Century 21 Contracting Corp puts up frame scaffolding on flat-fronted buildings across the five boroughs, mostly for facade, masonry, painting and window crews. We’re based in the Bronx and have been doing this since 2004.
Frame scaffolding is built from prefabricated welded steel frames. We lock them together with cross braces, lay planks across for the deck, and stack bay on bay up the face of the building.
It earns its keep on one type of wall: flat, regular, with little sticking out. Think of a brick walk-up in Bushwick or a six-story apartment building on the Grand Concourse. When the facade suits the system, repeating the same bay across the building can simplify scaffold layout, erection and inspection.
That’s why most of our frame jobs are facade repair, masonry, painting and window replacement.
A frame scaffold is simple, and every piece has a specific job.
| Part | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Frames (Walk-Through or Ladder) | Carry the load. Walk-through frames leave a passage open; ladder frames have rungs built in. |
| Cross Braces | Hold the frames square, level and plumb. They’re not for climbing. |
| Coupling Pins | Connect each frame to the one beneath so the stack can’t lift apart. |
| Base Plates and Screw Jacks | Spread the load on the ground and let us level the scaffold on uneven footing. |
| Mudsills | Go under the base plates when the ground is soft. |
| Planks | Make the working deck. The working platform must meet OSHA’s applicable scaffold planking and decking requirements, including the rules for platform coverage and allowable gaps. |
| Guardrails, Midrails, Toeboards | Keep people and tools from going over the edge. OSHA generally requires fall protection for scaffold platforms more than 10 feet above a lower level. The required protection depends on the scaffold type and applicable standard. |
| Tie-Ins | Anchor the scaffold to the building. |
Go with frame if the facade is flat, little interrupts the wall, and the bays can repeat all the way up.
Look at pipe scaffolding instead if the building steps back, the wall curves, or you’ve got canopies, stoops or bay windows breaking up the face. Frames only come in fixed sizes, so a wall that doesn’t fit the grid needs adjustable tube and coupler. Compare frame and pipe scaffolding to see which system suits your building’s facade and access requirements.
Not sure which fits? Send the address and a photo of the front of the building and we’ll tell you which we’d use.
NYC DOB generally requires a permit for supported scaffolds that exceed 40 feet in height. The exact requirements depend on the scaffold and site conditions, so we confirm the applicable filing requirements before work begins.
Filings go through DOB NOW: Build. One catch people miss: if the scaffold sits on a sidewalk shed, DOB counts the shed’s height toward the 40.
Send us the address and the building height and we’ll tell you whether you’re over.
We handle your fence rental, from delivery and installation to removal.
We walk the facade, count stories, note anything in the way and price it.
We confirm which permits and filings apply to the scaffold and site before work begins.
Our crew builds the bays, lays the planks and installs guardrails and ties.
If your plan changes, say so early. Adding a section or extending the schedule is much easier before the crew has left.
Once the work is complete and dismantling is authorized, our crew takes down the scaffold.
If the job crosses a public sidewalk, we can supply the shed as well. One note: we erect frame scaffolds on your building. We don’t sell or rent loose frames. For the wider service, see scaffolding rental in NYC.
Comparing quotes? These five questions usually show the difference.
Ask us all five at the site visit.
A supported scaffold that exceeds 40 feet generally requires a NYC DOB permit. Scaffolds at or below that height may not require the same permit, but other site-specific requirements can apply. We’ll check the applicable requirements for your building before the job starts.
Mostly the repair and finishing work on brick walk-ups and apartment buildings: pointing and brick replacement, painting, window swaps, parapet and cornice repair.
Look at the wall. Flat and regular, frame. Anything that interrupts it, like a setback, a bay window or a curve, pipe. If the building is half and half, we sometimes use both on one job. The pipe scaffolding page has the full breakdown.
All five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Our office is in the Bronx, so that’s where we’re quickest to reach.
Century 21 Contracting Corp holds a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license and carries $2 million in general liability insurance. Our crews receive OSHA training, and we can provide our insurance certificate with your quote.
Send the address, borough, building height in stories, the work planned and your start date, and we’ll call you back with what the job needs.
