Construction Site Essentials

Stocking a site, by category

These are the items that stop work when they run out, and none of them are expensive. Working through them by category is faster than remembering them one at a time.

• Demarcation - barrier fencing, debris netting, fencing pins, cable ties.
• Marking - floor marking tape, builders tape, marking out stakes.
• Waste - rubble sacks, rubbish chutes, sandbags, hessian.
• Welfare and safety - first aid kits, eye wash stations, water containers.
• Securing - rope, cable ties, road pins.

Buy for the whole job rather than for the week. The compromises that show up on an inspection almost always trace back to somebody running short of something that costs very little.

Road pins and fencing pins

Steel road pins in 16mm and 20mm diameters and lengths from 450mm to 900mm hold barriers, signs and lines in place.

Ribbed fencing pins grip the ground better than smooth ones and are harder to pull out, which is what you want on a fence line that has to stand up to wind. Smooth pins come out more easily, which suits short term work where the pins are being recovered.

Before driving any pin into a footway or verge, check what is beneath it. Where there is any doubt about buried services, use insulated pins made to BS 8020 rather than plain steel.

Rebar caps, and an important distinction

Rebar identification caps mark bar sizes so the right bar is used in the right place, in 6-18mm and 16-32mm ranges, and they make a congested cage readable.

They are identification caps. They are not impalement protection. Where projecting starter bars present a risk of somebody falling onto them, the requirement is a purpose-made impalement protection cap or a timber cover designed for it, because an identification cap will not stop a bar going through.

Treat the two as separate purchases with separate purposes.

Rope and cordage

Polypropylene rope on 450m and 500m drums covers setting out lines, tying, bundling and general securing.

One limit is worth stating. General purpose polypropylene rope is not lifting equipment and is not fall protection. It degrades in sunlight and it is not rated or certified for either. Anything involving a suspended load or a person needs proper rated equipment.

For barriers and fencing, see temporary fencing. For marking out, see marking out equipment.