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Guide

How to plan a facade scaffold

A facade scaffold plan answers four questions before anything leaves the yard: how long, how high, how wide and how it is held to the building. This guide walks through the order a planner works in, with the clauses the UK and US rules actually set and the figures from manufacturers’ instructions.

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

Layher Allround scaffolding around a house of 11.4 × 5.3 m with a gabled roof (eaves 4.5 m, ridge 6 m), drawn by the ScaFix 3D model
Layher Allround around the example house, as ScaFix draws it in 3D.

How do you plan a facade scaffold?

Measure every wall and the eaves height, choose a system and width class, divide each wall into standard bays and close the corners, stack lifts of about 2.0 m to the working height, then add access, ties, base plates and sheeting. Finish with a parts list and a check against the manufacturer’s instructions, TG20:21 or a design, and national rules.

What do you need before you start planning?

Three things: the building’s dimensions, the work that will be done from the scaffold, and the system you have in the yard. The work matters because it sets the load class and the width. Rendering or bricklaying needs more deck width and load than painting, and a scaffold used to land materials with a hoist needs a higher class again: the German accident insurer BG BAU, for example, requires at least load class 4 for landing loads with lifting gear (BG BAU sheet B 113). The classes themselves are explained in scaffold load classes.

In the UK, the first decision is whether the scaffold fits a recognised standard configuration. Schedule 3, Part 2, paragraph 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires strength and stability calculations unless a note of calculations covering the arrangement is available, or the scaffold is assembled in conformity with a generally recognised standard configuration. For tube and fitting scaffolds that configuration is usually a compliance sheet from the NASC’s TG20:21 guidance; for system scaffolds it is the manufacturer’s instructions. Paragraph 8 adds an assembly, use and dismantling plan drawn up by a competent person, which may be a standard plan with the details of this scaffold added.

For the measurements, a site visit beats a drawing, but a scaled PDF elevation is a good start. Our guide on how to calculate scaffold area explains how length and height turn into square metres, which is how most facade scaffolds are priced.

How to plan a facade scaffold in eight steps

Work through the steps in this order; each one depends on the one before.

1. Measure the walls

Record the length of every wall, the eaves and ridge heights, gables, bay windows, balconies, doors that must stay open and anything on the ground such as drains, steps or slopes. Note where the ground level changes along the wall, because that changes the base jacks.

2. Choose the system, load class and width class

Pick a system you have the parts and instructions for, then the load class for the trade (painting, rendering, masonry) and a width class with room for people and materials. The system approval then limits the bay length: for the plettac SL 100 frame, 3.00 m bays up to load class 4, 2.50 m for class 5 and 2.00 m for class 6 (DIBt approval Z-8.1-171, Annex B.pdf)).

3. Set the bay lengths along each wall

Fill each wall with the longest standard bay the load class allows and close the remainder with shorter bays, so the scaffold ends just past the wall. Keep the deck within the permitted gap to the wall (14 inches in the US under 1926.451(b)(3)), and add brackets where reveals or projections push the gap over the limit.

4. Plan the corners

Decide how each outside corner is turned: an overlapping bay on the next wall, corner brackets or a shared standard. The BG BAU sheet B 113 asks for the deck to continue around a building corner at full width when the scaffold wraps the building. Inside corners need their own detail so no gap is left between the two runs.

5. Set the lift heights

Stack lifts of about 2.0 m, the frame height in the Layher Blitz instructions, from the first lift to the top working deck, placing that deck where the trade needs it relative to the eaves and the roof edge. Use the base jack to adjust the first lift, and add a guardrail lift above the top deck that meets Schedule 2 (950 mm in the UK).

6. Plan access

Add a stair tower or ladder bays so every working lift can be reached safely. In the US access is required when a platform is more than 2 ft above or below the point of access, 1926.451(e)(1). German rules call for access to raised workplaces at least every 50 m (TRBS 2121-1, 4.3.2), and DGUV Information 201-011 limits internal ladders to climbs of 5 m where stairs or hoists cannot be used.

7. Plan ties, base and sheeting

Take the tie pattern from the manufacturer’s instructions or a TG20:21 compliance sheet for the cladding you will fit, and never less than 1926.451(c)(1)(ii) in the US. Put every standard on a base plate or base jack on a load-spreading sole board, and check the ground for backfilled trenches, cellars or soft soil.

8. Produce the parts list and check the plan

Count every component wall by wall, add spares for small parts, and check the plan against the instructions, the guardrail and wall-gap limits and the inspection regime. Anything outside a standard configuration needs strength and stability calculations under Schedule 3, Part 2, para 7.

How high should each lift be?

On a frame scaffold the frame sets the lift. Layher’s assembly and use instructions for its Blitz frame scaffold state that the frames are 2.00 m high and so fix the spacing between deck levels (Layher Blitz instructions, edition 11.2013). HAKI’s permitted-height tables for its Universal system are calculated for a 2.0 m lift with ties every 4.0 m of height (HAKI Universal instructions, 2021). Shorter lifts are possible, and HAKI’s own load table changes with the lift, so a different lift height is a different scaffold as far as the instructions are concerned.

Plan the lifts from the work, not from the ground. Put the top working deck where the trade needs it: for gutter and eaves work, a deck a little below the eaves with guardrails rising past the roof edge; for a gable, extra lifts on that wall only. A base jack takes up the difference between the ground and the first lift.

PERI UP scaffolding on a single 9.15 m gable wall with a 7.5 m peak, in the ScaFix 3D model
PERI UP on one gable wall: the scaffold follows the gable.

What guardrail height and deck gap do the rules require?

These are the numbers a plan must show. They differ by country, so state which rules you planned to.

