Guest design article: How Do Ties Work ?

ADVERTISEMENT
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Image5Guest Technical Article By IDH, The Independent Design House

IDH was incorporated in July 2011 and established to provide specialist Scaffold DesignFormwork Design & general Temporary Works Design consultancy serving Sub-Contractors, Main Contractors and Client developers.

How Do Ties Work ?

To stabilise a scaffold we tie it to the adjacent building as the scaffold is erected.  Conventionally this is done by means of an anchor fixing in to the façade and then a tie tube on doubles across both standards and all within 300mm of the ledger / standard interface.  This point being a node (point of NO DE-flection).

Depending on a number of factors such as geographic location, netting, sheeting, height and load we determine in the design process what tie pattern to adopt and the frequency of ties.

Ties however, undertake more than one function. 

Firstly they prevent the scaffold from pulling away from the building – but if this is the case why not fix them at all standards, or for that matter at every 4 standards for instance.

In addition to providing this pull restraint, they also stabilise the scaffold from swaying parallel to the building and contribute to the effective length of the standard in question.

ties

Sway stability parallel to the building is provided by a combination of the tie tube and the face brace.  By installing the correct sway bracing, the outside line is prevented from moving parallel to the building.  By securing the tie tube to the building façade and the outside line we now have a tube which is prevented from movement at both ends.  When the inside line is now secured to this tube (with doubles) the inside line is now also prevented from moving parallel to the building by the bending resistance of this tie tube.  This is why inside lines are not sway braced!

In some designed circumstances it may be a requirement to tie to the inside line only or miss ties altogether.  When these scenarios occur the scaffold should be designed as we no longer have that sway restraint present and alternative measures need to be considered such as plan bracing or V-ties.

For more explanation on this and other technical scaffold design subjects visit the IDH blog: http://www.idh-design.co.uk/blog/

Author: Tim Burt on Google+

ADVERTISEMENT

Popular Categories

Latest posts

£27bn road strategy opens major pipeline for specialist contractors

The government has confirmed Roads Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3), a £27 billion programme covering England's motorway and A-road network through to 2031. A record £8.4...

NASC expands regional leadership as membership rises 40%

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has announced a series of new regional chair and vice chair appointments as part of a wider...

Layher UK launches ‘Sizzle & Learn’ open morning series for 2026

Layher UK has announced a series of open morning events aimed at giving customers and partners direct access to its latest systems, product developments...

Two taken to hospital after building collapse in Oldham

Two people have been taken to hospital after a building partially collapsed in Oldham town centre. Emergency services were called to King Street at about...

Scafom-rux delivers Manchester’s tallest ground-based scaffold

In the heart of Manchester’s financial district, a major high-rise development is setting new benchmarks for construction scaffolding in the UK. For this complex...

Teen scaffolding labourer dies after fall through shaft on London site

A construction company has been fined after a teenage scaffolding labourer died in a fall from height on a London building site. Renols Lleshi, 19,...

Government launches consultation on plan to merge CITB and ECITB

The UK government has launched a consultation on proposals to merge the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board...

Robotics firm KEWAZO secures $35m backing to scale industrial lifting technology

KEWAZO, a robotics company focused on heavy industry, has raised $35m in funding to accelerate the rollout of its lifting robot across global industrial...

Pay gap pushing scaffolders from New Zealand to Australia

Construction firms in New Zealand are facing a growing shortage of scaffolders as experienced workers move to Australia in search of higher wages and...

Barking Riverside expansion approved to deliver up to 20,000 homes

Revised outline plans for the Barking Riverside development in east London have been approved by the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, enabling a...

Latest news

Magazine

Spring Issue #29 | Past issues >>

Trending now ⚡︎

Teen scaffolding labourer dies after fall through shaft on London site

A construction company has been fined after a teenage...

Two taken to hospital after building collapse in Oldham

Two people have been taken to hospital after a...

Government launches consultation on plan to merge CITB and ECITB

The UK government has launched a consultation on proposals...

NASC expands regional leadership as membership rises 40%

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has announced...

Scafom-rux delivers Manchester’s tallest ground-based scaffold

In the heart of Manchester’s financial district, a major...

Related articles

Latest topics

Final 20 teams confirmed for ScaffChamp 2026

The final 20 teams competing at ScaffChamp powered by...

£27bn road strategy opens major pipeline for specialist contractors

The government has confirmed Roads Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3),...

NASC expands regional leadership as membership rises 40%

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has announced...

Layher UK launches ‘Sizzle & Learn’ open morning series for 2026

Layher UK has announced a series of open morning...
ADVERTISEMENTS