Temporary roofs are what we are best known for. We design, supply and install weather protection spanning up to 40 metres from our yard at Enslow, near Kidlington, across Oxford and Oxfordshire and into Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. Craned in or rolled out on a track, depending on what the site allows, and designed for the stone, slate and listed roofs this part of the country is full of.
Call 01869 254017 Discuss a temporary roofA temporary roof is not scaffolding with a sheet over it. It is an independent structure that takes the weather off the building so work can carry on underneath, and it earns its cost in four situations:
On a modern estate, a re-roof that gets rained on is an inconvenience. Tiles go back, the felt gets replaced, you carry on.
Much of Oxfordshire is not that. Cotswold stone roofs, lime mortar, oak structures and lath and plaster ceilings beneath. Strip one of those and the building is genuinely exposed:
So in Chipping Norton, Woodstock, Burford, Wallingford and the villages between them, a temporary roof is frequently not an upgrade. It is the only responsible way to do the job between autumn and spring.
Cotswold stone and natural slate, where the covering is heavy and the structure underneath is old. The most common reason we are called.
Where water ingress is damage to protected fabric and the work often runs long because it is done by hand.
Repointing and rebedding that simply cannot be done in the open between October and March.
Schools, churches, pubs and houses that have to stay in use while the roof is off. The roof keeps the building working, not just dry.
There are two practical ways to get a roof over a building, and the right one depends on access more than on the building.
Sections are assembled at ground level and lifted into place. Fast, and the right answer where there is room for a crane and somewhere to build. It needs clear access and a lift plan, and near an aerodrome it needs checking first.
The roof is built at one end and rolled along a track as the work progresses. No crane, works on tight sites, and lets the roofers expose one section at a time, which on an old structure is often the safer approach anyway.
Keder for a tensioned, weathertight finish. Corrugated iron or aluminium cladding where durability matters. Shrink wrap for irregular shapes and tight encapsulation. The choice changes the wind loading as much as the weather resistance.
Clear spans up to forty metres, so the working area underneath stays unobstructed. Larger structures are designed rather than assembled to a standard configuration.
On a long roof the rolling arrangement means you only ever cover the section being worked on, which keeps the structure, and the cost, proportionate.
People assume a temporary roof is designed to keep water out. It is, but that is the easy part. The thing that governs the design is wind.
The moment you sheet a structure you turn it into a sail. A sheeted roof is a large, more or less solid surface, and the uplift and lateral load it catches are considerably larger than the weight of the roof itself. Those loads have to go somewhere: into the ties, into the building and into the ground. The consequences run right down the scaffold:
That is why a temporary roof almost always falls outside TG20:21 and needs a bespoke scaffold design from an engineer, with calculations for the actual span, sheeting type and exposure. It also means the building has to be capable of taking the load. On a stone or timber-framed building that will not accept conventional ties, the design frequently takes the load to the ground on independent towers rather than into the walls. That costs more. It is also the difference between a temporary roof and a liability.
It is why we will not simply add a roof to an existing scaffold without checking the structure underneath can take it. And if a quotation for a temporary roof does not mention a design, ask who has done the calculations.
A temporary roof is the most expensive thing on a scaffolding quotation and the easiest to talk yourself out of. The argument for it is not comfort, it is programme.
Strip a roof in October without cover and you are working to the weather forecast. Every wet day is a lost day, and on an open structure a wet day is not neutral. Water gets into ceilings, plaster, insulation and joinery that were dry when you started. The cost of a temporary roof is fixed and known at the outset. The cost of six weeks of rain delays, plus making good damage to the inside of a building, is neither.
The licence matters more on a temporary roof than on an ordinary scaffold, because a roof job runs for weeks or months rather than days and the council charges for the whole time the structure stands on the highway. It is a recurring cost across the programme, not a one-off fee. Oxfordshire does not accept applications from the public, so we apply. We need lead time, and the licence usually sets the start date rather than our diary. Any licence fee we quote is indicative, taken from the council's published schedule, so treat it as a budget figure until the application goes in.
The temporary roof itself does not normally need consent. The work beneath it very often does, and on a listed building the method of fixing and the duration can both be conservation matters. Settle that before the roof goes up.
