Scaffold Facts for Kids

Typical modern scaffolding.

Plaque commemorating executions at the old Tower Hill scaffold site.
by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

A scaffold is a temporary structure used for support. Originally scaffolds were made of wood, and bamboo scaffolds are still used in many parts of the world. In the western world they are now made of metal.

The most common use of scaffolds is to allow work on buildings. Another use of the word was the wooden platforms built for executions. This is now a rare use of the word.

More important people were executed in the Tower of London.

Images for kids

Scaffolding for rehabilitation in Madrid
Reconstruction of Buckingham Palace in 1913, under the scaffolding of Patent Rapid.
A condominium in periodical (every 10-15 years) large scale repairing/maintenance in Japan under regulation. In most cases the entire building is covered by steel scaffolding and mesh for easy work and safety. Typically it continues 3-5 weeks per planned schedule.
Scaffolding, 10 months after Tokyo Skytree construction start
Extensive scaffolding on a building in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. This type of scaffolding is called pipe staging.
Assembly of bamboo scaffolding cantilevered over a Hong Kong street
A short section of steel scaffold tube.
Scaffolding in Tretyakovsky Proyezd, Moscow
Basic scaffold dimensioning terms. No boards, bracing or couplers shown
Scaffolding showing required protection of a working platform with maximum dimensions. Butt-board not visible. No couplers shown
The Holy Trinity Church in Vladimir, with scaffolding wrapped in safety mesh.
Scaffolding by Balfour & Beatty during refurbishment of the Waverley Station roof, Edinburgh 2011
Bamboo scaffolding an under-construction water tower Hainan, China
Bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong disassembled
Workers on bamboo scaffolding
A fulcrum supports this bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong.
Bamboo scaffolds and bun towers in Cheung Chau
Stilts are considered a type of scaffold by OSHA in the USA. Stilts are commonly used by drywall tapers working on ceilings.
A medieval putlog hole in the wall of Reading Abbey in Berkshire, southern England
A scaffolding ready to be assembled.
Tube and clamp scaffold detail.
A type of metal pole scaffold in France.
Wooden pole scaffold.
Pipe staging is very common in the U.S. Welded sections stack on top of each other and braced with cross braces, workers stand on planks or aluminum platforms.
Bamboo scaffold with nylon knots.
The putlog is the horizontal piece on which the platform rests, the upright pole is called a standard. In some masonry buildings the holes into which the putlogs are inserted remain unfilled and are called putlog holes.
A type of putlog scaffold where the putlogs go through the wall and are relatively balanced on each side.
Carpenters' bracket scaffolding or wall brackets bolt through, and hang from, a wall.
Tall horse scaffold.
Swing stage
Ladder brackets mount to the rungs of a ladder and hold planks.
Trestle ladder scaffold.

Scaffold facts for kids

Images for kids

See also