Temporary Roof Scaffolding Hire

Why a temporary roof pays for itself

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.

Our temporary roofs span up to 40 metres, craned in as complete sections or erected on a rolling track so the sheeted roof can be moved along as the work progresses. On a long roof that rolling arrangement means you only ever cover the section being worked on, which keeps the structure — and the cost — proportionate.

The engineering: wind is the problem, not rain

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.

A sheeted temporary roof is a large, more or less solid surface, and that surface catches wind in a way an open scaffold does not. It creates uplift and lateral load that the structure below has to resist, and those loads are considerably larger than the weight of the roof itself. The consequences run right down the scaffold:

• More ties, and heavier ones, because the whole structure is now resisting wind on a sail rather than just supporting a platform.
• Base loadings increase, so the ground and the base design matter more. Soft or made-up ground that would carry an open scaffold may need spreaders or a designed foundation.
• Sheeting specification matters. Shrink-wrap, reinforced sheeting and open mesh behave very differently in wind, and the choice changes the loads.
• Ballast or kentledge where ties into the building are not possible.

This is why a temporary roof is designed rather than assembled, and why a quotation that treats it as a scaffold with a lid on is one to be wary of. It is also why we will not simply add a roof to an existing scaffold without checking the structure underneath can take it.

What a temporary roof is right for

• Re-roofs running through winter — particularly stone slate and clay tile, where the strip is slow and the deck is open for weeks.
• Listed and historic buildings, where exposing old timber and plaster to weather causes damage that cannot be undone.
• Fire and flood reinstatement, where the building is already open and needs protecting while it dries and is rebuilt.
• Timber frame, which must not get wet before it is closed in.
• Occupied buildings — schools, care homes, flats — where the inside has to stay usable throughout.

Who is responsible for inspecting it

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: 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 would 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.

Questions we get asked about temporary roofs

How much does a temporary roof cost?

There is no honest per-square-metre rate for a temporary roof, and anyone quoting you one has not looked at the building. The price is driven by span and duration, not by floor area — 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:

• Clear span. The single biggest factor. Beam depth, bracing and the supporting scaffold all step up together as the span grows.
• The engineer’s design. A sheeted roof falls outside TG20:21, so there is a bespoke design and calculation package in every price. Modest on a simple house, significant on a complex or listed building.
• Craned or rolling. Craning is quicker but brings crane hire and a lift plan. A rolling roof removes the crane and adds erection time and track.
• Where the load goes. If the building takes ties, the supporting scaffold is conventional. If it will not, the load goes to the ground on independent towers — a materially bigger scaffold.
• Duration. Temporary roofs are hired by the week for the whole programme. A six-week job and a six-month job are nowhere near each other.
• Highway licence. If any part stands on the footway, most councils charge weekly for the full duration — a real line on a long programme, not a rounding error.
• Inspections. A recorded inspection at least every seven days and after any event that could have affected the structure, for the length of the hire. That is in our price, not an extra.

What that means 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 — see the section above on why it pays for itself.

Send us the roof’s plan size, the ridge height, roughly how long the roofers need and whether a crane can get in, and we will give you a firm figure. For most domestic work we can price it without a site visit.