Commercial
What is erect and dismantle?
Erect and dismantle is the one-off labour charge for putting a scaffold up and taking it down, as distinct from the hire charge that accrues while it stands.
Most scaffolding quotes separate the two because they behave differently. Erect and dismantle is fixed work with a known scope; hire is time, and time is the part that overruns.
Dismantle is frequently underpriced relative to erect. It is quicker, but it needs the same access, the same wagon and the same squad, and it often happens at short notice at the least convenient point in a programme.
The charge assumes a single visit each way. A scaffold that has to come down in phases, or be struck and re-erected because another trade needs the space, is not the job that was priced.
What goes wrong on site
- Dismantle priced as a fraction of erect without allowing for access or short-notice mobilisation.
- Phased strikes treated as part of the original dismantle rather than as separate visits.
- Return visits to strike a scaffold that was not clear on the day, absorbed rather than charged.