# How do you climb scaffolding? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120 "2014-07-15T00:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/1 "2014-07-15T00:57:47Z")
I recently completed washing the outside of my two-story home of dirt and mildew. To reach the upper portion of the house I erected three lifts (vertical sections) of scaffolding on wheel bases so I could reach everything and move it easily. So, la dee da, I’m washing my house, hoisting pressure washer hoses, buckets and other stuff up and down. Something I noticed about my behavior was that I _always_ climbed the scaffolding from the inside. I could have climbed it just as well from the outside, but I never did. I thought, “Well, it’s safer from the inside.” That’s bogus. A fall from the inside is just as bad as a fall from the outside. And the scaffold planks were easily shoved aside to allow egress once the proper level was attained. Okay. Let’s ask the SDMB. They are fighting ignorance around the world. Maybe they will fight my ignorance of the scaffold climb. What say ye, O Wise and Mighty SDMB members? Why am I a knucklehead when it comes to climbing scaffolding? ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/2 "2014-07-15T01:06:55Z")
> [@ASGuy](#): > > I recently completed washing the outside of my two-story home of dirt and mildew. To reach the upper portion of the house I erected three lifts (vertical sections) of scaffolding on wheel bases so I could reach everything and move it easily. > > So, la dee da, I’m washing my house, hoisting pressure washer hoses, buckets and other stuff up and down. > > Something I noticed about my behavior was that I _always_ climbed the scaffolding from the inside. I could have climbed it just as well from the outside, but I never did. I thought, “Well, it’s safer from the inside.” That’s bogus. A fall from the inside is just as bad as a fall from the outside. And the scaffold planks were easily shoved aside to allow egress once the proper level was attained. > > Okay. Let’s ask the SDMB. They are fighting ignorance around the world. Maybe they will fight my ignorance of the scaffold climb. > > What say ye, O Wise and Mighty SDMB members? Why am I a knucklehead when it comes to climbing scaffolding? I feel more comfortable climbing on the inside. But got my biggest scare when I was up at the top of 3 lifts and my sister asked me to reach outside. I slid a plank out and she said she’d stay on the plank inside and I was outside when she “Forgot” I was counting on her to balance the plank and stepped off. Lucky for me I am quick and got back inside before falling. She became angry because I wouldn’t trust her and step back out to finish the bit I had been doing outside. I moved the whole scaffolding instead. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/3 "2014-07-15T07:37:08Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > I feel more comfortable climbing on the inside. But got my biggest scare when I was up at the top of 3 lifts and my sister asked me to reach outside. I slid a plank out and she said she’d stay on the plank inside and I was outside when she “Forgot” I was counting on her to balance the plank and stepped off. Lucky for me I am quick and got back inside before falling. She became angry because I wouldn’t trust her and step back out to finish the bit I had been doing outside. I moved the whole scaffolding instead. Heck, I would have swiched places with her and had her do the cleaning. Let’s see if she trusts me! This comes under the heading of “screw me once…”. I climb up the outside. There is no particular reason, I just do. I will bet that there are saftey vidios about this… Yep, google “using scaffolding safely” and you will find some. I did not take the time to research your question. IHTH, 48. BTW, my sister would not have to worry, I am a man of my word. ---
**Author:** ![Timetrvlr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Timetrvlr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timetrvlr)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/4 "2014-07-15T19:43:44Z")
I’ve used a lot of scaffolding in industry, sometimes as many as six stages high. On high scaffolding, it’s always best to climb up the inside because your weight on the outside at height can overbalance it and the whole damn thing will fall over with you on the bottom. Also, you should raise one more stage to provide hand rails for the platform.😃 ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/5 "2014-07-16T01:56:47Z")
You’ll want to make sure it is securely tied to the house, [lest an accident occur…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PochL9uL-Y) ---
**Author:** ![Finnie\_the\_Pooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@Finnie\_the\_Pooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finnie_the_Pooh)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/6 "2014-07-16T02:09:41Z")
Back in the seventies I used to work for a pipefitting company building scaffold. My record was 225 feet of scaffold around a 3 foot pipe going up alongside a wall. I usually climbed inside the scaffold because there were platforms to rest on. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-climb-scaffolding/693120/7 "2014-07-16T02:13:11Z")
I prefer the scaffolding that has interior steps built in, similar to [this](http://www.china-manufacturer-directory.com/upload/product/1/a478236c9626af847a69b8a62a6a8f05.jpg). It also came with outriggers to make it more difficult to tip. As for the other kind, I usually climbed up the outside.