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Trestle work at height UK

Updated: 2026-10-21

You are about to stand on a sawhorse, or on a board laid across two trestles, because the door support is already in the hallway. Trestle work at height in the UK starts when a fall could hurt you. A folding sawhorse sold to hold a door is the wrong platform. This page is the limit. It does not rank the pairs. The seven listings are on the [folding trestle comparison](/hub/workshop/folding-trestle). The page uses the Work at Height Regulations 2005, HSE notes and the Home Builders Federation paper, plus those amazon.co.uk listings, not a lab, checked on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to stand on a sawhorse, or on a board laid across two trestles, because the door support is already in the hallway. Trestle work at height in the UK starts when a fall could hurt you.

Our top picks

BORA BORA Workhorse X pair

Best overall

BORA BORA Workhorse X pair
8.7/10about £76.74
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STANLEY Stanley STST1-70713 pair

Best value

STANLEY Stanley STST1-70713 pair
8.5/10about £39.95
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HOMCOM HOMCOM builders trestle pair

Alternative

HOMCOM HOMCOM builders trestle pair
7.4/10about £32.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When the regulations notice a trestle
  2. 2.What the sawhorse manuals forbid
  3. 3.Boards across trestles
  4. 4.What that means for the pairs here
  5. 5.When you stop

When the regulations notice a trestle

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 treat work at height as any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, including a fall from one level to another. A working platform includes a trestle when that is where you are working. Employers must avoid work at height where they reasonably can, and otherwise prevent a fall. For construction work, HSE describes guard rails at least 950 mm high, gaps no more than 470 mm, and suitable toe boards. PUWER 1998 requires equipment to be suitable. A sawhorse rated to hold timber is not, by that fact, a place to stand. None of these seven listings states BS 1139. BS 2482 is the scaffold-board standard, and the buyer’s point is 38 mm boards at about 1.2 m centres.

What the sawhorse manuals forbid

Trade sawhorse manuals say the same things. Legs fully open, brace locked, all feet down. Do not stand on it, do not use it as a step, a ladder, a stool or a scaffold, and do not stack one horse on another. Read the rating as weight along the top, not as a person. You should not stand on a Stanley or Amazon Basics horse to reach a curtain track. Those reviews describe doors and boards. The BORA bullets say 612 kg each, as a distributed load on a support. A heavier printed number does not turn the top rail into a step.
BORA BORA Workhorse X pair

Testsieger

BORA BORA Workhorse X pair
8.7/10about £76.74
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Boards across trestles

Putting a board across two trestles and standing on it makes a working platform. HSE’s scaffold note expects a platform usually at least 600 mm wide, with overhang no more than about four times the board thickness. A door-width plank on two folding horses is often under that width. The Home Builders Federation paper, written with HSE involvement, uses 600 mm as the default maximum height for unguarded trestles and hop-ups only after a risk assessment has shown that rails are not reasonably practicable. It is not a target. If the rails will not fit, the horse is the wrong equipment.

What that means for the pairs here

None of the seven listings includes guard rails or a BS 1139 claim. Using a sawhorse as a step in a hallway is the misuse, even when nobody is employing you. The HOMCOM B40-015 bullet sets 80–130 cm and 100 kg per trestle. The details field says 200 kg. Neither line is a platform rating. A board at 130 cm is above the 600 mm unguarded default in the HBF paper. Bandstands sold with a BS 1139 claim are a different purchase. Stanley’s 45 kg bullet against a 450 kg details field is a reason to read the label, not a standing limit you pick the larger of.

When you stop

Stop when someone is employed and the work can be done from the ground. The regulations put avoidance first. Stop when the drop is beside a stair, a void or a trench. Stop when the lock is bent, or when the job needs guard rails these horses cannot take. A competent person is the next call for employed work at height or a tower. At home, the drop does not change because you own the house.

Common questions

Can I stand on a Stanley or Amazon Basics horse?
No. Those pairs are used in reviews under doors and boards. Sawhorse manuals say not to stand on the horse, not to use it as a step, and not to stack it. Stanley is polypropylene at about £39.95 with a conflicting 45 kg bullet and a 450 kg details field. Amazon Basics is listed at 408 kg for the set. Neither figure is a standing rating.
Is a low fall still work at height?
Yes, if the fall could cause injury. The 2005 regulations define it that way, and HSE counts a fall from one level to another. Employer duties sit in the regulations. A householder does not get a different result from the same drop. A step off a sawhorse onto a hard floor is still that fall.
What is the 600 mm figure?
The Home Builders Federation paper, developed with HSE involvement, uses 600 mm as the default maximum platform height for unguarded trestles and hop-ups after a risk assessment has shown that guard rails are not reasonably practicable. It is not a height to aim at, and it is not a rule that folding sawhorses may be stood on below that line. HSE also describes a platform usually at least 600 mm wide, which is a different 600 mm.
Does the HOMCOM pair count as a platform if I put a board on it?
If you stand on the board, yes. You have made a working platform from a builders trestle whose bullet runs to 130 cm and whose listing includes no guard rails and no BS 1139 claim. That top height is above the 600 mm unguarded default in the HBF paper. The 100 kg bullet and the 200 kg details field are load lines for the trestle as sold.
When do I stop and use a tower or call someone competent?
Stop if someone is employed, if the drop is a stair, a void or a trench, if the brace will not lock, or if the job needs guard rails these horses cannot take. A tower or another proper platform is the alternative when the work cannot be brought down to the floor.

Related pages

How to set up folding sawhorses

Folding sawhorse buying guide

Scaffold trestle comparison

Folding trestle

Best folding sawhorse UK: match the pair to the job

Cutting plywood on sawhorses without the saw binding

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.

  1. Work at Height Regulations 2005 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. PUWER 1998 regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE work at height FAQs (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE scaffolds (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. HBF trestles and hop-ups, June 2018 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE INDG318 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. amazon.co.uk Saw Horses best sellers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. BORA Tool UK, Workhorse XT (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  9. Tooled-Up trestles note (retrieved 19 October 2026)