Scaffolding in Basildon

Basildon was designated a New Town in January 1949 and the Basildon Development Corporation built it from 1951, starting at Vange and Fryerns and taking in the older settlements of Laindon and Pitsea. In 1963 the corporation moved from traditional building to system building to get more homes up for less money. Some of those estates won awards; many have not aged well.

For a scaffolder that history is the job list. Corporation-built terraces, maisonettes and low-rise blocks now due for re-roofing, re-rendering or over-cladding, often a whole run at a time. Private inter-war and post-war semis in Laindon and Pitsea. And a steady run of small new-build sites on infill and former industrial land.

Where a flat-roofed house, block or extension is going to a pitched roof, the scaffold has to stay up through the whole sequence: strip, new trusses, felt and batten, tile, then fascias and gutters. We erect a full perimeter with a lift at the new eaves height, edge protection the roofers can work behind, and a loading bay for trusses and tiles. Where the programme cannot lose days to rain, a temporary roof keeps the deck dry. See roofing scaffolding.

Corporation-era terraces suit whole-run render and external wall insulation programmes. A renderer wants a continuous run of elevations at working height with no gaps at the party lines, and clean access for the hoist. We scaffold terraces as one run, sheet where the spec needs it, and adapt as the crew moves along. See painting and rendering scaffolding.

Basildon's infill plots suit the small developer: a handful of houses on a former garage court or a corner site. We do sites up to about fifteen houses on one programme, with one number for erecting, adapting and striking each plot in turn so the next trade is never waiting. See extension and new build scaffolding.

Laindon and Pitsea were villages before 1949 and keep their older terraces and inter-war semis along the main roads, with corporation estates behind. Langdon Hills is different again: it is one of the highest points in south Essex at about 385 feet, with detached houses on steep, wooded roads and long views over the Thames. Base plates, sole boards and the first lift are set to the slope, and the wind on the ridge is a factor in sheeting and ties. The plotland bungalows built between 1900 and 1940 were mostly cleared for the new town and the country park, but plotland-era houses survive in parts of Laindon, Langdon Hills and Pitsea, extended and rebuilt over the years, which makes the survey worth doing properly.

Basildon Borough Council is the planning authority; the roads belong to Essex County Council and scaffold licences for the highway are issued through Essex Highways. Estate roads are wide but the closes fill with parked cars, and a scaffold on a shop parade or a pavement-fronted terrace needs a licence with its lead time built into the programme. We tell you at the survey.

We cover Rayleigh to the east and Brentwood to the west. Wickford, Billericay and Stanford-le-Hope are covered too. See all areas, or request a survey.

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