Commercial Scaffolding – Ashfield Bell Tower Scaffold

Recently Stronghold Hire was engaged to install an emergency make safe scaffold. It was the day after heavy lightning storms caused a bell tower in Ashfield to erupt in flames. It is understood the property named “Amesbury” is one of the first Edwardian homes in Sydney and was built in the late 1800s.

The fire was extinguished within hours but this left the building in a dangerous condition meaning that the area, including the road needed to be blocked off with pedestrians and traffic diverted.

Safe Access Solution for Ashfield Bell Tower

Stronghold Hire was called in the day after the fire to provide an access solution to repair the damaged part of the building. The building was very similar in shape to a project we had recently completed at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon.

We were able to use project this as an example, showing the drawings, images and methodology together with an accurate estimate of costs. The client accepted our proposal and we started to put the plan into action immediately.

Eye In The Sky

The drone footage below helps give you a good idea of the scale of the scaffolding project for Ashfield Bell Tower, enjoy!.

Working Through The Night

Working through the night we pre-loaded two trucks with material to arrive on-site for 7 am. We understood that time was of the essence due to the inconvenience and cost of the road diversions, we needed to erect the scaffold ASAP to open the roads and pavements.

Heavy Duty Steel Kwik Stage Scaffold

We decided to use heavy-duty steel Kwik stage scaffold for most of the project. However, for the areas over the lower roofs, we used our lightweight aluminium modular system. The scaffold also needed to incorporate a stretcher stair access and B class Hoarding.

Scaffolding Safely – Always

Extra safety precautions were taken by our scaffolders working in and around the dangerous structure as per usual with these projects.

Heritage Building Scaffolding

Our scaffolders worked through the weekend to be as productive as possible. Due to the building being listed as heritage it was preferred that no invasive anchors were to be used, we were able to achieve this by working with our engineer. Instead of invasive anchors, we used a scaffold design to gain the correct minimum base width to height ratio and then locked the scaffold in around the tower using push ties as we got higher. We have a lot of experience in providing scaffolding for heritage buildings in Sydney and were happy to be able to make this building safe whilst preserving it’s heritage.

VIP Scaffolding

Council Permits were prioritised to facilitate the scaffold and the road diversions were held until the scaffold was completed and certified by our engineer.

Emergency Scaffolding Projects Done Right!

The project was completed, and we were extremely satisfied and honoured to be a part of such an iconic restoration job. Stronghold Hire engages in lots of emergencies make safe works for our insurance clients, understanding the need for cost-effective, safe and efficient scaffolds in extremely short turnaround times.