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Scaffold calculators for site and office

Four quick checks that come up every day: how much the steel weighs, how high a tower can go, how many ties a scaffold needs and what a bay can carry. Every number shows the rule it comes from.

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Tube and fittings weight

For a delivery, a lift plan or a hoist. Steel tube 48.3 × 4.0 mm weighs 4.37 kg per metre; fittings and boards vary by maker, so enter your own.

Tube lengthNumber of tubes
6.4 m
4.9 m
3.2 m
2.4 m
1.8 m
1.2 m

Coupler and board weights are example values. Weigh your own stock or use the maker's data sheet.

Total weight–
Tube–
Fittings–couplers
Boards– 
Lengthkg eachCarryPer 50 kg gin-wheel lift
Plan a delivery or lift with us
Rules used. Tube 48.3 × 4.0 mm: 4.37 kg/m (steel). Manual lifting: 23 kg maximum for one person in ideal conditions, above that use two people or a mechanical aid (CSM I-12, May 2026). Lowering or raising by rope or gin wheel: 50 kg maximum per lift (CSM II-2, July 2026, 2.5.10 D). EN 39 type 3 tube (3.2 mm wall) is not allowed on Aramco sites, even when embossed. As taught in AL-YASSIN courses; verify against the latest edition.

Tower height to base

How high a freestanding tower may go on its base, or how wide the base must be for the height you need. Height is measured to the top platform.

Minimum base–the shortest side
Maximum height–
–
Get a tower or scaffold design checked
Rules used. Stationary freestanding tower: top platform at most 4 × the minimum base. Mobile tower on casters: at most 3 × the minimum base and 12.2 m maximum, casters locked and pinned. Where the base does not meet the ratio, fit outriggers or tie the tower (CSM II-2 §2.9.1, as taught in the AL-YASSIN Supervisor course). Verify against the latest edition.

Ties and the 4:1 rule

Does the scaffold need ties, and at least how many? Enter the run, the height to the top planked level and the narrowest base width.

For an independent scaffold the minimum base is usually its width, standard to standard.

Height to base–limit 4 : 1
Ties, at least–
–

Get a tie layout designed
Rules used. Above 4 : 1 (height to the top planked level over the minimum base) a scaffold needs ties, outriggers or equal. Ties at most 9 m apart horizontally, measured from one end, with both ends tied; at most 8 m apart vertically, every 4 lifts or less. Lowest tie level at the lift closest to 4 × the minimum base; top tie level as close to the top as feasible (CSM II-2 §2.5.8 C–D, H). This is the minimum count from spacing only. Sheeting or netting, wind, loading bays, hoists, cantilevers and eccentric loads need a design (TG20:21 compliance sheet or an engineer). Verify against the latest edition.

Bay load

What one bay may carry at its duty rating, and how much of it the planned crew and material use. The rating is on the scaffold tag: never load beyond it.

Do not count the planks: their self-weight is dead load, not part of the rating.

Allowed on the bay–
Planned–
–
Get a heavy-duty scaffold designed
Rules used. Saudi Aramco: light duty 120 kg/m² (25 psf), medium duty 240 kg/m² (50 psf), anything heavier is special duty and needs a special scaffold design; components carry the dead load plus 4 × the live load; the rating is written on the tag (CSM II-2, July 2026, 2.5.1 A–F; GI 8.001 (2025) §4.22.5, §7.6). BS EN 12811-1 Table 3 classes 1–6: 0.75, 1.50, 2.00, 3.00, 4.50 and 6.00 kN/m² uniformly distributed, plus a concentrated load of 1.5 kN (classes 1–3) or 3.0 kN (classes 4–6) on 500 × 500 mm and 1.0 kN on 200 × 200 mm, each checked separately. kN/m² are converted at 1 kN = 102 kg. Verify against the latest edition.

A calculator is not a design

These checks catch the common mistakes. Anything outside the standard rules (sheeting, heavy loads, cantilevers, birdcages, suspended scaffolds) needs a design and a check. That is our day job.

See design and engineering services

Use the numbers on the exam

The same rules come up in the Saudi Aramco practice exams and the role exams for engineers.

Choose a free exam