Scaffolding Calculator — Estimate Scaffold Requirements

This calculator estimates scaffolding requirements based on your building dimensions and the type of scaffold needed. It calculates the number of lifts (height divisions), bays (length divisions), and estimates the major components required.

Key calculations

• Lifts: Work height ÷ 2m (standard lift height)
• Bays: Building length ÷ bay width (2.4m or 3m)
• Total area: Building length × work height × number of sides
• Standards (uprights): (Bays + 1) per row of standards, per side. Putlog has one row (single row of uprights, inner side carried by putlogs in the wall); independent has two rows (inner and outer)
• Ledgers: (Lifts + 1) horizontal runs per row of standards, per side. One outer run for putlog; inner and outer for independent
• Transoms: One at each standard position (Bays + 1), plus an intermediate board-bearing transom in any bay wider than the 1.2m maximum board-support span (BS 2482), at every lift level
• Boards: ~5 per bay per lift (each board 225mm wide, BS 2482) — a fully-boarded upper bound; TG20:21 limits how many lifts are decked at once, so a real job usually needs fewer

Scaffold types

• Independent: Freestanding scaffold not relying on the building — two rows of standards (inner and outer), so it needs roughly twice the uprights and ledgers of a putlog of the same size
• Putlog: One side against the wall with putlogs bedded into the mortar joints — a single row of standards. Once common on new brickwork but now rare on modern construction, still seen in some refurbishment work. Limited to 6.0m height under TG20:21
• Tower scaffold: A single mobile or static scaffold tower — typically 1.4m × 2m platform

These are estimates for planning and budgeting. Actual scaffold designs must be prepared by a competent scaffold designer and erected by CISRS-trained scaffolders. All scaffolding must comply with NASC TG20:21 (the current tube-and-fitting guidance — TG20:13 was formally withdrawn on 12 October 2021) and the Work at Height Regulations 2005.