Boards, Tube & Fittings
HERMEQ manufactures scaffold boards, tube and fittings in the UK for building tube and fitting scaffolds, with its steel processed in-house. Timber scaffold boards are machine stress graded and steel scaffold boards are made from pre-galvanised steel, both in a choice of lengths to form a load-bearing working platform. Galvanised steel scaffold tube comes in standard lengths or cut to measure. Couplers join tube at right angles, at any angle or end to end, and prop bracing couplers brace adjustable steel props with scaffold tube. Base plates go under each standard to spread its load. Timber boards, 4mm tube and most couplers are on next day delivery.
Timber or steel scaffold boards
The board follows the scaffold it goes on: tube and fitting scaffolds take banded timber or galvanised steel boards, and Cuplok and Kwikstage system scaffolds take steel boards made for each system.
Banded timber scaffold boards
Our banded timber scaffold boards are graded to BS2482:2009, the standard for timber boards on working platforms, and are the usual deck for tube and fitting scaffolds. A damaged board can be swapped out on its own and the boards move easily between jobs, and they come with FSC or PEFC certification for contracts and tenders that ask for certified timber.
Steel scaffold boards for tube and fitting
Galvanised steel scaffold boards go on the same tube and fitting scaffold as timber and suit contractors who reuse boards over many jobs, because steel does not split, warp or take on water. They are fire retardant, which matters on hot works and on buildings where timber on the scaffold adds to the fire risk. The pressed crown pattern gives grip underfoot in wet weather.
Cuplok and Kwikstage steel boards
Cuplok steel scaffold boards and Kwikstage scaffold boards are galvanised steel boards made for those system scaffolds, so the right board is the one for the system on site: Omega Cuplok boards for Cuplok, and Kwikstage boards, also sold as Quickstage, for Kwikstage. System boards are made to the bay, so the board length is chosen to match the bay length of the scaffold they will deck. Both are reusable and suit contractors who move the same system from job to job.
Banded or unbanded scaffold boards
The steel bands round each end of a graded board hold the timber together against splitting from the end and carry the marking that shows the board has been graded. Those banded boards are the ones for working platforms. Unbanded scaffold boards share the standard scaffold board profile but are not graded or certified for scaffold use, and HERMEQ sells them for cladding, shelving, decking, storage and garden builds, where the look and size of a scaffold board are wanted without the bands. They do not go on a scaffold platform, and any job that puts people or materials on boards at height calls for the banded timber board.
Scaffold tube grades and lengths
Scaffold tube, also sold as scaffold poles or scaffold pipe, comes in two galvanised steel grades that share the 48.3mm outside diameter, so every coupler in the range fits both. Both grades are manufactured in the UK, run from 5ft to 21ft across the range and can be cut to a bespoke length, which saves cutting on site and keeps offcuts off the job.
4mm galvanised scaffold tube
The 4mm galvanised scaffold tube is made to EN39 and is the traditional choice for general access scaffolds and for heavier structural work such as loading bays, walkways and tie-ins on larger scaffolds. Its hot-dip galvanised finish suits long periods outdoors, and it is on next day delivery.
3.2mm high yield scaffold tube
The high yield scaffold tube is made to BS EN 10219-1 from higher strength steel, which allows a thinner wall and makes it lighter to handle than 4mm tube, so it suits jobs where tube is carried by hand, lifted through buildings or delivered in full loads.
Sites that run both grades keep them marked or racked apart, because the two look alike and a scaffold design states which grade it uses. Scaffold tube and fitting storage keeps each grade in its own rack.
Scaffold fittings and couplers
Each coupler is chosen by the joint it makes: the pressed double and swivel couplers are tested to EN74-1 Class A, and the forged prop bracing couplers to EN74-1 Class B.
Double couplers
Double couplers join two tubes at a right angle and carry the load at the main junctions of a tube and fitting scaffold, such as ledgers to standards. They are the coupler a scaffold uses in the greatest numbers. Where a joint carries heavier structural loads, the heavy duty scaffold coupler is the heavier fitting for the job.
Swivel couplers
Swivel couplers join two tubes at any angle, so they are the fitting for diagonal and façade bracing and for pitched or irregular sections where a right angle joint will not line up. They also suit work round obstacles and on towers whose shape changes from one lift to the next.
Sleeve couplers
Sleeve couplers join two tubes end to end to make one continuous run. They are used where a ledger, guardrail or brace has to run further than a single length of tube.
Prop bracing couplers
Prop bracing double couplers and prop bracing swivel couplers clamp scaffold tube to adjustable steel props in formwork, back propping and other temporary works. The double ties tube to a prop at a right angle and the swivel takes diagonal braces between props. When the bracing ties into props, these are the couplers to order in place of standard scaffold couplers.
Base plates, beams and handrail fittings
Scaffold base plates
Scaffold base plates go under every standard and spread its load over a wider area than the end of the tube, which protects hard surfaces and stops the standard sinking into softer ground. On soft or uneven ground the plates sit on timber sole boards, and a banded scaffold board cut to length is the usual sole board.
Aluminium scaffold beams
Aluminium scaffold beams bridge spans that tube alone cannot, over doorways and openings and across towers, gantries and walkways. They are lighter to lift into place than steel beams, are designed to BS EN 1999-1-1 and take spigots and spring clips to join beams into a longer line.
Tube ties and handrail feet
Scaffold tube ties fix handrails to upright scaffold tube, in single or double form for one or two rails. SG4 handrail feet form the base of the Shorguard guardrail system for temporary edge protection at slab edges, roof edges, excavations and lift shafts. The full guardrail range is under edge protection and fall prevention systems.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What wood are scaffold boards made from?
HERMEQ banded scaffold boards are cut from European spruce, the softwood most graded scaffold boards are made from because it is light for its strength and comes in long, straight lengths. A board's grade applies to it as supplied, so a used board goes back onto a working platform only once it has been inspected for splits, rot and damage to the end bands.
What size are timber scaffold boards?
Timber scaffold boards are 225mm wide and 38mm thick, the standard profile that unbanded boards share. HERMEQ banded boards run from 5ft (1.5m) to 13ft (3.9m), with other lengths available on request. Steel boards for tube and fitting scaffolds have the same width and depth.
Can a scaffold board be used as a toe board?
Yes. On a tube and fitting scaffold the toe board is normally a standard banded scaffold board set on edge along the outside of the working platform and fixed to the standards with toe board clips. Use a graded board in sound condition, because the toe board is there to stop tools and materials being kicked off the lift.
What is tube and fitting scaffolding?
Tube and fitting scaffolding is built from loose lengths of steel scaffold tube joined with couplers, with boards laid across the transoms to form each lift. Because tube can be cut to any length and couplers placed anywhere along it, the scaffold can follow an irregular building, work round obstacles and take bridges and loading bays. System scaffolds such as Cuplok and Kwikstage use fixed-length components with built-in connections, which are quicker to erect on regular elevations.
Can timber scaffold boards be branded?
Yes. Banded timber boards can be name branded or scaff plated on request, so each board carries the owner's name or mark. Branded boards are easier to identify and recover on shared sites and at the end of a job, and the marking can follow a company's own board inspection and tagging procedures.