Plettac SL 70 material list: a worked example

What is Plettac SL 70, and which approval covers it?

Plettac SL is a steel frame facade scaffold from ALTRAD plettac assco GmbH in Plettenberg, Germany. The SL 70 version is covered by the German general technical approval Z-8.1-29. The approval document itself is dated 5 June 2020 and prints a validity to 2 June 2025, a date that has passed. DIBt extended it with a notice of 28 May 2025, valid from 3 June 2025 to 3 June 2030; that notice changes manufacturing, coupler, spindle and sheeting details, not the tie patterns, bracing and corner rules quoted below (DIBt extension notice, 28 May 2025.pdf)). The system was first approved on 30 September 1974 (DIBt Z-8.1-29.pdf)).

In its standard configuration the approval allows bays up to 3.0 m for working scaffolds up to load class 3, with the top level no higher than 24 m plus spindle extension. It also gives the system’s EN 12810 designation, for example "EN 12810 – 3D – SW06/300 – H2 – B – LS": width class W06, bays up to 300 cm, headroom class H2 (Z-8.1-29, Annex B, B.1.pdf)). Heavier work moves you to the wider SL 100, approved separately under Z-8.1-171 with a 1.07 m system width: bays up to 3.00 m for load class 4, 2.50 m for class 5 and 2.00 m for class 6 (DIBt Z-8.1-171, Annex B.pdf)).

The manufacturer’s catalogue, as published by a rental company, lists approved SL 70 bay lengths of 1.50, 2.00, 2.50 and 3.00 m, and seven deck lengths from 70 to 400 cm (70, 110, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 400 cm). SL 70 frames are 74 cm wide with 650 mm of usable deck; SL 100 gives 980 mm (plettac SL 70/100 catalogue). The 4.0 m steel deck appears in the approval’s deck table only for load class 3 and below.

How do you lay out the bays for a 9 m wall?

Three 3.0 m bays give exactly 9.0 m. For a wall that really is 9 m long you would usually want a little more, so the ends can be reached from a deck; adding a 1.50 m bay gives 10.5 m, and swapping one long bay for two 2.0 m bays gives 10.0 m. The engine’s straight-wall list uses the longest bay only, so the example below is the plain 3 × 3.0 m run. Treat it as the core of the order and add the end bay yourself.

Plettac’s regular 3.0 m bay also makes comparisons easy. In the same engine, four bays at 10 m high (12 m long) come to 138 pieces for 115 m², and three bays at 6 m high come to 73 pieces for 50 m². Fixed packages for 2 × 4, 4 × 4, 4 × 6 and 8 × 8 bays are on their own pages, for example Plettac 12 × 4 m and Plettac 24 × 8 m.

The computed list: three bays, 10 m high

Parts list: Plettac SL 70/100, 9 m × 10 m

One straight wall, 9 m long and 10 m high, in 3 bays (3 × 3 m), 0.73 m deep, decks at 2.6 m, 4.6 m, 6.6 m, 8.6 m m: 86 m² of scaffold and 118 pieces in total, computed by ScaFix’s engine.

Fixed example computed by the app’s engine: no corners, openings, sheeting, hoists or loading bays. The manufacturer’s assembly instructions decide; this is planning, not structural approval.

How do you read each line?

Frames

Sixteen 2 m frames are four frame lines times four lifts. The top lift is closed with two 1 m frames and two guardrail posts, so the guardrail stands above the top deck at 8.6 m. Plettac frames are joined and locked with self-locking toggle pins rather than wedges or bolts, which is why the list has no wedges or bolts (catalogue).

Decks

Twelve decks: one per bay on each of four deck levels. Four of them are access decks with a hatch and ladder, one per level, stacked in the same bay so the ladder runs straight up. On SL 70 a bay takes two 32 cm deck elements side by side, or one 65 cm deck; the engine counts deck units per bay, so check which type your yard stocks before you multiply.

