Why is scaffolding so expensive?
Scaffolding is one of the more expensive trades to hire. Lots of customers can be left a little baffled when they get given a quote. There are a few reasons for the cost occurred for scaffolding which we will explore below.
There is a large upfront cost when it comes to starting a scaffolding company because you have to buy all the materials such as metal poles, these are costly as they are made from steel. Wooden planks to walk on and for side barriers. All your different couplings and fixtures to attach all the scaffolding together. The correct tools to assemble it all from drills to sockets. Also once a scaffolding structure is up it can’t be used until its finished with so if you have 10 jobs on the go then you need 10 sets of scaffolding and so you need to buy multiple amounts of poles, wooden planks and fixtures.
Now scaffolding equipment is hardly small so you can’t get away with loading it up in your car or getting by with a small van. You have to buy a flat back lorry to transport all of it around as it needs to be big enough to hold all the metal poles and wooden planks and it needs to hold more than just one job worth because you don’t want to be doubling back to your depot to load up each job every time.
As we mentioned there is a lot of materials and you can’t store all of your scaffolding on a lorry as you don’t want to run the risk of it getting stolen overnight as most of the lorries are open back so you need a premise to rent. It will need to be a decent-sized premise that can safely hold all of your gear. So a large property will prove to cost more.
If the scaffolding you require has to be erected on a public road or footpath then in these circumstances the scaffolding company will have to apply for a license from your local council. These costs can be expensive especially if the structure is going to be up for an extended period and will have to be factored into the final scaffolding prices Swansea.
To make all the materials work and drive the lorries you have to have a good-sized team, a two-man operation usually does not work unless it’s for small jobs. Therefore you will have staff wages to payout and these will usually be the highest cost each month as each team can range from 3-5 members who are all usually experienced and so earn a good salary.
As with any company, you have to pay business rates and insurances and scaffolding is no different. If anything the insurance costs are higher due to the nature of the work. Where there is a structure that is a risk to their staff or the public it will have a higher charge. They will have professional indemnity insurance to cover them for an error or omission with their drawings. They will also have public liability insurance in case one of their employees injures a member of the public. Also, a scaffolding company has to make sure that all their sub-contractors have insurance too.
So as you can see here, hiring a scaffolding structure is not just a case of some metal and wood strapped together, there are large upfront costs and large ongoings costs that make this operation seem simple and expensive. If we did not cover everything here and you would like more information on scaffolding hire Swansea then please get in contact with us and a member of our team will be happy to answer any of your questions.
There is a large upfront cost when it comes to starting a scaffolding company because you have to buy all the materials such as metal poles, these are costly as they are made from steel. Wooden planks to walk on and for side barriers. All your different couplings and fixtures to attach all the scaffolding together. The correct tools to assemble it all from drills to sockets. Also once a scaffolding structure is up it can’t be used until its finished with so if you have 10 jobs on the go then you need 10 sets of scaffolding and so you need to buy multiple amounts of poles, wooden planks and fixtures.
Now scaffolding equipment is hardly small so you can’t get away with loading it up in your car or getting by with a small van. You have to buy a flat back lorry to transport all of it around as it needs to be big enough to hold all the metal poles and wooden planks and it needs to hold more than just one job worth because you don’t want to be doubling back to your depot to load up each job every time.
As we mentioned there is a lot of materials and you can’t store all of your scaffolding on a lorry as you don’t want to run the risk of it getting stolen overnight as most of the lorries are open back so you need a premise to rent. It will need to be a decent-sized premise that can safely hold all of your gear. So a large property will prove to cost more.
If the scaffolding you require has to be erected on a public road or footpath then in these circumstances the scaffolding company will have to apply for a license from your local council. These costs can be expensive especially if the structure is going to be up for an extended period and will have to be factored into the final scaffolding prices Swansea.
To make all the materials work and drive the lorries you have to have a good-sized team, a two-man operation usually does not work unless it’s for small jobs. Therefore you will have staff wages to payout and these will usually be the highest cost each month as each team can range from 3-5 members who are all usually experienced and so earn a good salary.
As with any company, you have to pay business rates and insurances and scaffolding is no different. If anything the insurance costs are higher due to the nature of the work. Where there is a structure that is a risk to their staff or the public it will have a higher charge. They will have professional indemnity insurance to cover them for an error or omission with their drawings. They will also have public liability insurance in case one of their employees injures a member of the public. Also, a scaffolding company has to make sure that all their sub-contractors have insurance too.
So as you can see here, hiring a scaffolding structure is not just a case of some metal and wood strapped together, there are large upfront costs and large ongoings costs that make this operation seem simple and expensive. If we did not cover everything here and you would like more information on scaffolding hire Swansea then please get in contact with us and a member of our team will be happy to answer any of your questions.