Choosing, Making and Using Scaffolding for Tiny Home Construction

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Wondering how you will reach the top of your tiny home to complete it? Ladders can work for some projects, but if you want to be able to move around and reach multiple parts of your little house at once, you may need some scaffolding. Here's a look at some options ranging from homemade scaffolding to hiring scaffolding:

Sawhorses and Planks

With a tiny house, you may not need to get that high. Whether you are installing the roofing, painting the top of the house or dealing with loft windows, a short bit of scaffolding may do the trick.

To that end, you can make basic scaffolding by placing two sawhorses on the ground and stretching a platform made of planks between them. Do not attempt to do this with ladders, as they are not designed to hold weight in that way, and they could easily become destabilised on uneven ground.

Homemade Scaffolding

To make your own scaffolding, start with two planks oriented at a ninety degree angle to each other. Imagine one plank resting against the exterior of your tiny home and the other plank jutting outward to support the base of your scaffolding. The latter plank should be attached about a quarter of the way from the top of the first plank. Then, you should attach two pieces of plywood to the planks, and the plywood should form a right-angle triangle with the corner lined up where the two planks meet.

To situate this base in place, take a third plank -- this plank should be taller than your original planks, but the length varies based on how high you want your scaffolding to be. Slot the third plank into the opening between the pieces of plywood, and orient it so that sits at roughly a 45 degree angle between the other two planks.

Bring this plank to the ground, and stabilise it by planting a small stake in the ground next to the board. Repeat this process for the second side of your homemade scaffolding. Then, lay a large piece of plywood between your two bases. Use a ladder to climb up and use the scaffolding as usual. If you are making a particularly wide platform, build more than two bases. Also, for extra stability, attach the straight plank to your house using nails.

Hired Scaffolding

Rather than using makeshift or homemade scaffolding, consider hiring scaffolding. When you hire it, you can get adjustable screws and base plates that make it possible to adjust the scaffolding for uneven ground. Additionally, you can find scaffolding at various heights depending on the needs of your project. You can also hire it unassembled so that it's easier to move to your site, and you can find scaffolding with caster wheels that allow you to move it around your little house as needed. Finally, if you are worried about falling, you may want to hire scaffolding that you can attach a fall harness to -- homemade scaffolding typically doesn't make that possible. 

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