Straight answers on pricing, permits, safety and everything else people ask before booking scaffolding.
Only if part of the structure touches public land — a pavement, road, verge or alleyway. Scaffolding kept entirely on your own property doesn't need a council licence. Your scaffolder will normally handle the permit application for you, and the fee is usually a fixed cost added to your quote.
The calculator shows figures excluding VAT by default. Tick "Include VAT" during step 4 to see the price with the standard 20% rate added. Always ask suppliers to confirm whether their written quote is VAT-inclusive.
Most UK firms quote around a 4-week base hire. If your project overruns, expect a smaller weekly "extra hire" charge rather than being billed at the original daily rate — this is usually 5–10% of the original quote per additional week.
We wouldn't recommend it. Scaffolding needs to be designed and erected by someone trained and insured — the Work at Height Regulations 2005 place legal duties on whoever puts it up, and a poorly built scaffold is a genuine falling and collapse risk.
The contractor who built it. UK law requires a scaffold to be inspected at least every 7 days, plus after bad weather or any modification, with the results recorded on a report kept accessible on site.
Price differences usually come down to how a firm estimates access difficulty, how busy their yard is, and whether they're pricing a full independent scaffold versus a lighter system. Getting two or three quotes for the same brief is the easiest way to sanity-check a price.
Generally yes — labour, parking and yard costs in London and the South East typically push prices around 15–25% above the national average. Northern England, Wales and Scotland tend to sit below the average.
A mobile tower is a lightweight, wheeled structure good for short jobs under roughly 5–6 metres, like guttering or a single-storey repair. Full scaffolding is a fixed, tied structure built for longer projects like re-roofing, rendering or an extension.
For a straightforward domestic job, one to two weeks is typical. If a street permit is required, add extra time — most councils take around 5–10 working days to process an application.
A competent scaffolder will use base plates or sole boards to spread the load and avoid marking paving or damaging soft ground. Flag any drains, delicate planting or driveways when you book so the crew can plan around them.
Yes — additional lifts, ladder access points or debris netting can usually be added after installation, though this may involve a call-out charge. It's worth describing your full project scope upfront to avoid surprise add-ons.