How Many Rolls Of Shrink Wrap Tape Will I Need?

We often get asked by a scaffolder or contractor to advise how many rolls of shrink wrapping tape they should be buying for their scaffold wrapping project.

The amount of tape you are going to need depends on the size and the type of job you are working on. These are some of the questions we ask;

1. How many rolls of shrink wrap sheeting are you buying?
2. Are you shrink wrapping the side or roof of a scaffolding?
3. How well does the sheeting you are buying heat weld / join together & does it stay joined?
4. Will you be installing zipped access doors in the shrink wrap?
5. Are there lots of scaffold tubes or beams protruding through the shrink wrap sheeting?

1 – How Many Rolls of Shrink Wrap Are You Buying?

The most basic ‘rule of thumb’ to work out how many rolls of shrink wrapping tape to order is to order one roll of tape for every roll of shrink wrap you are ordering.

So, if you are ordering 6 rolls of shrink wrap, 6 rolls tape should be good.

2 – Are you shrink wrapping the side or roof of a scaffolding?

Installing a temporary shrink wrap roof will always require more tape then hanging sides. This is because it is always advisable to tape along the edge of every welded joint between sheets.

3 – How Well Does The Sheeting You Are Buying Heat Weld / Join?

The quality of the shrink wrap sheeting has a large affect on the amount of shrink wrapping tape you will use.

If you use a poor quality shrink wrap sheeting you may find that a heat welded joint between sheets starts to peel apart and you will have to tape along every weld.

If you are using a good quality shrink wrap sheeting then it is absolutely not necessary to tape along each joint which can save a significant amount of time and expense.

4 – Will You Be Installing Zipped Access Doors?

Zipped access doors allow workers to get access through a shrink wrapped area. Doors are most commonly used on projects where the sheeting is providing containment of dust and debris.

These doors are not heat welded into position (as is often thought) but they are taped into position.

So, if you are installing many doors you need to buy extra tape to allow for this.

5 – Are There Lots of Tubes Sticking Through The Sheeting?

For best results when shrink wrapping, it is best that the scaffold structure is ‘flush’ with no tubes protruding past the main body of the scaffolding.

However, there will be situations when protruding tubes is unavoidable. This is quite typical where roof beams overhang the side of a scaffolding – not many scaffolders are willing to cut an expensive roof beam! Although the sheeting can be cut and re-welded, there will inevitably be small holes or gaps.

The shrink wrapping tape can be used to seal around these. It is worth noting that wherever tubes protrude through sheeting, it cannot be guaranteed that the seal will be completely weatherproof.

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As always, if you need help, contact any member of the friendly Rhino Shrink Wrap team and we will be happy to help.