Domestic Scaffolding in London

When you need a domestic scaffold

Most trades working above the ground floor need a proper scaffold rather than a ladder or tower once the work runs longer than a few hours or crosses the roofline. Roofers stripping and re-covering a pitched roof, builders raising a rear or side extension, decorators painting a three-storey Victorian frontage, and anyone repointing or rendering all need a stable working platform with guard rails, toe boards and a safe ladder access bay.

The right scaffold depends on the elevation, not a catalogue. A terraced re-roof usually needs an eaves-height scaffold to front and rear with a boarded lift at gutter line; a loft dormer needs the scaffold carried above the ridge with a protective edge; an extension needs an independent scaffold clear of the new blockwork so bricklayers can work both faces. We survey first so the design fits the job and your trades are not left improvising.

Types of domestic scaffold we erect

Nearly every home job we quote falls into one of a handful of scaffold types, and most projects combine two or three of them:

• Single-elevation access — one face of the house for gutter, fascia, soffit or window work.
• Full perimeter / wrap-around — all elevations for a re-roof, render or full exterior refurbishment.
• Chimney scaffold — a compact platform carried to the stack for repointing, re-flaunching or a rebuild.
• Loft & dormer scaffold — carried above the ridge with edge protection for loft conversions.
• Extension scaffold — independent scaffold clear of new blockwork, adjusted as the build rises.
• Temporary roof — a fully sheeted over-roof that keeps the house weatherproof during a re-roof.

Safety, standards and inspections

Every domestic scaffold we put up is designed to the TG20:21 compliance suite or, where a job falls outside standard configurations, to a bespoke design. That means correct tie patterns, base plates and sole boards, guard rails and toe boards to every working lift, brick guards where materials are stored, and a proper ladder access bay rather than trades climbing the frame.

Under the Work at Height Regulations a scaffold must be inspected before first use, after any alteration, after events that could affect stability such as high winds, and at least every seven days while it stands. We handle those inspections and leave a scaffold tag on the structure so everyone on site can see it is safe to use and when it was last checked.

Do you need a licence for a scaffold at home?

If the scaffold stands entirely inside your own boundary — a back garden, a private drive, your own forecourt — you will not normally need a council licence. The moment any part of it stands on, or oversails, the public footway or road, the local highway authority requires a pavement (highway) licence, and often a parking-bay suspension too if it takes up a controlled bay.

We handle that application for you as part of the job, so you are not chasing the council while your builder waits. Because the fee and lead time vary by borough, we confirm both for your specific address at survey. There is a full explanation on our pavement-licence page.

What a domestic scaffold costs

Domestic scaffolding is priced per elevation and per week, not by a flat rate. The cost depends on how many elevations you need, their height, whether a temporary roof or chimney lift is involved, how long the hire runs, and whether a council licence and parking suspension are required. Two homes on the same street can need quite different scaffolds.

Rather than guess, we give you a fixed price after a free site survey — the erect cost, the weekly hire and the dismantle, agreed in writing with no day-rate creep. Tell us the postcode and the job through the quote form and we will confirm a price within one working day.