Spanning the water

Chandos Construction Ltd of Edmonton, Canada used rolling scaffolding to refurbish the ceiling of the Kinsmen Aquatic Center in Edmonton, Canada during a CAN$11.4 million (€7.6 million) upgrade.

The 408 m² deck allowed the removal and upgrade of ageing ceiling tiles and mechanical and sprinkler systems of the facility, built in 1978 for the Commonwealth Games.

Ten workers assembled the system, which comprised 40000 kg of Peri Up scaffolding and Peri LGS trusses, in three weeks. The structure was essentially a 13.4 by 31.4 m rectangular platform, which spanned the 39.6 m width swimming pool.

Its surface was 11.6 m above the pool and 4.9 m below ceiling height, leaving a gap necessary to accommodate roof irregularities. The ‘dance floor' needed to withstand a live load of 1 kN/m² and was level so that access carriages could be easily rolled across it.

The main pool is 82.30 m long, and a winch and scaffold roller assembly moved the entire scaffold 12.20 m every two weeks.

Chandos completed the project last year.