Full Scaffold Material Calculator
Standards, tube length and weight, couplers and board area.
Quick answer
With the default inputs: Length 6 · Width 4 · Height 4 etc.Plan area 24.00 m²
Edit the inputs below to recalculate.Inputs
Result
Plan area
24.00m²
| Standards | 24bars |
| Standard length | 100.8m |
| Lift levels | 3levels |
| Ledger and transom length | 144.0m |
| Total tube length | 244.8m |
| Tube weight | 940kg |
| Couplers (about 1.5 per m) | 368pcs |
| Board area | 24.0m² |
| Tube per m² | 10.2m/m² |
This is a material take-off, not a scaffold design. Above 8 m, or where the scaffold supports structural concrete, a chartered engineer must prepare and check a design to JGJ 130 covering standard stability, bearing capacity and ties.
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Formula
| Standards | N = (floor(L÷s)+1) × (floor(W÷s)+1) |
| Standard length | L = N × (height + 0.2) |
| Lift levels | n = floor(height ÷ lift) + 1 |
| Ledger length | L = (rows × L + columns × W) × levels |
| Tube weight | W = total length × 3.84 kg/m |
6 × 4 m at 4 m high with 1.2 m standards and 1.5 m lifts: 24 standards, 3 ledger levels, 244.8 m of tube, about 940 kg, 368 couplers and 24 m² of board.
Full scaffold material content (1.2 m standards, 1.5 m lifts)
| Height (m) | Tube (m/m²) | Tube (kg/m²) | Couplers per m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8.2 | 31.5 | 12 |
| 4 | 10.2 | 39.2 | 15 |
| 6 | 16.2 | 62.2 | 24 |
| 8 | 20.2 | 77.6 | 30 |
| 10 | 24.2 | 92.9 | 36 |
How to work it out
- Standards = (length ÷ spacing + 1) × (width ÷ spacing + 1). Both directions get the plus one, because every edge needs a row.
- Total standard length = count × height, allowing for joints — tube comes in 6 m lengths, so anything taller needs splicing with extra lap length.
- Ledger levels = height ÷ lift, rounded up plus one for the base and top rails. Each level takes the sum of both directions.
- Total tube = standards + ledgers + bracing (estimate 15-25% of the elevation area), times 3.84 kg/m for Φ48 × 3.0.
- Couplers: 1.5 right-angle couplers per standard/ledger intersection plus 2 swivel couplers per splice; decking by laid area, normally one full lift.
Where it goes wrong
- Dropping the plus one — a 6 m run at 1.2 m comes out as five standards when six are needed, leaving the edge unsupported and the frame cantilevered.
- Forgetting the base rails — longitudinal and transverse rails within 200 mm of the ground are mandatory; without them the standard bases are unrestrained and stability halves.
- Faking the bracing as a percentage of area — bracing must be laid out to the code (continuous at the perimeter, one line every 6-8 m internally); a percentage estimate leaves gaps and fails inspection.
- Treating a full hall as a support frame without load design — formwork support spacing must come from the load, not from a default 1.2 m; spacing tightens under beams.
Material and cost
Full hall complete (hire plus erection) 25-50 CNY/m³ of enclosed volume, or 30-60 CNY/m² of plan. Tube hire 4-6 CNY/m per month, couplers 0.3-0.5 each per month.
On site
- Size formwork support spacing from beam and slab loads; tighten under beams and give heavy beams their own standards at 600-900 mm.
- Supports over 8 m high, 18 m span or 15 kN/m² load are major hazard installations requiring expert review.
- Splice standards butt-to-butt with joint couplers, never by lapping, and stagger adjacent splices by at least 500 mm.
Basis
- JGJ 130-2011 Technical code for steel tubular scaffold safety, Chapter 6
- JGJ 162-2008 Technical code for safety of building formwork
- GB 50666-2011 Code for construction of concrete structures, Section 4.3
FAQ
How does a full scaffold differ from a facade scaffold?
A full scaffold fills the whole indoor area with standards to carry finishes, ceilings or structural support, with load going down through the standards into the slab or ground; a facade scaffold runs around the perimeter for external work and edge protection. Parameters differ, and full scaffolds depend more on even spacing and the capacity of what they stand on — often a suspended slab.
Why 3.84 kg/m for the tube?
A Φ48 × 3.0 mm tube has about 424 mm² of steel, giving 3.33 kg/m at 7.85 g/cm³; allowing for wall tolerance and galvanising the code uses 3.84 kg/m. Much of the market sells 2.7-2.8 mm tube at about 3.2 kg/m — over 20% less capacity, so wall thickness must be checked at inspection.
Why is lift height limited?
Lift height sets the effective length of the standard and hence its buckling capacity. Going from 1.5 to 1.8 m cuts capacity by roughly 25%, because slender members fail by buckling. Almost all high-formwork collapses come from excessive lift or missing horizontal bracing — the frame goes out of plumb rather than the tube being crushed.
Cite this page
Use this format in reports, method statements or coursework. The link is permanent.
Building Calculator. Full Scaffold Material Calculator. 2026-10-25. https://jianzhujisuan.com/en/full-scaffold
Results are estimating aids only and are not a design basis. Construction and final accounts must follow the drawings, the applicable standards and an approved method statement. Anything affecting structural safety, shoring or falsework must be checked by a suitably qualified engineer.