Guardrails and toe boards

Fifteen guardrails: three bays on four decked levels is twelve, plus a row in the bottom field below the first deck at 2.6 m. That bottom row is ScaFix’s own stiffening rule, explained in the methodology. Twelve toe boards, one per bay and deck level, complete the edge protection.

Diagonals

Four diagonals, one per lift. The approval requires the outer vertical plane to be braced with diagonals and allows no more than five bays per diagonal (Z-8.1-29, Annex B.pdf)), so a three-bay wall needs one per lift and a six-bay wall would need two.

Ends

Eight end guardrails close the two ends on four deck levels.

Ties

Fifteen ties, fifteen anchor fittings and nine right-angle couplers. The approval allows an 8 m staggered pattern, a 4 m continuous pattern and a 2 m pattern (Z-8.1-29, Annex B, B.5.pdf)). In the 8 m staggered pattern each frame line is tied every 8 m with neighbours offset by 4 m, while the edge frame lines and both lines of an internal ladder bay are tied every 4 m, and every standard in the top lift is tied. Ties go on the inner standard only, at the node, with at most 30 cm offset unless the scaffold is sheeted. The ScaFix engine applies that staggered pattern with ties on the 4 m grid from +4 m and the top lift fully tied.

The approval adds two details that explain the couplers. Where a triangular tie has to sit on an end frame, a horizontal strut or a tube with right-angle couplers goes directly below it; where one sits next to an internal ladder bay, an extra coupling tube or strut with two couplers is fitted in that bay. On a three-bay wall the ends and the ladder bay are never far away, so the engine bills nine couplers here and only three on the four-bay wall.

Base jacks

Eight base jacks, two per frame line. Sole boards are not counted because they depend on the ground.

What is not in the list?

• Corners. Corners are built to Annex C, page 35 of the approval; one of the two corner versions needs gap covers, and inside corners need the approval’s measures against uplift (Z-8.1-29, B.10.pdf)). The catalogue offers an SL corner deck for corners up to 45° and frame widths of 74 and 110 cm for corner solutions (catalogue).
• Brackets, protective fans and bridging. The approval notes that brackets and bridging may need additional ties, so these change both the parts and the tie count.
• Netting and sheeting. Sheeting changes the tie offset rule and usually the pattern; the engine’s list is for an unclad wall.
• Stair access. The list uses ladder decks. A stair tower is a separate set of parts.
• Transport, sole boards and site extras such as loading bays or hoists.

Which UK and US rules sit on top?

The German approval is used here because it is the published technical document for the system. In Great Britain, HSE’s scaffolding guidance applies on top of it; in the US, 29 CFR 1926.451. How both apply to a system scaffold is explained in our UK scaffolding regulations guide and the OSHA guide.

For the system in 3D on a whole house, see the Plettac SL system page; the parts guide explains each component and the load classes guide when SL 70 is not enough. ScaFix is a planning tool that turns wall dimensions or a PDF drawing into a 3D scaffold and a parts list for many systems, not a structural calculation.

This is planning information, not structural approval. The approval Z-8.1-29 and Plettac’s assembly instructions decide how the scaffold is built and tied, with HSE guidance in Great Britain and 29 CFR 1926 Subpart L in the US, and a competent person must inspect the scaffold before it is used.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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

• DIBt Z-8.1-29: Gerüstbauteile für das Gerüstsystem PLETTAC SL 70 (5 June 2020).pdf) (read 23 October 2026)
• DIBt Z-8.1-29: extension notice of 28 May 2025 (valid to 3 June 2030).pdf) (read 23 October 2026)
• DIBt Z-8.1-171: Fassadengerüst plettac SL 100 (11 March 2019).pdf) (read 23 October 2026)
• Fassadengerüst plettac SL 70/100 catalogue (Ramirent copy) (read 23 October 2026)
• HSE: Scaffolding (read 23 October 2026)
• 29 CFR 1926.451, General requirements for scaffolds (govinfo, 2024 edition) (read 23 October 2026)