There is no honest per-square-metre rate for a temporary roof, and anyone quoting you one has not looked at the building. The span and the wind exposure move the cost more than the floor area does. A roof spanning 8 metres and one spanning 25 metres are different structures, not the same structure at two sizes. What we are actually pricing:
In practice a temporary roof is typically the largest single line on a scaffolding quotation, and on a short summer job it is often not worth it. On anything running through autumn or winter, or over a roof you cannot afford to get wet, it is usually cheaper than the alternative.
Tell us the roof's plan size, the ridge height, whether the building is listed, how long the roofers need and whether a crane can get in. That is enough for a firm figure without a visit on most domestic work. Anything larger, we come and look.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 the scaffold must be inspected by a competent person before first use, at intervals of no more than seven days, and again after any event likely to have affected its stability. On a temporary roof that last clause is the one that matters. A roof presents a much larger surface to the wind than an open scaffold, so after a gale the roof and its ties must be checked before anyone works under or on it again.
After handover the duty sits with the person using the scaffold, not with us. On a temporary roof we strongly encourage you to instruct us to carry out the weekly inspections under the hire, because the sheeting and tie checks are not something a general site team will spot problems with. Agree it rather than assume it. More on how that works on our scaffold inspection page.
From the yard at Enslow we cover the whole of Oxfordshire, and the heritage work clusters in the west and south:
Beyond the county we install them in Buckinghamshire, including Aylesbury, Buckingham and Milton Keynes, and in Bedfordshire, including Leighton Buzzard, Biggleswade, Bedford and Luton. Temporary roofs are the work most worth travelling for, so if you are near the edge of that, still ring us. For everything else we do locally, see scaffolding in Oxfordshire.
It is driven by clear span, how long you need it and whether the load goes into the building or to the ground, not by floor area, which is why a per-square-metre rate is meaningless. Send us the roof's plan size, the ridge height, the duration and whether the building is listed, and we will give you a firm figure. For most houses we can price it without a visit.
If you are stripping a modern tiled roof in summer and can close it up quickly, sheeting over the scaffold is often enough. If you are stripping Cotswold stone or slate, working through autumn or winter, exposing old timber or lath and plaster, or the roof will be open for more than a few days, a temporary roof is the sensible answer. Sheeting flaps, lifts and leaks; a roof does not.
Up to 40 metres clear, craned in or on a rolling track. That covers almost anything domestic and most commercial work.
A craned roof on a straightforward house is usually a day or two once the supporting scaffold is up. A rolling roof takes longer. The real constraint is rarely erection time. It is the engineer's design and, if the highway is involved, the council licence. Allow a couple of weeks from go-ahead.
In normal weather, yes. That is the point. In high winds work stops, and after a gale the structure is inspected before anyone goes back under it.
That is exactly what the design is for. A sheeted roof catches far more wind than an open scaffold, so it is designed outside TG20:21 with calculations for the actual span, sheeting and exposure. We also inspect it at least every seven days and after any event that could have affected it, as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require.
On a job of any length through autumn or winter, almost always. The roof is a known cost; weather delay and water damage are not.
Only if the structure underneath was designed for it. Adding a roof changes the wind loading completely, so we check before we agree.
Yes. On stone, timber-framed and listed buildings we design the load to the ground on independent towers rather than tying into the fabric. It is a larger scaffold and it costs more, but it is the right answer where tie holes in protected stonework are not acceptable.
Not normally, as it is a temporary structure. The work underneath frequently does, and on a listed building the fixing method and how long the building stays covered can both be matters for your conservation officer. If any part stands on the public footway or road you need a highway licence from the council, which we apply for.
In most cases, yes. That is one of the main reasons people choose one. We install them over occupied houses, schools, churches and pubs. Tell us at the quoting stage, because it changes where we can put legs, how we sequence the erection and the pedestrian protection.
It depends on the job. Solid sheeting keeps weather out but carries the most wind load; mesh is lighter but lets water through. We will tell you which is right rather than defaulting.
If you have a roof plan, a photograph of the building and a rough duration, we can usually give you a figure the same day.
01869 254017 info@oxscaffold.co.ukPlease feel free to contact us anytime to discuss your requirements.
Please feel free to contact us anytime to discuss your requirements. Or use the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
We provide access solutions tailored to your requirements and have experience delivering on projects of considerable scale. Incorporated in 2018, Ox Scaffold Ltd have shown credibility within the industry and this was recognized by the Oxfordshire Prestige Awards from 2020 to present, winning ‘Oxfordshire’s Scaffold Company of the Year’.
Copyright © OX Scaffold Ltd | All Rights Reserved.