Instructions for Tying a Scaffold Tower
- 1). Measure the height of the project so you know how tall to build your tower. Your tower will be the height of the project minus your height so you are comfortable working on the platform.
- 2). Check your tower for its specific bracing requirements during the erection of the tower. Each tower manufacturer has different requirements, so pay attention to the instructions you receive with the tower. Read the manual to determine how to assemble a tower that meets your height requirements.
- 3). Place your tower on level ground and lock the base plates or castors. Avoid placing scaffolding near heat sources, such as pipes. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that you should position your scaffolding so the platform you stand on is no more than 14 inches from the face of the building.
- 4). Measure from the ground 14 feet up the wall, and install an eye bolt in the brick or concrete wall at the edge of the scaffolding. From your first eye bolt, measure another 14 feet up the wall and install a second vertical eye bolt. Continue installing an eye bolt every 14 feet up the wall until you reach the top of the scaffolding.
- 5). From the first vertical eye bolt position 14 feet up the wall, measure 24 feet across the wall, behind the scaffolding, and install another eye bolt. Continue going across in 24-foot increments until you reach the other end of the scaffolding. Continue this pattern on every vertical eye bolt.
- 6). Install stiff ties, tension pulls or guy wires on the scaffolding at each eye bolt position, and secure the tie to the eye bolt to prevent the scaffolding from falling away from the building.
- 7). Use tension pulls on a 45-degree horizontal angle to prevent the scaffolding from moving right or left along the wall if your scaffolding is over 54 feet tall. Attach a guy wire to the edge of each side of the scaffolding at the very top and secure it to the ground at a 45-degree angle from the tower. If the width of the scaffolding side is more than 49 feet, add a second guy wire on each side 49 feet across from the first and secure it to the ground at a 45-degree angle.
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