Deciding to build a granny flat is simple, designing and building the extension can be a lot harder. You'll have a lot of questions to answer along the way. Can you use a general contractor or is is better to use one who has built a lot of granny flats before? Is a template design better than a customised one? Should you let the person who'll live in the flat have a say in what it looks like? Luckily, I'm here to help. My name is Maria. We moved my Mum into a purpose-built granny flat last year, so I've had to answer all these questions and more. I thought it'd be useful for other people to see how we managed the process, so here we are — get reading!
Should You Buy or Hire Scaffolding?
Unless you run a professional scaffolding firm, the chances are that you will only have ever hired scaffolding before. After all, scaffolding hire is relatively inexpensive in most parts of the country, and you only need to pay for the erection and dismantling costs without the requirement to find the capital necessary to purchase all of the equipment. That said, there are some situations that you could find yourself in when you might consider scaffolding for sale as the preferable option. When might you choose to buy rather than going for a scaffold hire company?
Length of Time
If you need your scaffolding to be erected for a long period of time, for example, for a long-term restoration project, then buying may be the most economical option. Even if your scaffolding is up for several months, it is often better to go for a hire company, but after this period is up it begins to look more and more attractive to buy your own. Of course, you may not know how long your scaffold will need to be in place until it is up, so you should hedge your bets and opt for a scaffolding rental business which offers you all of the options you might need — short-term hire, long-term hire and purchasing.
Height of Work
Setting up scaffolding is a skilled job which you should not undertake if you have no experience. That said, if you consider you are capable of erecting your own scaffold, then you could buy your own and use it time and again. This is not the case when you get over a certain height, however, because only qualified scaffolders should be engaged in putting up and taking down scaffolding that is more than a few metres in height.
Awkward Shapes
Setting up your own scaffolding is viable if you have a straight wall to work with. The trouble is that many modern structures don't have that many right angles these days. If so, then hiring a team of professional scaffolders is always preferable. Nevertheless, buying your own is a good idea if you know you need to only ever set up working platforms at a relatively low height along straight lines.
Resale Value
Scaffolding components are tough and designed to be durable. Therefore, if you have chosen to buy rather than to hire your scaffolding, then bear in mind that you can always sell it after your project is complete. Expect to make a loss, however, because even hardwearing scaffolding equipment devalues over time.