Platform & edge protection
What is a inside boards?
Inside boards are the boards bridging the gap between the scaffold platform and the building face, closing the space a person or an object could fall through.
Use this diagram+
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<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/inside-boards/diagram.svg" alt="inside boards — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/inside-boards">What is a inside boards?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>A scaffold is set off the building by enough clearance to build it, which leaves a gap on the inside edge of the platform. Inside boards close that gap.
Where the gap is too wide to board out, it becomes an edge that needs protecting on the inside as well as the outside — which is a different and more awkward arrangement.
They are frequently the boards removed to get at the building face and not replaced, which leaves an internal gap that is easy to step into and hard to see.
What goes wrong on site
- Removed for access to the facade and not reinstated.
- A gap left that is too wide to board and not protected another way.
- Treated as optional because the building face is there.