Many DIY jobs in and around the home involve working at height and it’s important to plan how you are going to reach the work area. Stepladders and extending ladders both have their uses, but they are not always the most practical or safest options. Some home improvement projects can be completed easier, faster and more safely if you follow the professionals’ example and use scaffolding supplied by a reputable scaffolding contractor.

The advantages that scaffolding has over ladders include:

• Safer working. A properly designed and erected scaffold is completely stable and will have guardrails and toe boards so that even if you slip you won’t fall to the ground. A ladder can easily become unstable if you are tempted to over-reach and there’s nothing to stop you falling if you slip or lose your grip.

• Versatility. Ladders come in a few standard sizes, but an approved scaffolding contractor will be able to design and erect a scaffold to your exact requirements.        

• Easier working. When working from a ladder you should always have three points of contact with it. This means both hands and one foot when climbing, or two feet and one hand while working. If you need to let go with both hands it should only be for a very short time and if you are perfectly balanced. In contrast, scaffolding allows you to work freely with both hands all the time.

The working platform on a scaffold enables you to have all your tools and materials     close at hand. There’s a much smaller limit on what you can carry up a ladder, so you might have to make lots of trips up and down to collect tools or extra materials as you need them.

• Greater reach. From a ladder you can only safely reach an arm’s length on either side. You then have to climb down and move the ladder to work on another section. Scaffolding enables you to work on a much larger area without moving your support. This can make a big difference to jobs like painting long walls.

• Access to difficult areas. There are some places a ladder can’t reach: the area above a conservatory for example, or where there isn’t enough space on the ground to position a long ladder at a safe angle. A high ceiling could be beyond the reach of a stepladder, but you might not want to risk damaging the surface of the walls by resting an extending ladder on them. Scaffolding can be used in all these – and many other – situations. 

• Greater comfort. Standing on the narrow rungs of a ladder and maintaining your balance as you work puts additional strains on your body – especially if you’re not used to working this way. A scaffolding platform allows you to stand and move normally so the same work is less tiring.

Scaffolding is expensive to buy and not worth the outlay if you only need it for one home improvement project. Most homeowners decide to hire scaffolding, but it’s important to choose a professional scaffolding contractor who can advise you on the best type of scaffolding to use and will ensure it is erected and dismantled correctly by qualified workers.

To save time and money get free, no obligation online scaffolding quotations from a website that only deals with approved contractors and will send you quotes from companies that operate in your local area.