How much do scaffolders make?

Whether you’re starting out as a scaffolder apprentice, you’re considering setting yourself up as a self-employed scaffolder, or you run your own scaffolding company – this guide is for you.

How much do scaffolders earn in the UK?

Scaffolders in the UK can expect to earn an annual salary starting at around £11,060 as an apprentice, up to about £56,830 as a scaffolding limited company owner.

The exact salary you can earn as a scaffolder will depend on your qualifications, skills, experience, and where you’re based – as well as the size and complexity of the scaffolding jobs you do.

If you’re thinking about starting your own scaffolding business (whether as a sole trader or a limited company), there’s no doubt that you’ll boost your earning potential as a scaffolder.

How much do scaffolders make a year?

To help you work out how much you can earn, here’s roughly how much scaffolders get paid a year in the UK, depending on their level of experience:

• Apprentice scaffolder – £11,060 (£10,720 take home)
• Newly qualified scaffolder – £31,940 (£25,210 take home)
• Employed scaffolder – £40,100 (£30,760 take home)
• Sole trader scaffolder – £56,050 (£37,590 take home)
• Scaffolding company owner – £56,830 (£37,510 take home)

How much do scaffolders earn per month?

Based on the figures above, we’ve calculated how much scaffolders earn as a monthly wage:

• Apprentice – £1,092 per month
• Newly qualified – £3,153 per month
• Employed – £3,342 per month
• Sole trader – £6,586 per month
• Scaffolding limited company owner – £6,678 per month

How much do scaffolders earn a week?

As a weekly figure, here’s how much scaffolders in the UK earn per week:

• Apprentice – £252 per week
• Newly qualified – £728 per week
• Employed – £771 per week
• Sole trader – £1,520 per week
• Scaffolding limited company owner – £1,541 per week

How much does a scaffolder make a day?

Due to the nature of scaffolding work, a lot of scaffolders are paid by the day. As a guide, here are the average day rates for scaffolders in the UK:

• Apprentice – £50 per day
• Newly qualified – £146 per day
• Employed – £154 per day
• Sole trader – £304 per day
• Scaffolding limited company owner – £308 per day

How much does the average scaffolder earn per hour?

As with all earnings, the average hourly rate for a scaffolder in the UK will vary based on skills and experience. Here’s how much scaffolders in the UK earn per hour:

• Apprentice – £6.30 per hour
• Newly qualified – £18.19 per hour
• Employed – £19.28 per hour
• Sole trader – £38 per hour
• Scaffolding limited company owner – £38.53 per hour

How to start a scaffolding company

Does scaffolding pay well if you’re self-employed?

When looking at earning potential, starting your own scaffolding business as a self-employed scaffolder can massively boost how much money you can make.

Below are the average figures for a self-employed scaffolder salary in the UK:

• Hourly rate – £38 per hour
• Day rate – £304 per day
• Yearly salary – £56,050 per year
• Annual take-home pay – £37,590 per year

How much does a scaffolder apprentice earn?

If you’re starting out your career as a scaffolder, here’s how much you could earn as an apprentice:

• Hourly rate – £6.30 per hour
• Day rate – £50 per day
• Yearly salary – £11,060 per year
• Annual take-home pay – £10,720 per year

What’s the average scaffolding business profit?

When it comes to running a scaffolding business, the profit (and revenue) you generate will depend on a number of factors, such as the size of your business, the amount of work you do, and how profitable each of your scaffolding jobs are.

To give you a rough guide, we’ve put together some estimates for scaffolding business revenue and profit.

Scaffolding business revenue

Here are some figures for the average scaffolding business revenue in the UK:

• Sole trader scaffolder – £56,050
• Scaffolding limited company – £56,830

Scaffolding business profit

To work out your profit as a scaffolding business, whether as a sole trader or a limited company, you need to factor in the costs of running your business – such as your work vehicle, fuel, materials, tools and insurance, etc.

For a limited company, it’s important to factor in any staff wages as part of your business’ running costs.

After deducting your annual business costs, a self-employed scaffolder can expect their scaffolding business profit (i.e. their take-home salary) to be somewhere in the region of £37,590 as a sole trader.

If you’re operating as a limited company, you’re looking at an average scaffolding business profit of around £37,510.

Want tips to expand your scaffolding business? Check out our guide on how to grow your business:

How to grow your trade business in 2023 – Free guide included

How to make your scaffolding business more profitable

As a scaffolding business owner, you want to ensure that you’re making as much as you can from all the scaffolding jobs you’re doing. To do that, you need to focus on profitability.

To help you boost your profits, we’ve put together our top tips to make your scaffolding business more profitable:

• Make sure you’re charging enough to cover your outgoings (including tools, materials, insurance, marketing, wages, fuel etc).
• Focus on the jobs that make you the most money and require you to spend the least (for tools, materials, etc).
• Limit how far you travel to avoid vehicle and fuel costs eating into your profits.
• Minimise your outgoings by trying to have no or as little debt as possible.
• Shop around for the best deals on tools, equipment, materials and workwear (Checkatrade members get discounts with our trade partners)
• Get your business name out there through marketing (your website, customer reviews and SEO, for example).
• Provide the best customer experience to all your customers to build a strong reputation and win more work through word of mouth.
• Join a trade directory like Checkatrade to build your reviews and online reputation.

Expert tips to increase profits as a tradesperson

Become your own boss with your new scaffolding business

You could get your scaffolding business started with the help of our ‘Become the Boss’ series.

You’ll receive a series of emails with actionable tips. That’s seven emails in total (and a cheeky bonus email) featuring fellow tradespeople who were once in your position, a free business strategy call, and at the end of it all, you’ll be the Founder of your new business. What’s not to love?

To get trade business insider secrets sent to your pocket, put your email address in the form below so we can help you to get started.