Scaffolding on your house in an autumn storm: what to do

If scaffolding is up at your house, the contractor who built it is responsible for keeping it safe in bad weather. Your part is to know what to expect, keep people clear and report anything that looks wrong.

Storm Austen was the first named storm of the season, and the weather is still unsettled. It is a good moment to check that you know who to call if your scaffold is hit by wind or heavy rain.

Why this matters now

The Met Office named Storm Austen on 20 October and issued a yellow wind warning for southern England, noting the chance of power cuts and injuries from debris. It expected the weather to stay unsettled through the weekend and into this week.

A scaffold is a large, exposed structure fixed to your house. It is built to cope with wind, but only if it is designed, erected and maintained properly. That is why the questions below are worth asking before the next warning, not after it.

Who checks the scaffold after a storm

Not you. The inspection duty sits with the scaffolding contractor and whoever is in control of the work. HSE says a scaffold used for construction should be inspected before first use, then every 7 days, and again each time it is exposed to conditions likely to cause deterioration, such as adverse weather.

In plain terms, a named storm should trigger an extra check on top of the weekly one. Ask your scaffolder how they handle that and whether they will tell you when it has been done. Our guide to how often scaffolding must be inspected covers the routine side.

What a well-built scaffold should cope with

The NASC has said that scaffolds built to statutory requirements, and properly managed and maintained, should stay stable in adverse weather such as high winds. An insurance broker quoted by ScaffMag makes a similar point: failures in extreme weather usually point to design and construction problems rather than the storm itself.

Before a storm: what you can do

• Clear the garden. Bring in or tie down furniture, bins, planters and trampolines near the scaffold. Loose items can blow into it or onto people below.
• Keep people away. Keep children and pets clear of the scaffold, and do not walk underneath it during high winds.
• Leave it alone. Do not climb it, store anything on it or move boards, sheeting or ties yourself.
• Flag concerns early. If something already looks loose, tell your scaffolder before the forecast arrives, not after.
• Keep contact details handy. Make sure you have a phone number that will be answered out of hours.

After a storm: what to look for and who to call

You are not expected to inspect the scaffold. You can still look at it from the ground and report what you see.

• Sheeting or netting that is torn, flapping or hanging loose.
• Boards, tubes or fittings that have moved or are lying on the ground.
• Any part of the structure that leans or looks out of line.
• Soft or sunken ground under the base plates after heavy rain.
• Damage to fences, paths or neighbouring property near the scaffold.

If you see any of these, keep clear, take photos and call your scaffolder. Do not tighten, tidy or climb to fix anything yourself.

If part of the scaffold has collapsed, is leaning badly or people are at risk, keep everyone away and call 999. For urgent make-safe work afterwards, see our page on emergency scaffolding.

If the scaffold is staying up over winter

The longer a scaffold stays up, the more weather it sees. Four questions are worth asking:

• Who inspects it, how often, and will you be told after a storm?
• Was it designed with sheeting or netting in mind, if any is fitted?
• What happens when a storm warning is issued?
• How do you reach someone out of hours?

If the scaffold is on the pavement in Brighton and Hove, the licence also has a time limit. The council's 2026 to 2027 fees table lists a new scaffold licence as lasting 6 weeks, with a renewal lasting 8 weeks. Our guides on scaffolding permits in Sussex and how long scaffolding can stay up explain what that means for your job.