Costs and time
Scaffold hire cost over the job
- where
- erect, dismantle and first period (£)
- scaffold face area (m²)
- erect, dismantle and first period price (£/m²)
- extra weekly hire (£)
- extra hire per week (£/m²)
- weeks the scaffold is needed
- weeks included in the first period
- total before VAT (£)
- total including VAT (£)
- VAT rate (%)
Explain this equation
Works out the cost of a scaffold over the job when priced per square metre with a first hire period included.
The main price covers erecting, dismantling and the first W_i weeks, charged per square metre of face. Any weeks beyond that are charged at the weekly rate per square metre; max(0, …) makes the extra zero if the job finishes inside the first period. VAT is added at the end.
Area times rate, plus area times weekly rate times extra weeks.
Sense check: 210 m² at £12 is £2,520; four extra weeks at £1/m² adds £840, so £3,360, or £4,032 with VAT.
Watch out: alterations, extra lifts, sheeting and loading bays are usually priced on top. Check what the first period covers.
Prices scaffold hire as an up-front charge for erecting, dismantling and an included hire period, plus weekly hire after that.
Enter your values to see the result.
Good to know
Most UK scaffold quotes are an erect-and-strike price that includes a set number of weeks, then a weekly rate per m², per bay or per lift. Put in the rates from your scaffolder’s quote; the figures shown are examples only, not published rates. VAT at the standard rate is 20% if your scaffolder is VAT registered. Ask what counts as a week, whether alterations, adaptations, sheeting, alarms and return visits are extra, and who does the 7-day inspections.
Common mistake
Budgeting only the included weeks: a delayed roofer or a wet month can add several weeks of hire.
Limits
Simple area-based price. Does not include alterations, licences (pavement or highway), sheeting, alarms, hoists or out-of-hours work. For planning and estimating only. This does not replace TG20:21 compliance (a TG20 compliance sheet or eGuide output) or a scaffold design by a competent person.
Sources
Results are calculations from the published methods and figures shown, and depend on the data you enter. For planning and checking only. Scaffolds must be erected to NASC TG20 or a bespoke design by competent persons, and lifting operations planned under LOLER by a competent person. Never rely on these results instead of a design, a lift plan or manufacturer ratings.