How To Choose A Scaffold Tower
Four questions decide it
1. How high do you need to reach?
Work in working height, not platform height — working height is the platform plus 2m. See the height guide.
Do not over-specify. A taller tower is heavier, slower to build and needs a bigger footprint.
2. How tight is the space?
This is the question people get wrong most often.
- A standard UK internal doorway is about 762mm
- A single width tower is 750mm and goes through
- A twin width tower is around 1.35m and does not
If the tower has to pass through a doorway, down a side return or along a corridor, you need single width. Measure the narrowest point before you book.
3. How long is the job?
Minimum hire is one week. The weekly rate steps down from four weeks, so a four-week hire is much better value per week than four separate one-week hires.
If the job might overrun, book the longer period — extending is easy but you will not get a refund for finishing early.
4. How much will you move it?
- Moving constantly, room to room — folding tower, up in ten minutes, flat in
the van
- Moving along one elevation — mobile tower on lockable castors
- Building once and leaving it — whatever suits the height; mobility does not
matter
Special cases
Over a staircase. This needs a tower built specifically to stand on a flight, with legs that adjust independently so the base sits level across the treads. We do not currently carry one. Call us and we will say so rather than sell you something that will not do it — and whatever you do, do not improvise with a standard tower and packing under the legs. Our stairway tower is a different thing: it stands on level ground and you climb it by stair instead of by ladder.
A managed construction site. You probably need an AGR tower — the guardrail goes in from the level below, which is what a principal contractor expects to see in the method statement.
Work on a roof slope. A tower gets you to the edge. It is not edge protection for working on the roof itself — that needs a different solution.
When a tower is the wrong answer
- You need to move along a long elevation continuously → a full scaffold
- You need to reach out over an obstruction → a MEWP
- The ground is soft, sloping or cannot be levelled → get advice first
- The job is 10 minutes and 2m up → a podium step may be all you need
Call +44 7366 166 658 and describe the job. We would rather tell you that you do not need a tower than send you the wrong one.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I decide things in?
Height first, then platform width, then the build method. Height is fixed by the job, width is fixed by your access, and only then does it matter whether you need advanced guardrail or a folding frame. Deciding in that order stops you falling in love with a tower that cannot reach or cannot get in.
How do I know if I need an AGR tower?
Ask whoever wrote the method statement. If the RAMS specifies advanced guardrail, you need an AGR tower and a standard one will not do. On domestic work nobody will ask, and a standard tower built correctly is entirely legitimate.