a zig zagging platform.

[just_a_dad]

hello,

new visitor and first time poster here. i'm a volunteer set builder for our church's theater production. we are putting on a musical show in a couple of months and the director has approached me about building a set. i've been reading like crazy here on the forum and had a question about building a raised platform.

the first version of the set design has an elevated platform that sort of zig-zags across the stage. it's probably about 30 feet long, with each zig or zag being about 6-8ft long (i'm not exactly sure of the angles at each bend yet, but probably 30-45 degrees). but the fact that the platform isn't straight means that the std rectangular shaped platforms may not work very well. i could use them but only if i attach triangle shaped platforms to fill in between the zigs and zags.

so i'm wondering about the best to build this contraption. i liked some of the posts on bulilding platforms and setting them on stud walls (we did that last year for a straight 4'x16' elevated platform). but everything i've seen so far in the forum (really like gafftaper's system) seems to have nice right angles to them.......the zig-zag has me thrown.

can triscuits be done in triangles or parallelogram shapes?

thx in advance.

richard

 

[MarshallPope]

Yes, the best (In my opinion, of course) way to do this will be to use rectangular platforms in whatever nice even size you want and then to build custom shapes to fill in the angles. Personally, I prefer traditional platforms for weird shapes just because they are easier to knock out quickly and you probably won't ever reuse them, but if you already have some triscuits and want to add to that inventory, it is possible to build stressed-skin fillers, though depending on your studwall/legging arrangement, you may find it beneficial to use a hybrid - stressed skins for the rectangles and traditional platforms for the triangles.

 

[jonliles]

Anopther option is to build standard platforms and overlap them at an angle in key areas to achieve the desired Zag. BRace and leg as normal. The key is tp figure out which ones you want at "X" ft off the ground (let's say 4ft) and which ones you want at "X+ thickness" off the ground (4F plus 6 inches).

The upside means you do not need to build several non-standard platforms. The down side is the surface will vary in height by the thickness of the flat and may pose a trip hazard, then again it could provide some visual interest.

From another Dad

hello,

new visitor and first time poster here. i'm a volunteer set builder for our church's theater production. we are putting on a musical show in a couple of months and the director has approached me about building a set. i've been reading like crazy here on the forum and had a question about building a raised platform.

the first version of the set design has an elevated platform that sort of zig-zags across the stage. it's probably about 30 feet long, with each zig or zag being about 6-8ft long (i'm not exactly sure of the angles at each bend yet, but probably 30-45 degrees). but the fact that the platform isn't straight means that the std rectangular shaped platforms may not work very well. i could use them but only if i attach triangle shaped platforms to fill in between the zigs and zags.

so i'm wondering about the best to build this contraption. i liked some of the posts on bulilding platforms and setting them on stud walls (we did that last year for a straight 4'x16' elevated platform). but everything i've seen so far in the forum (really like gafftaper's system) seems to have nice right angles to them.......the zig-zag has me thrown.

can triscuits be done in triangles or parallelogram shapes?

thx in advance.

richard

 

[bobgaggle]

Unless I'm misunderstanding what this thing is supposed to look like, I dont see why you couldn't make it out of stock 4x8s. Are you trying to fill in the US side so its a straight line?

 

[TheaterEd]

the first version of the set design has an elevated platform that sort of zig-zags across the stage. it's probably about 30 feet long, with each zig or zag being about 6-8ft long (i'm not exactly sure of the angles at each bend yet, but probably 30-45 degrees). but the fact that the platform isn't straight means that the std rectangular shaped platforms may not work very well. i could use them but only if i attach triangle shaped platforms to fill in between the zigs and zags.

If I were in your position, I would build the standard rectangle platforms and get them into position on stage. Once they are at the correct angles, use a sheet of plywood to bridge the gaps instead of making triangle platforms. Then you just cut the excess ply with a circular saw and add a 2x4 on the long span for support. you can build up the rest of the platform with a layer of ply as well so you don't have any trip hazards. If you want more vertical support you can always build smaller version of the stud wall legs as described in gafftaper's system.
This might be be slightly easier than building custom triangle platforms for anyone skilled with a circular saw and would require less precise planning (I hate calculating triangles). It makes sense to me, but if the wording is weird let me know and I'll try to clarify.

 

[kicknargel]

The question was about angular platforms on studwall legging, and the answer is sure. Perhaps you can make a studwall that runs upstage-downstage every 4', and you'll just need to vary the lengths. Or maybe you build a set that follows the zigs and zags of the DS edge.

Or, this may be a good time for traditional, compression legs and lots of bracing.

 

[just_a_dad]

Unless I'm misunderstanding what this thing is supposed to look like, I dont see why you couldn't make it out of stock 4x8s. Are you trying to fill in the US side so its a straight line?

hi aaron,

yes that's the idea, with the exception that the zig-zag pattern in the pdf you attached actually has each section perpendicular to each other. ours aren't quite that convenient. someone built a little model for her .... it's not meant to be an exact representation, but it will give you the idea. i don't thinik i can build platforms in the parallelogram shape as the model shows...but i was thinking that i might be able to could do some std platforms and fill in the corers like the attached pdf.

richard