[CJAllen]

Ladders? Scaffold? Both?

When I do crown in a dining or living room I'll use 2 step ladders and a couple of those 3rd hand poles. That won't work in a 2 story foyer where I'll need to reach 18' up and over the stairway. I have a 24' extension ladder and I can get my hands on a second ladder as well as scaffold. The scaffold will give me a platform at approximately 12'. But some foyers are too cramped for a scaffold.

I have always worked alone. Is this something I should get a helper for? I'm curious what others do. Please share your secrets.

 

[Teetorbilt]

I did something similar years ago in a 10 unit condo, I had 22 ft. from about the #5 or 6 tread. I built scaffolding out of stud lumber, about $1.20 ea., used old carpet to protect the walls and jammed everything in tight. Fastened with deck screws. It took about 1/2 hr. to figure it out, about an hour to install and it held 2 guys safely.

 

[PPro]

2 extension ladders and 2 guys. I would highly recommend a helper, it makes it so much easier and usually the work turns out better. (One guy can hold the piece while the other adjusts the corners, etc).

I would recommend 2 extension ladders and 2 folding 6 foot ladders. You'll probably continue the crown onto the second floor at some point, where a normal 6 foot ladder works well.

Some guys dont, but I always nail a piece of 1x2 to the subfloor behind the feet of my extension ladder. The 5 seconds and 4 nails to not fall 20 something feet is worth it in my opinion.

 

[CJAllen]

Thanks for the input PPro. I failed to mention that this job, and all of my jobs to date are in finished homes. So the 1 x 2 nailed to the sub floor was not an option but is still a great idea, because you can't do this stuff without thinking of how fragile the human body is.

Since I'm working in finished homes I have to worry about hardwood floors, foyer chandeliers and stairways with banisters.

I went solo using 12' of baker's scaffold (Bil-Jax Interior model). I used it straight up for the high areas and then reconfigured it to go up the steps. I didn't use an extension ladder because this foyer has a ledge above the front door, it was wide enough to use a 6' step ladder to reach into the front corners and across the front wall. I climbed up the scaffold to get to the ledge. If the ledge weren't there I might have used an extension ladder. I could also use 3rd-Hand poles on top of the scaffold.

Erecting the scaffold alone is a physical job. Anyone with back, neck or shoulder problems should have a helper.

 

[PPro]

Glad it worked out for you, I dont work in finished homes too often, so crappy ladders and nailing stuff to the floor works perfect.

We also dont have the time to build scaffolding, so thats usually out of the question. I wish I had the time sometimes...