CHAPTER I
SCAFFOLDING
Scaffolding is the art of arranging and combining pieces of timber in order to enable workmen to proceed with their work, and from which, if required, to lift and carry the material necessary for their purpose. Many definitions of a scaffold have been given by authorities on building construction; some of the best known are as follows:—
Mitchell (C. F.): ‘Temporary erections constructed to support a number of platforms at different heights, raised for the convenience of workmen to enable them to get at their work and to raise the necessary material for the same.’
Tredgold (Hurst): ‘A scaffold as used in building is a temporary structure supporting a platform by means of which the workmen and their materials are brought within reach of their work.’
Rivington: ‘Scaffolds are temporary erections of timber supporting platforms close to the work, on which the workmen stand and deposit their materials.’
Banister F. Fletcher, in ‘Carpentry and Joinery’: ‘A scaffold is a temporary structure placed alongside a building to facilitate its erection by supporting workmen and raising materials during the construction, or for the repair of buildings.’
Recent cases tried under the Workmen’s Compensation Act have given a wider meaning to the word, and the following definition is perhaps the most comprehensive at the present time:
A scaffold, as used in building, is a temporary arrangement of timbers combined and supported in various ways to enable the workmen to proceed with their work, and where required, to afford facilities for the lifting and carrying of the materials.
The two principal methods of scaffolding are known respectively as the North and South country systems. The northern, as indicated by the name, was at one time in use only in Scotland and the north of England, but its many advantages, more especially for the transport of material, have now caused it to become general throughout the country.
The second method is essentially the South country system, and is of greater use when power is not necessary for the construction of the building.