Scaffold types
What is a truss-out scaffold?
A truss-out scaffold is supported on a framework projecting from the building, used where the ground cannot be used at all and the scaffold must start at height.
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<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/truss-out/diagram.svg" alt="truss-out scaffold — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/truss-out">What is a truss-out scaffold?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>The truss-out is the supporting structure; the working scaffold sits on top of it. Load goes into the building rather than into the ground, which makes the connection to the building the critical element.
It appears where there is no ground available — a pavement that cannot be closed, a lower roof, an alleyway — and where a cantilever alone would not carry what is needed.
Like a cantilever, it is designed rather than configured. The members, the anchorage and the loads all come from a designer.
What goes wrong on site
- Fixed to steelwork or masonry without establishing what it can take.
- The truss-out designed and the scaffold above it not, or vice versa.
- Adapted later without going back to the designer.