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Guide

How to draw a scaffold plan

A scaffold drawing has one job: to let someone who was not at the survey build, check or approve the scaffold. That takes a plan view, at least one elevation, a stated scale and a legend, whether you draw it on paper, in CAD or from the architect’s PDF.

By Ole Emil Frikstad Urstad · How the numbers are computed ·

The PDF import in ScaFix: a 1:100 floor plan with the detected outline and wall lengths marked, and the steps Page, Scale, Walls, Heights and Review
The PDF import: the scale is found and the outline sits on the drawing's walls (test drawing).

How do you draw a scaffold plan?

Start from a measured survey or the architect’s drawing. Draw a plan view showing the building line, the bays and the deck width, then an elevation showing the lifts, ties, bracing and access. Add the scale, the load class, a legend and a title block. Councils and designers will also want footway widths and dimensions to fixed points.

Which drawings does a scaffold plan include?

Most scaffold drawings are a set of two or three views, each answering a different question.

ViewWhat it showsWho reads it
Plan viewBuilding outline, run of standards, bay lengths, deck width, distance to the wall, corners, access towers, the footwayErectors, the highway authority, the client
ElevationLift heights, working decks, guardrails, ties, bracing, loading bays, sheetingErectors, the designer, the inspector
Section or detailDeck to wall gap, brackets, bridging over an entrance, cantileversThe designer, the erector on that detail

On a house, a plan view and one elevation per face often covers it. A design that goes outside TG20:21 or the manufacturer’s configurations needs whatever the designer asks for, and the drawing then becomes part of the design record.

How to draw a scaffold plan step by step

The order below works on paper, in CAD and in a planning tool.

1. Collect the base information

Get the measured survey or the architect’s drawings, the eaves and ridge heights, ground levels along each wall, openings that must stay clear, and the street: footway width, kerb line, lamp posts and drains.

2. Choose the sheet and scale

Pick a scale where one bay is big enough to label, typically 1:50 for a house elevation and 1:100 for a plan, and put a scale bar and north point on the sheet.

3. Draw the plan view

Draw the building line, then the inner and outer standards with the bay lengths of the chosen system, the deck width, the gap to the wall and how each corner is turned. Mark access towers, loading bays and the remaining footway.

4. Draw the elevations

Per face, draw the lifts from the base to the top working deck, the guardrail lift above it, toe boards, brick guards or sheeting, and the access route between lifts.

5. Mark ties, bracing and bases

Copy the tie pattern and tie type from the TG20:21 compliance sheet out of the NASC ePortal, or from the manufacturer’s instructions, then add the bracing pattern and base plates or jacks on sole boards where the ground changes.

6. State loads and duty

Write the load class or duty, the number of working lifts that may be loaded at once, any sheeting or netting, and the wind assumption if the design used one.

7. Add legend, title block and revision

Explain every symbol, then add the address, the system, the drawing number, the revision with date, who drew and who checked it, and the TG20:21 compliance sheet number or the bespoke design reference.

8. Issue the licence drawing and the site set

Send the council a separate licence drawing with footway widths and kerb clearance, not AI-generated where the council forbids that, as Surrey does, send the full set to the erectors, and keep the current revision on site with the inspection reports until the scaffold is struck.

What does the law expect from the drawing?

Schedule 3 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 does not say «drawing»: it asks for an assembly, use and dismantling plan drawn up by a competent person and kept available until the scaffold is struck, and the wider rule set is in UK scaffolding regulations. A drawing is the most practical way to carry the specific details, and in practice it is also where the TG20:21 compliance sheet number or the bespoke design reference is written, so an inspector can match the scaffold to its basis. HSE also expects the client to give the scaffold contractor the height, length and critical dimensions, with any relevant drawings, at the start.

In the US, 29 CFR 1926.451(a)(6) requires scaffolds to be designed by a qualified person and built and loaded to that design, so the drawing is the evidence of what was designed.

Close-up of the corner where the long wall and the gable wall meet, with Layher Allround standards, decks, guardrails and toe boards in the ScaFix 3D model
The corner: the bays of the two walls meet, with deck, guardrail and toe board on each lift.

