Rules of thumb for scaffolding weight?

[StructureMan44]

Are there any rules of thumb for calculating the weight of occupied scaffolding? Maybe something regarding the floor area cover, amount of levels, and activity performed?

 

[Lomarandil]

ASCE 37 has some guidance (section 4.8)... in addition to the typical live load rules of thumb for scaffolding (25psf for light duty, 50 psf medium, 100psf heavy duty) depending on the operation, it also has some provisions on live load reduction by tributary area, further restriction by individual personnel loads, etc.

 

[dhengr]

StructureMan44:
I think OSHA has some min. loads for scaffolding and scaffold planking. This might be either Fed. or your own state OSHA. Also, take a look around some construction sites where scaffolding is being used. Masonry construction probably causes some of the largest scaffolding loadings where pallets of conc. blk. or brick and large volumes of mortar are placed on the scaffolding at times, plus a couple guys on any one section of scaffolding. Why not talk with a couple scaffolding manufacturers? Sometimes E-Tips might be the easiest and quickest place to come with a question, but also the least productive, when you could go right to the manufacturer.

 

[CANPRO]

unless the scaffold is exceptionally tall, the live load should account for the majority of the weight...so in some cases you could take twice the live load as a ball park figure. If the scaffold is tall enough that the dead load becomes significant, it likely has to be engineered (in Canada anything over 50' must be engineered) and the scaffold designer should be able to tell you the expected leg loads. On my drawings I list the maximum expected leg load. The link below will take you to a webpage where you can download the technical manual for a typical scaffold system. It lists the weights of the components...you can take a quick look at a few different arrangements to get a feel for how much it will weigh. You'll also see they list the maximum capacity of the leg which could be taken as a high end estimate of the total load.

http://www.safway.com/Products/SafLock-System-Scaffold.asp

 

[chicopee]

In addition to what's stated above, manufacturers will labels scaffold and manuals for such information. Of course you should have stated the type of scaffold for which your inquiry relates because there are several types.