Plank

[Yamanx]

I'm going on a trip, I have an old bit of scaffold board which, looks horrible. So I'm wandering around B&Q's in my lunch time, and saw this

 

Link to B&Q

 

Hmm, nice and wide, the right length, shaped at the sides with an anti slip (?) style groove pattern

 

Tin of varnish and voila! a half decent plank for twenty quid

[Titus]

Definately worth a look !

 

Dave

[Gibbo]

It's soft wood. It won't last 10 minutes!

[NB Lola]

Agree with gibbo on this one, I have these for our decking,

 

It's crap wood made to look nice

 

I would not dare to stand on it if that's all their is between the two end points. I would expect to bounce and then hear a wee crack before an enormous splash?

[Yamanx]

Ten minutes is a bit harsh

 

I've got decking fifteen years old still looks good, my shed is even older and looks even better. It would take a very big person to break it, its a fair chunk of wood, I would challenge anyone to snap it even with a launch pad.

 

Anyway its not hardwood as that would clearly cost far more than twenty quid.

 

But I'm pleased with my twenty quids worth, functional, looks good and will last a bit more than ten minutes

 

ETA: The twenty quid includes the varnish, and my fifteen year old decking never had the three or four coats of varnish the plank will receive

Edited August 17, 2012 by Yamanx

[jonathanA]

I got some staircase stringer from my local timber yard and that was a bit cheaper but wasn't tanalised, similiar dimensions. I think mines only about 6 foot long rather than 8 foot (2.4m).

 

This looks a good option for making a plank to me, on the understanding that yes its treated softwood, probably not strong enough to provide an 8ft span but cut down to 6 footish maybe would have thought it was worth a go and the lighter weight compared to a scaffold plank should make it more useable....

[smileypete]

But I'm pleased with my twenty quids worth, functional, looks good and will last a bit more than ten minutes

 

ETA: The twenty quid includes the varnish, and my fifteen year old decking never had the three or four coats of varnish the plank will receive

I hope it doesn't look quite like the plank in the B&Q photo, those 'splay knots' across the face of the board weaken it considerably.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[john6767]

I would have said go to a timber merchants; that is what I did, and got a proper sized piece of tanalised wood for not much that that B&Q price if I remember correctly.

[David Schweizer]

If you hunt around you can get a 38mm thick 13ft BS standard scaffold board without knots or shakes for well under £20 and just cut it to the length you need.

Edited August 17, 2012 by David Schweizer

[John Holden]

It's soft wood. It won't last 10 minutes!

 

So are scaffold planks!

But I agree it does seem an expensive and unsatisfactory substitute.

[David Schweizer]

So are scaffold planks!

But I agree it does seem an expensive and unsatisfactory substitute.

Nothing wrong with softwood, it is what the floors in your house are made from and nailed to. It is the quality that matters, scaffold boards are made from selected, graded knot and shake free timber which meets BS2482

Edited August 17, 2012 by David Schweizer

[John Holden]

Nothing wrong with softwood, it is what the floors in your house are made from and nailed to. It is the quality that matters, scaffold boards are made from selected, graded knot and shake free timber which meets BS2482

 

Yes, balsa wood is a hardwood, fancy a plank made of balsa?

[Yamanx]

Yep, all that is probably true.

 

But it has been nicely curved on the edges, unlike a scaffold board and it has neat grooves along its length, unlike a scaffold board, tanalised unlike a scaffold board. It does not look like a scaffold board, unlike a scaffold board.

 

It has a few knots in it, which probably don't conform to a British Standard of any sort. It can be bought at your local B&Q without trying to find a specialist builders merchant, still looks good, as is, with a bit of Oak stain varnish, jobs a good 'un

 

Recommended

[David Schweizer]

Yep, all that is probably true.

 

But it has been nicely curved on the edges, unlike a scaffold board and it has neat grooves along its length, unlike a scaffold board, tanalised unlike a scaffold board. It does not look like a scaffold board, unlike a scaffold board.

