>  Ken Johnson wrote:
> Take a look at a HEK mast climber at
> http://www.hek.com/ We used one of
> these on a 14 story structure a couple of years ago


Ken

Thanks for your thoughts.  Mast climbers are indeed a
great way to go.  We have used this type of access
system on a number of buildings where facade
refurbishment or conservation works have been
undertaken over the past decade.  Most recently, we
had one on a 1930s 12 storey department store where we
supervised sandstone repair and steel window
repair/painting works.  As you say, very flexible in
terms of projecting into recesses in the facade, and
moving past projecting courses.

Unfortunately, so far these have always required
sidewalk bridges beneath them as well!

The driving reason for chasing impossible dreams is
that the buildings I am working on are operating
department stores, with historic street canopies.  To
erect conventional sidewalk bridges, we would need to
undertake extensive dismantling of the cladding to the
street canopies; and block the street frontages to the
department stores.  Our current alternative scheme
involves suspended overhead protective structures
cantilevering out from the building above the
canopies.  The problem with these is the intrusion
into the occupied space inside the building at the
anchor points.  Hence our chase of an impossible dream
of using rated swinging scaffolds!

For the reasons given above, mast climbers are of no
greater benefit than conventional scaffold because we
have to take the loads down to the sidewalk.

But thanks again for the thoughts.

Cheers

david


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