Specify the material
Open area, weight and — where the project calls for it — a fire classification with the certificate supplied for the submittal.
Scaffold wrap
Scaffold wrap — a load path first, a graphic second
Wrapping a scaffold changes what the scaffold is. A bare frame lets wind through; a wrapped one catches it, and that load travels down the standards into the ties and the base. Which is why the first question on a scaffold wrap is not what it should look like, but whether the scaffold has been designed to carry it. This page sets out what governs the specification, and the one question we will always send back to your scaffold contractor.
Send the elevation, the area and the scaffold detailsWe will tell you what we need from the scaffold designer before we quote.
Why wind governs everything here
On a hoarding, wind is a durability question. On a scaffold at height, it is a structural one, and these four choices are the ones that move it.
| Choice | What it changes | What happens when it is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Open area | How much wind passes through instead of pushing | A low open area or a solid sheet turns an elevation into a sail and loads the frame it was never designed for |
| Material weight | Tear resistance and how long it survives UV and flexing | Too light and it fails at the eyelets in the first strong season; too heavy and the fixings carry more dead load than planned |
| Fixing centres | How the load is shared into the frame | Spacing that is too wide concentrates load at each point and starts tears there — the fixings do not fail, the fabric around them does |
| Hem and reinforcement | Where the edge load is carried | An unreinforced edge at height is the first thing to go, and it goes along the whole edge at once |
We supply and fix the wrap. We do not design the scaffold or calculate its loading, and no banner supplier should tell you that a wrap is safe on a frame they have not designed.
The question for your scaffold designer
Before a wrap is ordered, the scaffold contractor or designer needs to confirm that the scaffold is designed for a clad or sheeted condition at the proposed open area, and that the ties and bracing suit it. That is their calculation and their responsibility, and it is a normal one to ask for — a wrapped scaffold is a standard arrangement, not an exotic one. What we need back from them is simple: whether the frame takes it, and any constraint on fixing centres. Once we have that, everything else is our side.
What we do on a wrap
Panel the elevation
Panels sized to the lift heights and bay widths, so joins fall on the frame rather than mid-image, and a panel can be replaced without taking the whole elevation down.
Finish for the fixing
Reinforced hems on four sides, eyelets at the centres the design calls for, reinforced corners and D-rings where the panel is large.
Install and sequence
Our own crews, including work at height, sequenced lift by lift so the site keeps working and each panel is tensioned rather than hung slack.
Inspect and hand over
A check against the fixing schedule, and the material documentation with it.
What to send us
Five things, and the quotation can be firm.
- The elevation — area, lift heights and bay widths, or a photo of the erected scaffold
- Confirmation from the scaffold designer that the frame is designed for a sheeted condition
- How long the wrap stays up
- Any fire classification the project specification requires
- Artwork or the brand guideline, and whether the image runs across the whole elevation
What we say plainly
We will not quote a wrap as though it were a flat banner with eyelets. We will ask about the scaffold before we ask about the artwork, and if the scaffold designer has not confirmed the sheeted condition we will say so rather than take the order and leave the question with you. Panels within the roll width we print in-house are printed and finished in our own factory in Abu Dhabi; larger panels are produced to our specification and finished, inspected and installed by us.
Questions we are asked
Is a wrapped scaffold safe?
That depends on the scaffold, not on the wrap, and it is a question for the scaffold designer. Wrapping increases the wind load the frame carries, so the frame has to be designed for a sheeted condition. We supply and fix the material; we do not design scaffolding.
Can we use solid PVC instead of mesh for a better image?
On a scaffold at height, almost never. Solid material maximises the load exactly where you least want it. If image quality is the priority, the answer is better artwork and a heavier mesh, not a solid sheet.
Can a damaged panel be replaced on its own?
Yes, if the elevation is panelled to the lifts and bays from the start. That is one of the reasons we panel it that way rather than designing one continuous image — on a long programme, something will be damaged.
How long does a wrap last?
It depends on the material weight, the exposure and the season it goes up in. Tell us how long it has to stay and we will specify to that, rather than supplying the lightest material that reads well in the first month.
Do you remove it at the end?
Yes, where removal is in scope. It is worth agreeing at the start, because removal needs the same access as installation and the access is easier to arrange while the scaffold is still up.