Scaffold types
What is a staircase tower?
A staircase tower is a scaffold tower containing stair flights rather than ladders, providing access to a scaffold or a structure for people and light materials.
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<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/staircase-tower/diagram.svg" alt="staircase tower — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/staircase-tower">What is a staircase tower?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Stairs rather than ladders means people can carry things, move faster and are far less likely to fall. On any scaffold in use for more than a short period, a stair tower is the access arrangement that actually gets used properly.
They are usually built from prefabricated stair units within a tower frame, and they take up a footprint that has to be planned for rather than found later.
Because they are the access route, they are also on the critical path. A stair tower that has to move to let a delivery through takes the access with it.
What goes wrong on site
- Planned as an afterthought, so there is nowhere to put it.
- Used as a material route for loads it was not intended to carry.
- Access through it obstructed by stored material.