The first question about facade scaffolding is usually price. But the real difference between the two systems has less to do with cost per square metre and more to do with the geometry of the facade. Choosing the wrong system costs you the difference back in erection days.
Short answer
If the facade is flat and repetitive, H-frame is faster. If it has corners, curves, cantilevers or varying floor heights, you need the flanged system.
When H-frame wins
H-frame takes its name from its pre-welded frame. Because the frame arrives in one piece, you do not erect standards and ledgers separately: two frames, one brace, one platform. On a flat facade this makes erection noticeably faster than flanged.
Our H-frame system:
- Frame: Ø48.3 × 3 mm
- Ledger: Ø34 × 2 mm
- Brace: Ø40 × 2.5 mm
- Bay lengths: 150 · 200 · 250 cm
- Module area: 5 m²
- Steel grade: S355JR
That is also where its limit sits: the frame is a fixed size, so the moment the facade leaves the grid, the system cannot follow. A stepped corner or a changing floor height puts H-frame under strain.
When you need flanged
In the flanged (wedge) system the standards carry welded rosettes at 50 or 100 cm intervals. The wedge heads on the ledgers and braces drop into those rosettes. In other words the connection point is not fixed; it is chosen.
- Standard: Ø48.3 × 3 mm
- Ledger: Ø48.3 × 2.5 mm
- Brace: Ø40 × 2.5 mm
- Base jack: Ø38 × 4 mm
- Bay lengths: 70 · 103 · 153 · 203 · 253 · 303 cm
Six bay lengths let the system sit against almost any geometry. The same system also erects as a stair tower and as formwork scaffolding: one stock of material covering three jobs.
What they share
Both systems are produced to the TS EN 12810 and TS EN 12811 series, both in S355JR steel. Platform deflection is tested at 2.5 m span under 100 kg. So you are not making a safety trade-off; the choice is purely about site geometry and erection time.
Three questions before deciding
- Is the facade flat? If yes, H-frame. If not, flanged.
- Are the floor heights equal? If not, flanged.
- Will the material be reused on another job? If so, flanged; the same stock also erects as shoring and stair towers.
If you want to see which system covers your facade with less material, send us the elevation drawing and we will price both side by side.