Single Acting Brace System

The Single Acting Brace System is a lightweight, easy-to-use hydraulic frame designed to support trench sheets in small excavations. It is ideal for manhole installations, drainage repairs, and tight urban sites where only small machinery is available.

With a sheet-to-sheet operating range of 1.8m to 2.7m, the single acting manhole brace can safely support excavations up to 3 metres deep in good ground conditions. It provides a crucial safety barrier, retaining the soil face to protect operatives working within the trench.

Typical applications

• Small manhole installations and chamber construction
• Localised drainage repairs and pipeline maintenance
• Utility trenches in restricted urban environments
• Pits where limited lifting capacity is available

How the Single Acting Brace works

The system is built from a series of single-piece hydraulic legs that connect at the corners using a simple pin-and-joint method. This creates a rigid four-sided frame that sits horizontally inside the excavation.

Once lowered into the trench, the hydraulic rams are pumped out using a manual or powered hydraulic pump, expanding the frame against the trench sheets to apply active pressure to the ground walls. The legs offer a generous 900mm hydraulic ram stroke, providing excellent flexibility to adapt to varying trench dimensions without requiring constant leg extensions.

Easy handling on site

Weighing just 400kg for a complete frame, the Single Acting Brace System is one of the lightest hydraulic frames in our range. This makes it exceptionally easy to assemble, install, and extract, requiring only a small excavator or site machine to lift it into position.

Single Acting Brace: Common Questions

Hire Single Acting Brace Systems

We supply single acting brace systems for hire with prompt nationwide delivery from our UK depot network. For more information, technical advice, or hire rates, please contact your nearest depot.