STAK Scaffold is based in Caterham. The yard is at Barnfield on War Coppice Road, up on the hill, and it has been the base for every job the company has done across London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. That is worth saying plainly because a lot of scaffolding companies claim to be local to places they are not. For Caterham it is simply true. The lorries start here.
Three practical things, rather than a vague claim about local knowledge.
Response time. A survey in Caterham is a short drive, not a scheduled trip. Same for going back out mid-job when something needs adjusting, which on a live build happens more often than anyone plans for.
Return visits cost less. Scaffolds get altered. Sections come off for a delivery, go back on for the next trade, get adapted when the roofer finds something. On a distant job those visits get batched because each one is a round trip. On a Caterham job they happen when they are needed.
Familiarity with the ground. Which is not a figure of speech here, because of the hill.
Caterham sits on the North Downs, and the town splits between Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley. A lot of the housing is on genuinely steep ground
That matters more to a scaffold than most people expect. A scaffold has to stand level and plumb regardless of what the ground underneath is doing, so on a sloping garden or a stepped driveway the base has to be built up with sole boards, base plates and adjustable legs to get a level footing before anything goes vertical. Get that wrong and the whole structure is out.
Steep sites also affect access. A tight, sloping driveway that a car manages fine can be difficult for a scaffold lorry, which changes how the material gets to the building and how long the erection takes
The parts that need looking at properly on site, rather than assumed from a photograph, are the transitions. Where a garden steps down, where a retaining wall takes the level change, and what is underneath the spot the scaffold is going to stand on. Those decide the base design.
If any part of the scaffold sits on a public road or pavement in Caterham, the licence does not come from Tandridge District Council. Surrey is a two-tier area. Tandridge handles planning and the usual district services, but the highway authority is Surrey County Council, and it is Surrey County Council that issues scaffolding and hoarding licences. People ring the district council, get told it is not them, and lose a week. Worth knowing before starting. The practical detail, as published by Surrey County Council at the time of writing:
Applications should go in at least 10 working days before the date the scaffold is due to go up, and are processed within about ten days. The application needs a drawing of the structure labelled with scaffold heights and footpath measurements, and proof of £10 million public liability insurance covering the full duration of the works. The fee is around £208 per 28 day period. Fees and requirements change, so check Surrey County Council’s current page rather than budgeting from a figure read elsewhere. STAK handles the application rather than leaving it with the customer. On a private driveway or forecourt none of this applies, and on a lot of Caterham properties there is enough room to avoid the highway entirely. Establishing that at survey is often the difference between starting next week and starting next month.
The licence application is not a form and a fee. Two things have to be produced before it is granted, and both say something about who you are employing.
A drawing of the structure, labelled with scaffold heights and footpath measurements. That is a design document, not a sketch, and it has to be right.
Proof of £10 million public liability insurance, covering the full duration of the works rather than the date of application.
STAK carries that cover and holds ConstructionLine and ConstructionLine Social Value registration, SafeContractor approval, SSIP through Acclaim and DTS, Alcumus SafePQQ, Environment Agency registration and Scaffolding Association membership. Structures go up in accordance with the Work at Height Regulations 2005, BS EN 12811 and HSE guidance, following TG20 and SG4, and nothing is handed over until it has been inspected and signed off in writing.
Most Caterham work is domestic. Roof repairs and replacements, chimney work, extensions, loft conversions, rendering and external decoration. Alongside that, commercial access scaffolding for the businesses along Croydon Road and in the Valley, temporary roofing where a roof is coming off and the building has to stay dry, and bespoke designs for period property and awkward plots.
Coverage runs across Caterham on the Hill, Caterham Valley, Whyteleafe, Warlingham, Chaldon, Woldingham, Godstone and the villages around them, taking in the CR3 postcodes. Croydon sits a short run north and is worked from the same yard.
On price, the variables here are access, duration, whether the highway is involved and how steep the plot is, since a base built up over a slope adds time to the erection. Quotes follow a free site survey and are itemised, and being in the town means that survey rarely waits.
Barnfield, War Coppice Road, Caterham CR3 6AS. The yard is on Caterham Hill and it is the base for all work across London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent.
Surrey County Council. Surrey is a two-tier area and the county council is the highway authority, so scaffolding and hoarding licences come from them, not from Tandridge District Council.
Applications should be submitted at least 10 working days before the scaffold is due to go up. The application needs a labelled drawing of the structure and proof of £10 million public liability insurance covering the full duration of the works.
No. A licence is only needed where part of the structure sits on a public road or pavement. Many Caterham properties have enough room to avoid the highway entirely, which is worth establishing at survey because it affects the start date.
It changes the base rather than preventing the job. The scaffold has to stand level whatever the ground is doing, so on steep Caterham plots the footing is built up with sole boards, base plates and adjustable legs before anything goes vertical. It adds time to the erection.
Quicker than anywhere else, because the yard is in the town. Surveys and mid-job adjustments do not need scheduling around a round trip.
Yes, along with Chaldon, Godstone and the surrounding villages
The yard is on your doorstep, so a survey is usually quick to arrange. Someone comes out, looks at the building, the ground and the access, and prices the job on what is actually there
Call the office on 01883 330188, or email office@stakscaffold.co.uk with a few details about the job. Lee (07802387774) and Jack (07522676940) both take calls directly if it’s easier to speak to someone on site.
