Ties
What is a reveal tie?
A reveal tie is a tube wedged across an opening by a threaded reveal pin, held by friction against the two opposing faces, with the scaffold tied to that tube.
Use this diagram+
Free to use on your own site, in training material or in a course handout, as long as the credit link stays on it. Paste this where you want the diagram to appear.
<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/reveal-tie/diagram.svg" alt="reveal tie — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/reveal-tie">What is a reveal tie?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>It is the tie that needs no fixing in the building and no tube left inside a room — which is why it appears on occupied buildings and on finished elevations.
It holds by friction alone. There is no mechanical interlock, so it depends entirely on the opening being sound and the pin staying tight, and it can be defeated by movement, vibration or somebody knocking it.
For that reason guidance limits how much of a scaffold's tying may rely on reveal ties. They are legitimate in a mixed tie pattern and questionable as the whole of one.
What goes wrong on site
- A scaffold tied predominantly or wholly with reveal ties.
- Pins backing off over time with nobody re-checking them.
- Used in an opening whose reveals are plasterboard, render or otherwise unable to take the load.