ALFIX facade scaffolding – Universal frame scaffolding for every building project

Scaffolding of the multi-storey car park at the Klinikum Hanau hospital

 

The ALFIX facade scaffolding system consists of an economical number of prefabricated components and is available in the bay lengths 0.73 m, 1.09 m, 1.57 m, 2.07 m, 2.57 m, 3.07 m and 4.14 m. The system’s standard scaffolding widths are 0.73 m and 1.09 m. Able to be used in load classes 1 through 4 according to DIN EN 12810 and 12811, as well as for safety and roof safety scaffolding, the ALFIX facade scaffolding system allows the user a variety of possible implementations within the standard design. Should the scaffolding system be used in a manner that deviates from the standard design, the variations must be able to be assessed according to the technical building regulations and the specifications outlined in the approval documents (available under Downloads at www.alfix-systems.com). These assessments can be carried out by the ALFIX in-house project department.

The structural strength of our scaffolding was also proven in Hanau when scaffolding the multi-storey car park at the Klinikum Hanau hospital. In order to carry out a renovation of the car park’s facade, a working scaffolding of width class W06 (0.73 m) with 0.36 m ALFIX inner brackets had to be designed and erected. The scaffolding company Korbach Gerüstbau GmbH chose the ALFIX 70 facade scaffolding system for this project. A special consideration during the planning phase was the requirement that the car park remain accessible and all entrances and exits be usable during the renovation. In addition, it was only possible to anchor the scaffolding on the park levels of the car park. As a result, planning included the coordination of both the anchor grid and the scaffolding grid with the ceiling grid of the car park.

Figure 1: detailed preliminary planning using a 3D-CAD program

An additional geometric challenge was the scaffolding around the signage for the car park, which has a vertical length of 10.00 m and was to remain visible to the public. To accommodate for the signage, the use of shorter decks was necessary on five scaffolding levels.

Due to the logical system lengths of the ALFIX facade scaffolding system, as well as the selection of standard components available in a variety of grid dimensions, the 3.07 m bay within the facade scaffolding could easily be reduced to the required 2.07 m bay. Work could continue on the working levels above the signage using a 3.07 m grid thanks to the flexible modular system. In this way, despite these special requirements, it was possible to plan and erect the scaffolding using only system components and without needing to use components of special lengths.

In order to ensure continued use of the car park, it was necessary to provide a 7.00 m bridging construction above the entrances and exits. This was accomplished using ALFIX system independent lattice girders made of steel and aluminium. The bridging construction was designed using the ALFIX steel lattice girder as the bottom chord (7.77 m length) and, the ALFIX aluminium lattice girder (8.20 m length) as top chord with a height of 6.0 m. To reach the desired total load bearing effect, these two lattice girders were connected by additional diagonal ties made from scaffolding tubes and swivel couplers. In so doing, the bridging construction could easily transfer both the load of eight levels of scaffolding and the traffic load to the support assembly frames. The latter needed to be installed in pairs on both the left and right sides of the entrances.

Figure 2: Lattice girder bridging construction at the entrances and exits
Figure 3: ALFIX construction stair tower according to TRBS 2121

 

To access the scaffolding, the reliable ALFIX stair tower was erected on either side of the entrance to the car park. The ALFIX basic stair towers are construction stair towers with a load-bearing capacity of 200 kg/m2 which can be assembled either as linear or half-turn stairs with landings. These stair towers are not suited for public use, rather they are designed for use on construction sites where secure access must be provided between areas of different heights. With the appropriate side protection components in place, these construction stair towers offer individual and secure possibilities for assembly. Because our aluminium scaffolding system stairs are available in a variety of sizes to suit all heights, the stair towers can be adjusted to suit any need. Since the affixed stair tower was assembled as a linear staircase, the working scaffold could be used as a circuit, which made it possible to safely reach each scaffolding level in accordance with the technical rules for operational safety TRBS 2121 standards.

This is yet another project where the ALFIX GmbH product range could be economically combined in order to have as little of an effect on the building structure as possible while also providing the client with optimal scaffolding for the intended renovation work.

More information about the ALFIX GmbH scaffolding systems is available at www.alfix-systems.com.

The comprehensive product portfolio of the scaffolding manufacturer also includes stairs in the separate stair stringer system with a load-bearing capacity of 200 kg/m2, 500 kg/m2 and 750 kg/m2. Not only can these stairs be assembled at different heights – the width of the stairs can be designed using various system widths and adapted to the specific conditions of each job site by using the system steel decks as steps and landings together with various widths of ALFIX stair stringers. The use of child-safe guardrails allows these stair towers from the separate stair stringer system to be used by people of all ages. The strict safety requirements are also met by the implementation of a gapless design of the tower’s walking-working surfaces, which includes customised gap covers and gap cover ledgers, enabling use by the general public.