 

It has a few knots in it, which probably don't conform to a British Standard of any sort. It can be bought at your local B&Q without trying to find a specialist builders merchant, still looks good, as is, with a bit of Oak stain varnish, jobs a good 'un

 

Recommended

I have Jewsons, Bradfords, and Sharpe and Fisher all closer to my home than B&Q and they all sell BS2482 scaffold boards for less than the B&Q decking plank. In fact BS2482 scaffold boards can be bought from almost any normal Builders merchants, you do not need to go to specialists, although there is also a specialist scafolding depot near us as well.

 

A scaffold board when new will be comparatively smooth, it can be sanded off a bit and will take paint or varnish if preferred very well.

[RLWP]

Ten minutes is a bit harsh

 

I've got decking fifteen years old still looks good <snip>

 

Did you happen, by any chance, to screw your decking down to some kind of rigid framework? We did, and our decking is lovely

 

But the bits left over appear to be made from the stuff the RAF used to make propellers

 

Richard

[Yamanx]

I have Jewsons, Bradfords, and Sharpe and Fisher all closer to my home than B&Q and they all sell BS2482 scaffold boards for less than the B&Q decking plank. In fact BS2482 scaffold boards can be bought from almost any normal Builders merchants, you do not need to go to specialists, although there is also a specialist scafolding depot near us as well.

 

A scaffold board when new will be comparatively smooth, it can be sanded off a bit and will take paint or varnish if preferred very well.

 

Cool, plenty of alternatives then

 

Nice to have a good choice

[John Holden]

 

A scaffold board when new will be comparatively smooth, it can be sanded off a bit and will take paint or varnish if preferred very well.

 

But left unsanded has a wonderful non-slip surface!

Another source for scaffold planks is of course scaffolders who frequently have to reject boards as no longer suitable for their use, but still with plenty of life left in them. Usually pretty cheap as well.

[smileypete]

Yep, all that is probably true.

 

But it has been nicely curved on the edges, unlike a scaffold board and it has neat grooves along its length, unlike a scaffold board, tanalised unlike a scaffold board. It does not look like a scaffold board, unlike a scaffold board.

 

It has a few knots in it, which probably don't conform to a British Standard of any sort. It can be bought at your local B&Q without trying to find a specialist builders merchant, still looks good, as is, with a bit of Oak stain varnish, jobs a good 'un

 

Recommended

[Pretty Funked Up]

But left unsanded has a wonderful non-slip surface!

 

Try sprinkling some sand on while ur varnishing.

Oh yeah and that really expensive yacht varnish does seem worth it, I used on my steps and theres no noticable wear yet (years + heavy use, no sand though theyre indoors).

Edited August 17, 2012 by Pretty Funked Up

[onionbargee]

It's soft wood. It won't last 10 minutes!

It's B & Queue soft wood it won't last 1 minute, i definitly wouldn't stand on that knotty junk they sell.

[Chertsey]

Nothing wrong with softwood, it is what the floors in your house are made from and nailed to. It is the quality that matters, scaffold boards are made from selected, graded knot and shake free timber which meets BS2482

Scaffold boards officially need to be supported every four feet and will support heavy loads, and would probably easily go to six, my former scaffolder OH tells me. Decking, and floorboards, are recommended to be picked up every 14-18 inches.

[ditchcrawler]

.

 

A scaffold board when new will be comparatively smooth, it can be sanded off a bit and will take paint or varnish if preferred very well.

Why do you want to make it slippery ?

 

But left unsanded has a wonderful non-slip surface!

Another source for scaffold planks is of course scaffolders who frequently have to reject boards as no longer suitable for their use, but still with plenty of life left in them. Usually pretty cheap as well.

Or cruise through Birmingham and pick them out of the cut for free. I think I collected 3 last time I wanted one.

[Pretty Funked Up]

I put a rib down the back of mine to reduce flex.

(make sure the rib grain is at 90 degrees to the plank grain)

Edited August 17, 2012 by Pretty Funked Up

[Tuscan]

I bought an aluminium one as I needed something lighter , it's not as long and I miss my scaffold board. Although famously many years ago when it was fully extended after a night in the hostelry I was last one on, when with a loud crack I descended waist deep into the cut, it was a while before my able crew were able to stop laughing sufficiently to help me clamber on.

[David Schweizer]

Why do you want to make it slippery ?

Fair Question, I actually painted mine with Coo Var anti slip paint, which creates a very gritty surface.