Guide to Aluminum Stages and Pick Boards

Guide to Aluminum Stages and Pick Boards

An aluminum stage, also called a pick board, is the wide plank that spans between two supports and gives you a platform instead of a rung. Plasterers, drywall finishers, painters and acoustical crews work off stages all day because a stage lets them cover a wide area without moving anything. Dallas Ladder stocks stages in the widths and lengths those trades use at our Rowlett warehouse.

Why Width Matters More Than Length

A stage comes in widths of roughly 12, 14, and 20 inches, and the width is what makes it comfortable to work from for hours. A 12 inch board is a place to stand. A 20 inch board is a place to stand with your tools, a bucket, and room to move.

Plasterers and finishers generally want the wider boards because they are reaching overhead and working a trowel or a mud pan, and footing matters. Our 20 inch wide Werner stage is the one that moves fastest for that trade.

Matching Length to the Span

Stages run from around 8 feet up to 24 feet, and the length has to match the gap between your supports without overhanging more than the manufacturer allows. Too short and you cannot bridge the span at all. Too long and the overhang puts load where the stage was not designed to carry it.

Our 14 inch x 8 foot stage handles the short interior spans, and the 24 inch x 16 foot stage is the long option for open commercial rooms.

Support and Load Rating

Stages are rated as a span, and the rating assumes proper support at both ends. A 500 lb rated stage used as a bridge between two pump jack poles and a 250 lb rated stage used between two ladder jacks are different systems even though the boards look similar.

Check the rating against what you are actually putting on it, including your own weight plus materials. Paint buckets and mud pans add up faster than most crews expect.

Our 12 inch 500 lb stage and 250 lb rated stage show the rating difference within the same width.

Keeping Stages in Service

Stages take a beating and are repairable, which is cheaper than replacing a good board. Rungs bend, get crushed by a dropped material load, or simply wear out after years of use.

Our single rung replacement kit for #23-28 and the kit for #23-30 bring a damaged stage back into service rather than sending it to scrap.

Everything ships from 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, and local crews can pick up the same day. Call 972-331-1090 and we will tell you what is on the floor right now.