ItemUK (Work at Height Regulations 2005)US (OSHA 29 CFR 1926.451)EN 12811-1 practice (Germany, DGUV)
Top guardrailAt least 950 mm, Schedule 2 para 338 to 45 inches (0.97 to 1.2 m) on scaffolds placed in service after 1 January 2000, (g)(4)(ii)At least 1.00 m
Largest gap in the side protection470 mm, Schedule 2 para 3See the midrail rules in (g)(4)0.47 m
Toe boardSuitable and sufficientWhere objects can fall on people below, on platforms more than 10 ft (3.1 m) up, unless the area is barricaded, (h)(2)(ii)At least 0.15 m
Gap from deck edge to wallPlan to the system instructions14 inches (36 cm) without inside guardrail, (b)(3)0.30 m without inside protection

Sources: Schedule 2 of the Work at Height Regulations, 29 CFR 1926.451, and the German DGUV Information 201-023 and 201-011, which apply EN 12811-1. The 0.30 m wall gap also applies at window reveals, cornices and balconies, which is why corner and reveal brackets appear in many parts lists. The full rule sets are in UK scaffolding regulations and TG20, OSHA scaffolding requirements and, for other countries, scaffolding regulations by country.

How many ties does a facade scaffold need?

Tie patterns come from the system’s instructions, a TG20:21 compliance sheet or a design, never from a rule of thumb alone. Two system manuals show the kind of figure to look for:

  • HAKI Universal: a tie at every inner standard every 4 m of height, at the node between standard and ledger, with the lowest tie no more than about 4.8 m above the ground. Ties that also take loads parallel to the facade go at least at every fifth pair of standards on each tie level, and a sheeted scaffold needs more ties and a separate calculation.
  • Layher Blitz: three typical patterns are shown, with denser patterns required for nets or sheeting, brackets, fans and roof catch lifts.

In the US, 1926.451(c)(1)(ii) says ties are installed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, and sets a minimum: a supported scaffold taller than four times its base width is tied at the closest horizontal member to the 4:1 height, then every 20 ft (6.1 m) vertically for scaffolds 3 ft wide or less, every 26 ft (7.9 m) for wider ones, and at most every 30 ft (9.1 m) horizontally.

Decide the cladding before you draw the tie pattern, because the pattern belongs to the cladding.

How do you check the plan and the parts list?

Read the parts list against the drawing, wall by wall: standards, ledgers, transoms, decks, guardrails and toe boards per bay; base jacks and sole boards per standard; ties per tie point; and the access. Our quantities guide by wall size gives typical counts to compare with. Then run the plan through this list before it goes to the yard:

  1. Configuration: the scaffold matches a TG20:21 compliance sheet or the manufacturer’s standard configuration, or a design exists (UK Schedule 3, Part 2, para 7).
  2. Plan: an assembly, use and dismantling plan is in place for this scaffold (para 8).
  3. Edges: main guardrail at least 950 mm and no gap over 470 mm in the UK; top rail 38 to 45 inches in the US.
  4. Wall gap: within the system limit, or 14 inches in the US under 1926.451(b)(3), with inside guardrails or brackets where reveals push it further.
  5. Base: every standard on a base plate and mud sill or other firm foundation, and nothing unstable used as support, (c)(2) and (c)(2)(ii).
  6. Access: access wherever a platform is more than 2 ft (0.6 m) above or below the point of access, (e)(1); a hook-on ladder starts no more than 24 inches above the supporting level, (e)(2)(ii).
  7. Ties: the pattern matches the cladding actually planned, not the bare scaffold.
  8. Load: the planned materials stay within the rated capacity, (f)(1).
  9. Inspection: in the UK a working platform from which a person could fall 2 m or more must have been inspected within the previous 7 days (regulation 12(4)); in the US a competent person inspects before each work shift. The scaffold inspection checklist covers the walk-round.
  10. Incomplete sections: warning signs and physical barriers while the scaffold is not available for use (Schedule 3, Part 2, para 11).

ScaFix turns the wall lengths and heights from step 1, or a PDF drawing, into a 3D facade scaffold with bays, lifts and a parts list you can check against this list; see facade scaffolding for typical layouts, but it is not a design or a TG20 compliance check.

In the UK the Health and Safety Executive enforces the Work at Height Regulations, and in the US OSHA enforces 29 CFR 1926.451. This guide is planning information, not structural approval: the manufacturer’s instructions, a TG20:21 compliance sheet or a scaffold design decide what may be built, and a competent person must inspect the scaffold before it is used.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard lift height on a scaffold?

About 2.0 m on most frame and system scaffolds: Layher gives its Blitz frames as 2.00 m high, and HAKI calculates its Universal tables for a 2.0 m lift. Other lifts are possible only within the instructions.

How far can a scaffold deck be from the wall?

In the US the limit is 14 inches (36 cm) without a guardrail on the inside, under 1926.451(b)(3). German rules applying EN 12811-1 set 0.30 m (DGUV Information 201-011); beyond that you need inside side protection or brackets to close the gap.

What height should scaffold guardrails be?

At least 950 mm in the UK under Schedule 2, between 38 and 45 inches in the US for scaffolds placed in service after 2000, and at least 1.00 m under EN 12811-1 practice in Germany.

Do I need a design for a facade scaffold?

Not in the UK if it follows a generally recognised standard configuration such as a TG20:21 compliance sheet or the manufacturer’s instructions. Heavy sheeting, unusual heights or bridging usually push it outside that, and then calculations are required.

How often does a facade scaffold need ties?

It depends on the system and the cladding. HAKI Universal, for example, ties every inner standard every 4 m of height; US rules set a minimum of every 20 or 26 ft vertically and 30 ft horizontally.

Sources

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