This case study will show you an example of what can be achieved in someones back garden using our 6m rig. The marquee was used for a combination of events, a delayed 50th birthday party due to covid, and a new years eve party.
The marquee was butted upto a good sized room which had recently been re-roofed. Im not sure wat you call it as it isn’t a conservatory but would be used in the same fashion. A second lounge maybe, with tall bifolding doors and a high ceiling with a glazed roof lantern in the centre to let in some natural light. What ever you want to call it, it makes a great event space and it was our job to extend that area so it would increase the all important guest capacity.
Straight out of the bifold doors leads you onto a rather nice tiled patio area which is stepped down twice before meeting the lawn. When you take into account the stepped patio along with the wooden pergola to the right of the bifodling doors, its makes for a small marquee challenge, and that is what I like.
On the site visit I start by ticking off all the normal things on my check list. These include things like parking, site access and over head cables for example, then it moves onto position. Can we locate the marquee where the clients wants it? and at the same time get it secured in a way that makes it safe for use. This was given particluar consideration because of the time of year being December and the weather we had been experience in the lead up to the event wasn’t the best.
Marquee Size
The size of marquee we install is dictated by a few different factors but they are always the same. First it is the amount of people you need the marquee to hold, be it seated or standing. That maybe calculated in conjunction with another area like it was in this example, with the lounge type room of the house.
Next its the site, can it accommodate the size needed and is there any other considerations that may hinder it or that need over coming. The main 2 issues here where the stepped patio and slopping lawn, then the wooden pergola.
Finally the client needs to consider their budget. After I have worked out the first 2 points I can normally give some ball park figures whilst onsite to indicate the marquee price, then combine it with any products they are considering in addition to the marquee such as heating, lighting and furniture. If it’s within the realms of their budget I go away and create a formal quote with my findings.
So with the above in mind my main hurdle was the patio and slope which needed to hold a 6m x 6m garden party marquee. Our standard frame would definitley make up the first half of the structure but the drop gets to big to overcome the seoncd bay. For this we use our 3m extension kit which basically extends the legs and gives you the extra long canvas to accommodate this. Regular leg extensions will then be used to take out any other height discrepancies.
Securing the Marquee
One area that can’t be ignored is securing the marquee. Many smaller garden party marquee supplies tend to overlook this and use inadequate weights or in some cases they will be happy to miss them out. Depending on the manufacturer of the marquee will depend on the weight requirement. All commercial grade marquees will be wind tested and have guidance as to how much weight should be used in different conditions and circumstances.
The main type of fixing would be to stake into the ground which could not be fully acheived here. Next you would consider drilling and bolting into a hard surface like concrete or taram. Finally ballast can be used to act as a tie down.
On a patio it goes without saying that the method of use is going to be ballast and tie down straps but we only needed to do one here and I like to use as few as possible with the majority using either the stake of bolt method.
Luckily we were able to position the marquee as such so I could stake 3 legs, ballast 1 and then use stakes and ratchet straps for the rest which beats ballast and looks more pleasing on the eye.
The choosen ballast on this job was a water weight because I didn’t want something that would mark the patio.
Marquee Cosmetics
Now the structure of the marquee has been decided we went through the cosmetics of the marquee. As it was in part for a New Years Eve party and there were going to be fireworks, the client opted for 2 clear roofs combined with the clear gable, and the large panoramic windows on the front. This meant if the weather was bad the party goers could still enjoy the fireworks from inside the marquee. It also gives a great wow factor to guests.
Marquee Lighting
Lighting plays a huge part in any event. There are many products out there and they lend themselves to different things. I supplied LED battery operated uplighters only as they had their own fairy lighting.
The LED units are one of my favourite pieces of lighting kit we do. Fully charged they will last around 8 hours, the colour can be set to what ever you choose, or you can set them to fade through a spectrum of colour. Being battery operated means you can move them around and experiement with lighting up different areas. This could be features such as bushes or trees, and they are fine to be outside.
Heating The Marquee
Heating is not always needed and it largely depends on 2 things. The first is obviously the time of year and outside temperature. The second is the function of the space and peoples body heat. For example this marquee was in affect the dance floor so the heat generated from this would be decent, however the time of year being December overuled and meant you couldn’t risk being without it.
We offer 2 types of heating for our graden marquees. Infrared lamps that get installed into the roof of the marquee and directed down onto the people. This is what is known as a direct heat source because you only feel it when you are in the line of the rays.
Next is an indirect unit that sits outside of the marquee, burns fuel for heat, which then gets blown into the marquee via a duct. More expensive to hire but alot better at heating a space. The infrareds also give of a red glow which as in this case isn’t always ideal. Thats why this client opted for the external unit, and rightly so in my opinion.
Garden Marquee Prices
All of our pricing for garden marquee hire can be found on our website on our Garden Party Marquee page. If you can’t find the size to suit you, just get in touch. 01929 439177.