Scaffold types
What is a temporary roof?
A temporary roof is a scaffold-supported roof structure built over a building to keep weather off work below, usually clad in sheeting.
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<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/temporary-roof/diagram.svg" alt="temporary roof — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/temporary-roof">What is a temporary roof?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>It converts a scaffold into a building envelope, which changes the loading completely. Wind on a large sheeted roof is a significant force, and snow is a vertical load the scaffold below would never otherwise see.
Temporary roofs are explicitly outside BS EN 12811, and they are always designed structures rather than configured ones.
The scaffold supporting the roof is carrying loads from it, so the two are one structure for design purposes even though they are built in stages.
What goes wrong on site
- The supporting scaffold designed for the scaffold and not for the roof it will carry.
- Sheeting added or extended without the design being revisited.
- Snow loading not considered on a roof erected in autumn.