John Lewis Store, Exeter

Perimeter Access Scaffold with Cantilevered Support

DH Scaffold Services Ltd was appointed to design a full perimeter access scaffold for high-level re-cladding works at the John Lewis store in Exeter. The brief required continuous access around the façade, with the scaffold arrangement developed to suit the building’s structural layout and the constraints of the retail site.

The challenge

Across most elevations, the scaffold needed to span between elements of the existing primary structure. This required defined support locations and load paths to transfer the scaffold loads into suitable parts of the building.

One elevation presented a further restriction: the roof below could not support the proposed scaffold loads. An alternative arrangement was therefore needed to provide access above this area without relying on that roof for support.

Our design response

DH Scaffold Services Ltd developed a scaffold arrangement that spanned between the available structural support points, with details addressing the building interfaces and the proposed re-cladding sequence.

For the elevation above the weaker roof, we designed a cantilevered arrangement from the main roof. The engineering assessment considered overall stability, local connection details and the transfer of vertical and horizontal forces into the supporting structure.

Our design package included general arrangement drawings, key construction details and supporting calculations. These set out the support arrangements, load paths and design requirements, providing the scaffold contractor with clear information for erection and use.

The project demonstrates our experience of combining spanning and cantilevered scaffold arrangements to resolve access challenges where the existing building limits conventional support options.