What does a council want for a scaffold licence?

Scaffolding on or over a public highway needs a licence from the highway authority under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. The drawing requirements are set locally:

  • Islington asks for a drawing or diagram of the exact location where the scaffold will be erected.
  • Surrey asks for a simple but accurately labelled drawing, as an overhead or side view, showing the full width, the footway widths and a 0.5 m clearance from the kerb, and it states that the drawing must not be AI-generated.

So a licence drawing is mostly about the street, not the scaffold: the remaining footway, the kerb, pedestrian routes, lighting and the hoarding or fan.

Which scale should you use?

Designing Buildings lists the usual construction scales: 1:50 for a room plan, 1:100 for a floor plan, 1:200 for a site plan, and 1:5 or 1:1 for details. For scaffolds, 1:50 works for an elevation of a house and 1:100 for the plan of a terrace or a small block. At 1:100 a 2.5 m bay is 25 mm on paper, enough to label; at 1:200 it is 12.5 mm and the bay lengths start to crowd. Always print the scale bar, because PDFs get resized.

By hand, in CAD or in a planning tool?

By hand

Squared paper, a scale rule and a clear legend still work for a licence sketch or a small house. The weakness is change: every alteration means redrawing, and the parts count is separate work.

In CAD

Layher LayPLAN CAD is a plug-in for AutoCAD 2017 to 2022, as listed by Layher, that plans Layher scaffolds in 3D and keeps a real-time material list for transport and assembly. Avontus Designer builds multi-brand scaffolds, creates a bill of materials with one click and exports DWG and PDF. Plain AutoCAD with your own blocks is the third route: flexible, but every standard and tie is drawn by you.

From a PDF drawing in a planning tool

When the architect sends a PDF, a planning tool can use it as the base: you set the scale from a known dimension, trace the wall line and set the heights. Check one long dimension against the survey before you trust the scale, because a PDF printed «fit to page» is no longer 1:100. Our guide to turning a PDF drawing into a scaffold plan goes through it step by step. ScaFix works this way: you pick the page, set the scale and trace the walls, the PDF is not uploaded, and the result is a 3D scaffold with a parts list for the chosen system, not a licence or design drawing.

Which mistakes make a scaffold drawing useless?

  • No scale or a wrong one. A drawing without a scale bar cannot be measured.
  • Elevations without ties. The tie pattern is what an inspector checks first; show it, and the tie type.
  • No load class or duty. «General purpose» or the load class belongs in the title block.
  • Missing fixed dimensions. Dimensions to the kerb, the building corners and the ground level let someone set out the scaffold without you.
  • Old revision on site. Number every revision and date it. The erected scaffold must match the drawing on the job file.

For setting out the bays and lifts themselves, see how to plan a facade scaffold and the area guide.

A drawing records a scaffold; it does not approve one. In Great Britain the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and HSE guidance decide when a TG20:21 compliance sheet or a bespoke design is needed, and in the US a qualified person must design the scaffold under 29 CFR 1926.451; the manufacturer’s instructions apply and a competent person must inspect the scaffold before use.

Frequently asked questions

What scale is a scaffold drawing?

There is no fixed scale. Most use 1:50 for elevations of houses and 1:100 for plans, and details at 1:5 or larger. The scale must be stated and a scale bar printed.

Do I need a drawing for a scaffold licence?

Usually yes. Councils grant licences under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 and set their own requirements, such as a labelled plan with footway widths and kerb clearance.

What is the difference between a scaffold plan and an elevation?

The plan is the view from above: where the scaffold stands, its width and its distance to the wall and the kerb. The elevation is the view from the front: lifts, decks, ties and bracing.

Can I draw a scaffold plan in AutoCAD?

Yes, with your own blocks or with a plug-in such as Layher LayPLAN CAD, which adds the system’s components and a live material list.

Who signs off a scaffold drawing?

For a scaffold within TG20:21 or the manufacturer’s configurations, the competent person preparing the plan; for anything outside them, the scaffold designer who prepared the bespoke design.

Sources

Primary sources used for this article, with the date each was read.