Scaffolding - Hong Kong?

Question

I have seen old pictures of bamboo used in the making of scaffolding. And on some very tall buildings too. How strong is this material and is it still used for this purpose?

Answer 1

I am pretty sure the scaffolding specification in Hong Kong is significantly different than the OSHA spec (and other  site specific US specs.) But I can assure you the US specifies steel, 2 by 6 and 2 by 8 timbers and not bamboo. And the scaffolding must be inspected for proper erection and safety prior to anyone going on it. I do not think bamboo is an option in the US. In many countries outside the US its whatever works.

Answer 2

It is very strong in compression and tension but it is very flexible so even thought it may look dangerous it is capable of carrying a fair amount of weight The building boom in China means that steel scaffolding is used mainly now because it can be used over and over They still use logs (3in or more) and bamboo for smaller buildings but not the skyscrapers

Answer 3

Bamboo is a material with moderate resistance to stretch, it is very useful as many other woods to make scaffolding, but is not to use many times, so the serious builders do prefer iron to scaffolding.