Access Equipment and the Maintenance of Cladding and Facades

Revitalising and repairing building facades is an essential part of maintenance, particularly with modern construction that involves the joining of a variety of different materials, from traditional timber and stone to metal and glass.

Traditionally, the only way to undertake a project like repointing, replacing windows and panels, renewing sealant or painting a building’s exterior was by erecting a scaffold and working on rigid support structures at height. However, scaffolding, particularly in dense urban areas, is difficult and time-consuming to erect, restricts access to the building and is unsightly. Access equipment can provide a flexible solution to this problem, enabling experts to work on specific areas of the façade without the expense and hassle of scaffolding. It’s easy up and easy down with access equipment, so it’s ideal for repairs and inspections, too.

Scissor Lifts

The simplest solution for relatively low-rise buildings is a scissor lift. Easy to navigate and compact, there’s a great choice of scissor lift hire from Force, with options for indoor and outdoor use and uneven terrain, with extension heights from 6.4 metres to 18 metres. Incredibly manoeuvrable, scissor lifts are ideal for lifting your people and equipment to wherever you need them most. A traditional scissor lift is perfect for painting, while extending platforms and increasing load capacities make larger scissor lifts great all-in-one solutions for moving workers and materials at height.

Boom Lifts

While scissor lifts can tackle most façade jobs, particularly on flat vertical surfaces with sufficient ground space below, boom lifts are the solution when there is an obstruction that needs to be navigated on the way up, and they are also suitable for somewhat taller buildings. Also known as telescopic booms or, more commonly, cherry pickers, boom lifts are the simple way to solve the problem of tight working spaces and are capable of reaching around obstructions and corners.

For building maintenance that requires working in cramped spaces, for example between neighbouring buildings, or to avoid environmental obstructions such as trees, cables and lamp posts, a boom lift can get your team where they need to be with a minimum of fuss, and if a standard boom lift doesn’t have the flexibility needed, then a knuckle boom may be the solution; they have an extra bending point.

Force boom lift hire offers machines with a reach from 10 metres to 43 metres and a horizontal reach of almost 25 metres, making them versatile and smart solutions to most lifting problems. We even have 4×4 boom lifts for traction and stability on challenging surfaces. The only disadvantage to a boom lift when compared to a scissor lift is that, due to the danger of toppling, boom lifts are typically restricted to lighter loads and have a smaller working space. For simple maintenance jobs such as painting, caulking and repointing, this is seldom an issue, but if heavy materials are needed, you may wish to contact the Force team to discuss additional access equipment to transport loads to your working height.