Temporary roof scaffolding in Oxford and Oxfordshire
A temporary roof is a sheeted structure built over a building so the work underneath can carry on in any weather. We install them across Oxfordshire from our yard at Enslow, near Kidlington — and in this county they earn their cost more often than almost anywhere else, because of what the roofs here are made of.
Why Oxfordshire needs them more than most counties
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, lath and plaster ceilings beneath. Strip one of those and the building is genuinely exposed:
- Stone roofs are heavy and the structure beneath them is old. Oak purlins and rafters that have been dry for three hundred years do not take a fortnight of rain well, and the damage is not always visible until later.
- Lime work needs dry conditions to cure. Repointing or rebedding in lime during a wet autumn either does not go off properly or gets washed out. A temporary roof is often the only way to keep a lime programme on schedule between October and March.
- Lath and plaster ceilings are the first casualty. Water through an open roof finds them before it finds anything else, and replacing a historic ceiling costs considerably more than the roof ever would.
- On a listed building, water damage is damage to protected fabric. That is a different conversation with a conservation officer than a wet carpet.
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.
Stone and slate re-roofs
Cotswold stone and natural slate, where the covering is heavy and the structure underneath is old. The most common reason we are called.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Where water ingress is damage to protected fabric and the work often runs long because it is done by hand.
Winter lime programmes
Repointing and rebedding that simply cannot be done in the open between October and March.
Occupied buildings
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.
How they are built, and which type you need
There are two practical ways to get a roof over a building, and the right one depends on access more than on the building.
- Craned in. The roof is assembled at ground level in sections and lifted into place. Fast, and it suits sites with room for a crane to set up. It needs clear access and a lift plan, and near an aerodrome it needs checking first.
- Rolling track. The roof is built on a track and rolled along the building as the work progresses. Slower to erect, but it needs no crane, works on tight sites, and lets the roofers expose one section at a time rather than the whole building at once — which on an old structure is often the safer approach anyway.
We span up to 40 metres, which covers almost anything domestic and most commercial work in the county. Sheeting is normally shrink-wrap or reinforced sheeting, and the choice affects wind loading as much as weather resistance.
The engineering: wind is the problem, not rain
People assume a temporary roof is about keeping water out. The water is the easy part.
The moment you sheet a structure you turn it into a sail. Wind loads on a sheeted temporary roof are very substantially higher than on an open scaffold, and those loads have to go somewhere — into the ties, into the building, and into the ground. That is why a temporary roof almost always falls outside TG20:21 and needs a bespoke design from a scaffold engineer, with calculations for the actual span, sheeting type and exposure.
It also means the building itself 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.
If a quotation for a temporary roof does not mention a design, ask who has done the calculations.
Approvals in Oxfordshire
- Oxfordshire County Council is the highway authority. If any part of the scaffold or roof stands on a public footway or road, the licence comes from them under section 169 of the Highways Act 1980.
- Your district council handles planning, conservation area and listed building matters — West Oxfordshire, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse, or Oxford City depending on where you are.
Two things specific to this county matter more on a temporary roof than on an ordinary scaffold. The county bills the licence weekly, and a temporary roof job runs for weeks or months rather than days — so the licence is a recurring cost for the whole programme, not a one-off fee. And 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 published council schedules. Fees change and vary with footway width and duration, 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.
How we price a temporary roof
We will not put a single figure on this page, because a temporary roof is the one scaffolding product where a headline rate is close to meaningless — the span and the wind exposure move the cost more than the floor area does. What we can do is tell you exactly what we are looking at when we price one.
- Clear span. The single biggest driver. A roof spanning 8 metres and one spanning 25 metres are different structures, not the same structure at different sizes. Beam depth, bracing and the supporting scaffold all step up with span.
- The design. Because a sheeted roof falls outside TG20:21, there is an engineer’s design and calculation package in the price. On a straightforward house it is modest. On a complex or listed building it is not.
- Craned or rolling. Craning is quicker but carries crane hire, a lift plan and the access to use them. A rolling roof removes the crane but adds erection time and track.
- How the load is taken. If the building will accept ties, the supporting scaffold is conventional. If it will not — common on stone, timber frame and listed fabric — the load goes to the ground on independent towers, and that is a materially bigger scaffold.
- Exposure. An exposed ridge on the Downs is a different wind calculation from a sheltered terrace in central Oxford, for the same building.
- Duration. Temporary roofs are hired by the week and the hire runs for the whole programme. A six-week job and a six-month job are not close.
- Highway licence. If any part stands on the footway, the county fee is weekly for the full duration. On a long heritage programme this is a real line, not a rounding error.
- Inspections. Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 the structure needs a recorded inspection at least every seven days and after anything that could have affected it. Over a long hire that is a recurring cost and it is in our price, not an extra.
Practically: 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.
What you get from us
- A bespoke design with calculations, and the drawing to go with it, not a verbal assurance that it will be fine.
- Erection by scaffolders working to SG4, with the supporting scaffold to BS EN 12811-1 and the correct duty class for what is actually being loaded onto it — stone and slate are heavy, and a roof being stripped means loaded platforms.
- Scafftags and recorded seven-day inspections for the whole hire.
- Handover paperwork: design, inspection record and the highway licence where one applies. On a listed building your conservation officer or architect may well ask for it.
- The highway licence applied for by us, with honest lead times.
- £10 million public liability insurance.
Where we install them
From the yard at Enslow we cover the whole county. The heritage work clusters in the west and south:
- Oxford and the city’s conservation areas — Jericho, Summertown, Headington, North Oxford
- Chipping Norton, Woodstock and Burford — Cotswold stone country, where most of our stone re-roofs are
- Witney, Bicester, Kidlington and Banbury
- Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford, Thame and Wantage
We also install temporary roofs across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire — see temporary roof scaffolding hire for the service in general, or scaffolding in Oxfordshire for everything else we do here.
Questions we are asked about temporary roofs in Oxfordshire
Do I need a temporary roof for a re-roof, or will sheeting do?
If you are stripping a modern tiled roof in summer and can get it closed 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.
How long does it take to put up?
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 honest constraint is rarely erection time — it is the engineer’s design and, if the highway is involved, the county licence. Allow a couple of weeks from go-ahead.
Does a temporary roof need planning permission?
Not normally — 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 Oxfordshire County Council, which we apply for.
Can you fit one where the building will not take scaffold ties?
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 putting tie holes into protected stonework is not acceptable.
How much does a temporary roof cost 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 nobody can give you a per-square-metre rate that means anything. 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.
Will it stand up to a winter storm?
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.
Can we stay in the building while the roof is off?
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.
Talk to us about a temporary roof
Call 01869 254017 or email info@oxscaffold.co.uk. 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.
