Scaffold Towers and Industrial Ladders are what you Need Here!

Restoration and self-build programmes are very in at the moment, in fact it seems the ever popular Grand Designs has been on air for as long as living memory extends! The fascination with these shows comes from the fact that many people hold the dream of one day building their own home, or renovating an interesting building. By watching other people struggling and eventually finishing the project people can get inspired, motivated or even put off the idea completely! Either way, we all know how much work is involved just re-tiling a bathroom, so the fact that people triumph in building a whole house seems amazing. Often one of the things that goes wrong in these shows is the equipment needed for certain jobs such as replacing a roof or lowering in massive panes of glass.  Cranes aren't for the uninitiated and they're not something we supply here at Midland Ladders!  However, we do stock pretty much everything else access-wise that you might need to renovate a building. The Youngman Minimax scaffold tower system is a modular scaffold system, meaning that it can be used indoors as well as out, as the base unit has a platform height of just 87cm.  Extra height and platforms with toeboard kits can be added, giving a maximum working height of 7.8 metres. The platform is 1.83 metres long and 70cm wide, giving you plenty of room to work and move.  The system is certified to HD 1004 class 3 tower standard and can be folded down and wheeled through doorways so it's incredibly versatile on a renovation project, providing a safer and more comfortable alternative to ladders for almost every job. The base unit costs £299 including VAT and delivery, but for £495 you can get the next extension as well as the base unit, offering a maximum platform height of 1.7 metres (working height 3.7 metres), as well as the lower positions.  Youngman recommend that when using the extended kit outdoors that stabilisers are added. These are available for £195.  The 5.7 metre platform Minimax tower comes with these stabilisers, and for £1,095 including VAT and delivery, the tower will be paying for itself with the extra heights available.  Toeboards should be used on towers of this height and they are available separately. This taller model comes with two platforms so the tower can be used to access two different heights simultaneously. Extra units can be added to all these packages to build a modular tower system that suits your needs and budget.  There are even adjustable leg extensions that help level the unit on uneven ground: very important for sites that are under construction. The tallest Minimax scaffold tower has a 7.8 metre high platform, making it ideally suited to renovation projects on all but the most challenging buildings. There are three platforms with the tallest model allowing work to take place at three levels simultaneously.  It is easy to assemble and packs into a van so it can be removed from site overnight with no problems of theft or vandalism.  It will set you back £1,495 but will also play the role of nearly every other ladder you might need on a full scale renovation project.  If you have tasks that require the kind of height and stability you only get from a scaffold tower, then it is worth investing the money in the right height for you and then making use of the base and lower units for lower level jobs. If you only have a small amount of work to do at height (replacing window frames perhaps, not repointing an entire wall) then a staging platform provides a different approach.  To set up, these need two extension ladders of the same type, plus stabilising brackets for each ladder. The staging kit is bracketed to the top rungs of each ladder and spans between then against a wall.  Toeboards, guardrails and end rails prevent falls from this system.  These are perfect for smaller jobs such as guttering or window repairs, where a scaffold tower is suitable for these jobs as well as longer tasks such as repointing.  The ladder stagings will take a load up to 270 kilos, so two people can work on these at the same time.  From £539 to £755 including VAT and delivery, and reaching heights up to 5 metres, these staging kits represent a saving compared to the scaffold towers, but they also require further investment in the two ladders plus brackets.  It still might not add up to more than the scaffold tower, but you will have more components to put together with the staging kit.  If you already have two ladders that will work with this kit then it could save you money, but if you need to buy two identical ladders plus this kit, then you're left with two more ladders to store as well. Extension ladders are one of the most commonly used types of ladder for restoration or maintenance work on the home.  Designed for use on quick jobs, they provide versatile access to different heights and don't take up much room.  When using an extension ladder on a restoration or self build project, a DIY or trade suitable ladder might not quite cut the mustard in terms of what the ladder is expected to stand up to. Titan Industrial class 1 ladders come in heights of four to nearly fifteen metres, the tallest of which require a rope and pulley operation to put them up.  The longest, a triple section 14.7 metre long ladder, costs £625, but the shortest double section one comes in at just £98.  For most external jobs you can get a ladder tall enough for under £150.  Youngman also manufacture industrial ladders, and although the come in slightly different height brackets, they're perfect for renovations and restorations, and slightly cheaper too: you're looking at less than £135 for comparable heights to the Titan models. Combination ladders offer a freestanding, taller alternative to a step-ladder.  These are useful in tall indoor spaces as they do not take up as much room in vertical space as a step ladder.  Youngman have three different height models to choose from, costing between £99 and £165.  The tallest model offers a maximum height of 6.76 metres when used as a straight extension ladder, 4.87 metres when used as an extended step ladder, 3.77 metres as a stairway ladder and 2.95 metres as a step ladder.  Abru and Zarges also make combination ladders, with Zarges offering combination ladders rated to Industrial standard, which are perfect for tricky access solutions in the early stages of renovations. They are more expensive, starting at £320 for a model that offers 2.45 metres of extension ladder and 4.1 metres of freestanding height, but it also functions as single, double and triple straight ladders, trestle step ladder, extending step ladder and stairway ladder, so can perform all the functions you might need in the final stages of a renovation project. Work platforms and step ladders can be helpful in the final stages of a renovation or refurbishment project as they offer extra height with a great deal of stability.  However, by investing in versatile access equipment in the first place you should have all the bases covered and perhaps just need one very short step ladder for some jobs.  The Minimax scaffold tower will serve many purposes from painstaking tasks such as repointing stonework or repairing chimneys to putting up floor supports and even painting ceilings.  It provides a sturdy solution for most jobs that involve working at height, and because the system is modular, you can buy the parts that fit your requirements. A good combination ladder is the other essential investment.  These ladders serve many purposes, and the Zarges Industrial models are incredibly versatile and tough.  There is pretty much nothing these ladders can't do and instead of buying and storing a stairway ladder, extension ladder, extending step ladder and trestle scaffold you can save money and space by getting one ladder to do many things.  Overall, by investing a decent amount of money in good access equipment you avoid the need to replace it should it become damaged through over-use (this is why industrial rated equipment is better for a renovation project as it is designed for heavy building use rather than painting and decorating use), and give yourself the choice to use many different types and heights of ladder, but without having a lot of kit to store and transport.