Single-Width vs Double-Width Scaffold Towers: Which Do You Need?
If you’re pricing up a mobile access tower, one of the first choices you’ll run into is single width or double width. It sounds like a small detail, but it changes what the tower can do, where it can go and how comfortably you can work at height. Pick the wrong one, and you either end up with a platform that’s too cramped for the job, or a tower that won’t fit through the door.
Here’s a straightforward look at the difference so that you can order the right one first time.
The short version
A single-width tower has a narrower base and platform. It’s lighter, cheaper, easier to move around, and the narrower models will pass through a standard doorway. The trade-off is less room to work and a lower maximum height before it needs extra support.
A double-width tower has a wider base and a bigger platform. It gives you more space for tools and materials, offers better stability, and can reach greater heights. The downside is that it’s heavier, bulkier and won’t fit through most internal doors.
What "single width" and "double width" mean
The terms single width and double width refer to the width of the scaffold tower frame, rather than the height of the tower or the length of its platform. You can buy single- and double-width scaffold towers in different configurations to suit a range of access requirements, working spaces, and platform heights.
The single-width scaffold towers we supply are 0.85m wide. Their narrower footprint makes them a practical choice where working space is limited or where there isn’t enough room to position a wider tower.
Despite their more compact design, they still provide a stable working platform with space for a person, tools and materials.
Double-width scaffold towers have a wider frame and platform, providing more working space at height. This can be useful when a job requires additional tools or materials on the platform, or when greater freedom of movement is helpful while working.
The key differences at a glance
Single width | Double width | |
Working space | Room for one person and light materials | Room for two people, or one with materials |
Stability | Narrower base | Wider, more stable base |
Max height | Lower – suited to lower-level work | Higher – better for taller jobs |
Access | Narrower models fit through standard doorways | Too wide for most internal doors |
Weight & transport | Lighter, easier to move and store | Heavier and bulkier |
Cost | Lower | Higher |
Working space
This is the most obvious one. On the narrow platform, you’ve got room for yourself and a few tools or a small amount of material. On the wider one, you have space to spread out, keep materials to hand, and, on many models, have a second person working alongside you. For anything involving a lot of kit, plastering, rendering, cabling runs, the extra room pays for itself in fewer trips up and down.
Stability and height
A wider base is a more stable base. That’s why double-width towers can generally be built higher than single-width ones before they need stabilisers or outriggers, and why they tend to have a higher overall maximum platform height. As a rough guide, single-width towers are often used up to around 8m platform height, and double-width up to around 12m indoors. However, the real limit is always whatever the manufacturer states for that specific tower, used with the correct stabilisers fitted.
Getting it where it needs to go
If the job is indoors, a hallway, a stairwell landing, a shop unit, width matters as much as height. A narrow single-width tower will usually go through a standard doorway; a double-width one won’t. If you know you’ll be moving between rooms, the narrow option can save you a lot of dismantling and rebuilding.
If the tower needs to be positioned outside the property, different rules may apply. Before placing a mobile access tower on a public pavement or footway, check whether you need a pavement licence for a mobile scaffold tower and what permission may be required from the local authority.
Weight, transport and storage
Single-width towers are lighter and take up less space, so they’re easier to wheel around a site, load into a van and store between jobs. The wider ones are more of a handful on all three counts. If it’s usually just you on the job, factor that in.
So which should you buy?
It comes down to the work you do most often.
Go single width if you mainly work indoors or in tight spaces, you’re usually working on your own, you need to move the tower through doorways, and you’re working at more modest heights. Think decorating, smaller electrical and plumbing jobs, maintenance and general access.
Go double width if you need room for two people or a lot of materials, you’re regularly working at greater heights, and getting through narrow gaps isn’t a concern. Think rendering, larger installation work, and any job where you’ll be up there a while with plenty of kit.
If you genuinely need both, a mix of fiddly indoor work and bigger outdoor jobs, plenty of people end up keeping a single-width for the tight stuff and a double-width for the larger work.
A word on safe use
Whichever you go for, a scaffold tower is only as safe as the way it’s put up. Correct assembly is essential for creating a stable working platform, so make sure you understand how to erect a scaffold tower safely before using the equipment.
Mobile access towers sold in the UK should meet BS EN 1004-1, and someone competent should erect, move and dismantle them; PASMA training is the recognised standard here. Always follow the manufacturer’s instruction manual for build height, stabiliser requirements and load limits, and give the tower a proper check before every use.
Still not sure?
If you’re weighing up a specific job and aren’t sure which width suits it, get in touch before you order. It’s a quick conversation, and it’s far easier to get it right before the single- or double-width tower is on the van than after.