Forget about zipwall

[philthegreek]

use these instead. At $20 ea. you can get enough for 6 stations and still be cheaper than 1 station of zipwall.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=66172

also cheaper; https://hachol02.hafeleonline.com/OA...49D33579A50C74

phil

[newman]

That is pretty cheap! As, much as I hate the place, I may have to stop by HF and pick up a few. :)

[dbritt]

they're also good for mashin' (clamping) stuff down.if you're ceilings low enough.

[abonus]

Can the top of those poles be removed like zip poles to pinch poly ? The great thing with the zip poles is being able to set up an enclosure without using a ladder and having the power to pull the poly horizontally to keep it tight up to the lid. If the poly doesn't get attached to the pole you
have to rely on upward pressure to keep things tight, and on commercial drop ceilings if you get
carried away pushing up it gets ugly and annoying:) I should know, having spent half of my days
for the last two months setting up dust enclosures at a hospital we are renovating.

[greentree]

$20? They're 9.99 here. The only bummer is they dont have the nifty poly clamp that the zipwall poles have. It can be a pain in the bum to keep the poly from slipping off when you're setting up.

[m beezo]

On the HF ones make sure you are aware of the height. Not quite 10 tall so for some of the taller ceilings they may not work.
Not sure what the thing is about attaching plastic to the top of the thing so you don't have to climb a ladder. On most of the HF ones the rubber pad can come off and could possibly trap the plastic under it. Or while you are at HF pick up a couple of rolls of masking tape.

Was just talking to a guy today about all the RRP rules. I suggested that we all buy some stock in whoever is making all the plastic, trash bags, and masking tape, duct tape and we will soon become rich. What do you think? Ready to start trading stock tips?

[philthegreek]

I'm sure that once I have these guys in hand, I'll be able to make my own miracle clip for the top or bottom. the ones from Håfele are about $70.00, still cheaper than zipwall. The clips that hold the poly at the poles (for corners) are just thin wall pvc cut in a "C" cross section. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Considering how many we'll need to keep a job moving, I'll opt for the HF units. I rarely work on ceilings over 9' and I'm sure i could make extensions pretty easily.

What's green about all this added plastic to the environment?

Would our knowing about industry regs make it "inside trading", MBeezo? :-)

phil

[Catspaw]

I've never had much luck using the third hand type poles for dust barriers. How do you get both the top and bottom of the poly around the pole and get the wall streched tight all at the same time?

To me the key to the zip walls is the spring loaded pole.

- Rich

[gburnet]

The ones from Hafele are Fastcap 3rd Hands. You can buy them considerably cheaper than 70 bucks apiece elsewhere. How about 2 for $60? http://www.amazon.com/FastCap-Suppor...7664676&sr=1-1

There's also a kit that includes 4 poles, a bag, foot pads, & magnetic clips...http://www.coastaltool.com/other/fas...ml?id=TIDto7ji

I own & use all the products mentioned from Zip-Wall, Fastcap, & yes, the dreaded HF. The Zip-Wall poles are the easiest to set up in my opinion. But they're only good for one thing - dust barriers.

The Fastcap poles are 2nd best, thanks to the magnets that are used to secure the poly. In addition, they're also useful for holding objects in place & as a long temporary clamp.

The HF ones are okay. For 10 bucks each, you can't go wrong. But you'll need a shower to wash the slime off of you when you emerge from that damn store.

[gburnet]

By the way, Zip-Wall must be feeling the competition from some of the other manufacturers of similar products. You can get a Zip-Wall kit for around $100 these days...http://www.coastaltool.com/zipwall/s...ml?id=TIDto7ji

I paid a lot more for the poles I bought about 10 years ago.

[gburnet]

I've never had much luck using the third hand type poles for dust barriers. How do you get both the top and bottom of the poly around the pole and get the wall streched tight all at the same time?

To me the key to the zip walls is the spring loaded pole.

- Rich

Agreed. The Zip-Wall system only does one thing, but does it exceedingly well.

[m beezo]

Stop the presses! Greg has something from Harbor Freight! I am in shock!

I have used mine to hold up drywall for a short time, help support a cabinet. Neither is the best idea but it worked for me. I also have used them for some crown molding.

One of the best things I have used them for is to set a box at the right height in a ceiling from above. I have put a piece of drywall or something like a light piece of plywood over the opening in the ceiling where I am going to install a new electrical box and hold it in place with the support of your choice. Once the plywood is up thereand held in place, go into the attic, nail the box to the joist and know it is sitting flush with the finished drywall. No measuering, no wondering if I got it right.

And Phil, since we all use fake names here they will never catch us with the insider trading issue.

[Unforgiven]

I love the ZW kit. We bought the 6 pole facility kit for around $500 about 2 years ago when I had to do some overhead plumbing inside a high end retail store for a new upstairs tenant. The work involved drywall removal and repair with L5 finish work over their mechandising floor. The dust containment was flawless, and the setup and teardown was a breeze. It was well worth the $ for a product that worked so well. If the dust containment was anything less than perfect we would have been on the hook for a whole bunch of fancy women's clothing. It made the part of that project I dreaded into the easiest part of the job.

[gburnet]

Stop the presses! Greg has something from Harbor Freight! I am in shock!

If it eases your mind, I believe it's the only thing I have from them.

[tjbnwi]

Not only does he own them, but I was a witness to this purchase.

Tj