scaffolding.pdf

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## paddyjoy

> Here's my trade school notes on scaffolding. scaffolding.pdf

  Thank you that is brilliant!!!

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## toooldforthis

> Some thing like this is more than enough for my needs.  Scaffold Kwikstage Painted Green | eBay 
> Assuming it costs me $1k to get it erected professional and I can sell it afterwards for $2k the total cost for the project will be $2,800 regardless of time frame. 
> Seems like a no brainer, what am I overlooking?

  I am looking to buy rather than rent also.
and have been on the lookout for KwikStage in Perth
that eBay looks a bit expensive (more than new?) from what I have seen sold, in Perth at least.
have a look here: Australian Scaffold - Kwikstage

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## paddyjoy

> I am looking to buy rather than rent also.
> and have been on the lookout for KwikStage in Perth
> that eBay looks a bit expensive (more than new?) from what I have seen sold, in Perth at least.
> have a look here: Australian Scaffold - Kwikstage

  Thanks yes looking at the australian scaffold site the new stuff is much cheaper than the ebay link. I'll have to workout a complete list but I may even be able to get what I need brand new for somewhere between $2,000-$2,500  :Biggrin:  
Not sure how much you need but if you are willing to buy a 20 foot container full China is also an option.  Kwikstage Scaffolding-Kwikstage Scaffolding Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on Alibaba.comScaffoldings

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