Section 6.24. Horse scaffolds

(a) Foundations. When horse scaffolds are used inside a building, the horses shall be set squarely upon the floor or, if no floor has been erected, a substantial temporary floor shall be constructed for this purpose. The practice of placing bricks, blocks, tiles or similar loose objects under the legs of horses to bring their upper parts to a certain desired level is prohibited. When a horse is not quite high enough to afford proper support to the planking, a wood strip of the proper thickness shall be securely nailed to the top of the horse. On outside work, the legs of horses shall not bear directly on the ground itself, but a solid planking shall be laid upon which they shall rest. The practice of supporting horses upon thrustouts is prohibited. The nailing of extension pieces on the legs of horses to increase the height shall be prohibited.

(b) Construction of horses. Horses shall be solid in construction and care shall be taken that their legs are built at the proper angles, avoiding a spread of either too little or too great a distance. The lumber used in the construction of a horse shall be not less than 1 inch in thickness, and 6 inches in width, except that for the top horizontal supporting member the dimensions shall be at least 2 inches by 4 inches. If the length of the horse exceeds 5 feet or if designed for heavy duty, these lumber sizes shall be proportionately increased. Inside bracing shall be provided by nailing two boards at least one inch in thickness to the underside of the top horizontal supporting member, dropping them at an angle from there and nailing one to the top of the cross bracing on each pair of legs, or by other equivalent bracing.

(c) Platforms. Platform planks shall be at least two inches in thickness and shall be laid with their edges abutting. The distance between horses shall not exceed 5 feet for a heavy-duty scaffold and shall not exceed 7 feet, 6 inches for a light-duty scaffold. Care shall be taken that the planks rest properly upon each horse, thus eliminating springiness in the platform. Where any space between the platform and horse is apparent it shall be overcome by following out the provisions of subsection (a). Care shall be taken that the platforms are not overloaded.

(d) Horses in tiers. In erecting horse scaffolds, the horses of each tier shall be placed directly over the horses of the tier next below. Where more than two tiers are built, every horse shall be nailed to the planks it supports as well as to those upon which it rests. Scaffolds shall not be built to a height in excess of 21 feet.

(e) Bracing. Where horse scaffolds are more than two tiers in height, braces shall be provided between all horses used.

(f) Guardrails and toeboards. Guardrails and toeboards shall be provided for all horse scaffolds over 6 feet in height. Protection shall be furnished as set forth in § 6.32 (relating to protection).

(g) Ladders. Where ladders are used to gain access to horse scaffolds they shall conform with the requirements set forth in § 6.30 (relating to ladders); also, the plank upon which the top of the ladder rests shall be nailed to its supporting horse and such supporting horse shall be nailed to the lower planks upon which it rests, these planks in turn being nailed to the lower horses supporting them.

Notation

Cross References

This section cited in 34 Pa. Code § 6.12 (relating to single pole scaffolds); 34 Pa. Code § 6.13 (relating to independent pole scaffolds); and 34 Pa. Code § 6.25 (relating to plasterers’ and decorators’ inside scaffolds).