Stair Tower and Hoist Hire Cost
Stair tower hire cost and scaffold hoist price in 2026, when access and lifting equipment pay for themselves, and what they add to a scaffold.
Stair tower hire cost in 2026 runs from about £60 to £85 per week for an alloy stair tower up to £400 to £900 for a scaffold integrated stair tower as part of a larger structure. Scaffold hoists and specialist lifting equipment add £100 to £650 per week. All figures exclude VAT.
Both are productivity items rather than safety minimums. Neither is required on a standard domestic scaffold, and both can save more than they cost on the right job.
Stair tower hire cost
| Type | Typical 2026 cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Alloy stair tower, mobile | £60 to £85 per week | Short jobs, internal or level ground |
| Adjustable stair tower | £60 to £85 per week | Stairwells and uneven ground |
| Scaffold integrated stair tower | £400 to £900 for the job | Long programmes at height |
| System stair unit, commercial | on application | Blocks and commercial facades |
Published hire rates put an alloy stair scaffold tower at around £71.50 per week, with adjustable units in the £60 to £85 band.
When a stair tower pays for itself
The alternative is ladder access, which is free but slow. The maths is straightforward: a stair tower saves perhaps two to five minutes per trip up and down, and on a long programme trades make dozens of trips a day.
It becomes worth having when:
- the scaffold is three lifts or higher
- the programme runs more than about four weeks
- several trades are using the scaffold at once
- materials are carried by hand rather than hoisted
- the client or principal contractor requires it
On a three storey property with a long refurbishment programme, a stair tower at £400 to £900 usually repays itself in trade labour. On a two week gutter job, it does not.
Scaffold hoist price
A hoist lifts materials up the outside of the scaffold rather than having them carried. Specialist lifting equipment adds £100 to £650 per week depending on capacity and type.
| Equipment | Indicative weekly cost | Typical capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Small scaffold hoist, electric | £100 to £220 | 150 to 200 kg |
| Larger material hoist | £250 to £450 | 300 to 500 kg |
| Hoist with extended mast and loading gates | £400 to £650 | 500 kg plus |
| Rubbish chute, per section | £15 to £30 | waste only |
A loading bay to receive the hoisted material is a separate cost, typically £100 to £300 per lift.
When a hoist is worth it
Hoists earn their money on volume, not height. The question is how many tonnes of material are going up and coming down.
Worth pricing on:
- a full re-roof, where tiles go up and old covering comes down
- rendering and external wall insulation, where boards and mortar are heavy and continuous
- a loft conversion with a dormer, where structural timber and plasterboard go up the outside
- any job where the alternative is carrying through an occupied house
Not worth it on: window replacement, gutter work, painting, solar installs, and most short duration jobs.
Rubbish chutes
A chute is the cheapest of these items and often the most useful on a strip out or a re-roof. At £15 to £30 per section per week, a two storey chute into a skip costs perhaps £60 to £150 for a hire period and saves an enormous amount of carrying.
Where the debris is heavy and abrasive, such as old roof covering, ask whether the chute sections are rated for it.
Getting them priced properly
These items are almost always optional extras rather than defaults, so they will not appear on a quote unless you ask. Three questions:
- What access is included as standard? Usually ladder access with a ladder gate.
- What would a stair tower add, and can it be struck early?
- Is a loading bay included if we hoist materials?
On a long programme, raising these at quotation stage is much cheaper than adding them in week three. The same logic that applies to hire extensions applies here, as set out in How to Compare Scaffolding Quotes.
Planning permission for the space they need
Both items need ground space that a plain scaffold does not.
A stair tower typically occupies 1.5 by 2.5 metres at ground level for its full height. A hoist needs a base area plus a clear drop zone, and a loading bay projects into the working area on the scaffold itself.
On a constrained site, particularly a terraced property with a narrow frontage or a shared alley, that space may simply not exist. Where the tower would sit on a pavement, it adds to the licensed area and therefore to the permit fee.
Walk the site with the scaffolder and identify where these will physically go before agreeing to them.
What affects your price
The variables a scaffolder actually prices from, in order of impact:
- Number of elevations. The largest single lever on any quote.
- Frontage length and height. Together these set your face area in square metres.
- Number of lifts. Each 2 metre lift adds boards, ties and labour. Above 9 metres the rate rises again.
- Hire duration. Four to six weeks is normally included, then 5 to 10% of the quote per extra week.
- Access difficulty. Narrow passages, soft ground, long carries and obstructions all add labour hours.
- Region. Up to 40% between the cheapest and dearest parts of the UK.
- Extras. Permits, netting, bridging, chimney lifts and temporary roofs.
Next steps
Run your specification through the estimator tool for an itemised range you can compare against any written quote.