quoting scaffolding and skips
The Solo Builder's Guide to Quoting for Scaffolding and Skips
There are two clean ways for a solo builder to handle scaffolding and skips: the client contracts the hire company direct (you carry no liability), or you sub-contract it and add a 10-15% coordination margin. Both work. The one that doesn't is the one most people drift into - passing the cost through at bare price while quietly carrying all the risk for free.
The rule that decides everything: whoever hires it carries the delay and permit liability. Pick your route with that in mind, then make the quote say clearly which route you've picked.
Route 1: the client hires direct
You recommend a scaffolder or skip firm, the client signs with them and pays them. If the scaffold turns up two days late or the permit gets missed, that's between the client and their contractor - your hands are clean. The trade-off is control: their delay still wrecks your programme, you just don't pay for the privilege. This route suits bigger, longer hires where the liability is worth avoiding - a full scaffold wrap, a long-stay skip.
Route 2: you sub-contract and add a margin
You book it, you pay for it, it appears on your quote - with 10-15% on top. That margin isn't padding; it pays for getting prices, booking, checking permits are sorted, chasing the driver who hasn't turned up, and rejigging your week when the hire slips. You're taking on real project-management work and real liability, and free is the wrong price for both. Most clients happily pay it for a single point of contact.
Permits and licences: who sorts what
A skip on a public road needs a council permit - usually arranged by the skip company as part of the hire, but confirm it before the skip lands. On a private drive, no permit needed. Scaffolding on the public highway needs a council licence - the scaffolder usually arranges it, but check rather than assume. Either way, if paperwork is missed, the trouble lands on whoever holds the hire contract. If that's you, a two-minute confirmation text to the hire firm is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
How to show it on the quote
- ✓ Give scaffolding and skips their own lines - never fold them into labour
- ✓ Name the route: 'client contracts scaffolder direct' or 'supplied and coordinated by us'
- ✓ If you're coordinating, show one figure with your margin already inside it
- ✓ State who is responsible for permits and licences in one plain sentence
- ✓ Note that the hire quote has its own validity - scaffold prices move like everything else
From the tools: My brother spent a summer labouring for a roofer in Harrogate who priced a chimney rebuild with the scaffold passed through at cost - about £900, not a penny of margin. The scaffolder turned up three days late, the licence for the pavement section hadn't been confirmed, and the roofer lost the better part of a week sorting it while two other jobs stacked up behind. The client, reasonably enough, chased the roofer - his name was on the quote. Since then it's 12% on every sub-contracted hire and a standard line naming who carries the permits. Nobody has ever questioned the margin; one client even said the single-point-of-contact setup was why the roofer got the job over a cheaper quote.
Quick answers
Should scaffolding go in my quote or the client's name?
Either works - direct hire keeps you clear of delay and permit liability, sub-contracting earns you 10-15% for coordinating it. Just never pass it through at bare cost with your name on the contract.
Do skips on the road need a permit?
Yes, on a public road a council permit is required, and the skip company usually arranges it. On a private drive you don't need one. Confirm who's sorting it before delivery day.
Who carries the can when a hire goes wrong?
Whoever holds the contract with the hire firm. That's the whole basis for choosing your route: no contract, no liability - your contract, your problem, your margin.
What's a fair coordination margin?
Around 10-15% on the hire cost. It covers pricing, booking, permit-checking and chasing - genuine work that deserves paying for.
Quote the scaffold, the skip and the margin in one tidy, itemised document - from a voice note.
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