Love Libraries – Blog Knowall Media

16Feb/180

DIY Marquees make things simple for marquee business owners

DIY Marquees make things simple for marquee business owners, with useful, practical marquee accessories and amazing marquee lighting packages simplicity is key, simply connect the leads together plug in to the house/extension lead and you’re done. If your customer needs another power supply, then an additional extension lead would usually do the job.

This simple system is perfect when you’re starting up a marquee hire business but after a while the jobs will become more intricate and so do the electrics. At this point you need to consider attending training courses from our friends at Essential Supplies who are running electrical courses aimed at the marquee hire industry:

Event Lighting Course:

Our one day workshop is specifically aimed at those working within the events industry. We shall cover methods and types of lighting and how to install your system. This is a non examined course and provides no formal qualification; it is de-signed to help candidates with lighting. Candidates will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion.

Price: £180 + VAT per candidate

Marquee flooring packages are designed to be easy to lay whilst giving one of the best finishes available in a marquee using new carpet, available in red, green or honeybeige.

Included in each package is a non-breathable underlay, this is placed underneath the carpet when laying to prevent the build-up of condensation during your event (grass gives off a lot of water vapour if not covered). Grass is very tough so covering for a week or so will not generally cause any harm.

The marquee flooring is simply nailed in place -hammer, nails, cutting knife and a tool belt are included in the package. Watch our marquee flooring video to see how easy it is to lay.

This is the flooring and method of laying used by most of the marquee hire industry.

20Jan/180

DIY Marquee your one stop marquee company

DIY Marquees is a one stop shop for anyone wanting to start a marquee hire business or own their own marquee. Not only do they sell high quality, durable, all weather marquees and party tents, they also sell a large range of marquee accessories such as:

  • Tools
  • Lighting
  • Marquee Flooring
  • Doors
  • Tie Downs
  • Carry bags & boxes
  • Catering partitions
  • Gable pieces
  • Guttering kits
  • Repair kits
  • Web design
  • Marquee branding
  • Spare parts

With all the accessories you may require you will never be in a situation where you will get caught short.

MARQUEE LIGHTING

marquee festoons

Marquee Electrical Courses

We have designed our marquee lighting packages to be as simple as possible, simply connect the leads together plug in to the house/extension lead and you’re done. If your customer needs another power supply then an additional extension lead would usually do the job.

This simple system is perfect when you’re starting up a marquee hire business but after a while the jobs will become more intricate and so do the electrics. At this point you need to consider attending training courses.

Our friends at Essential Supplies are running electrical courses aimed at the marquee hire industry:

Event Electrics Course:

Our one day workshop is specifically aimed at those working in the Marquee
& Events industry. We will cover all aspects of the design, installation and testing of temporary electrical systems for events. The course is aimed at those who specify and install such systems but have no formal electrical qualification. We will guide candidates through best practises in installing electrical and lighting systems in temporary structures for events, including how to avoid some common pitfalls and some not so obvious. There will also be plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with some of our latest products specifically designs for our industry.
This is a non examined course and provides no formal qualification; it is de-signed to provide candidates with an awareness of the issues surrounding electrical systems for temporary events. Candidates will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion and a set of course notes.
Price: £180 + VAT per candidate

Event Lighting Course:

Our one day workshop is specifically aimed at those working within the events industry. We shall cover methods and types of lighting and how to install your system. This is a non examined course and provides no formal qualification; it is de-signed to help candidates with lighting. Candidates will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion.
Price: £180 + VAT per candidate

PAT Testing Course:

The aim of our one day ‘practical’ workshop is to obtain an understanding of why
PAT Testing is necessary and be able to demonstrate safely and accurately all aspects of electrical testing necessary to perform PAT tests on your own or other peoples electrical equipment.

The course is specially designed for those within the events industry, looking at key
Products, unique to the Events World. The testing techniques learnt can be used in any industry. You will be shown how to PAT test a wide range of our products from extension leads to metal light fittings and from simple distribution boards to power tools. To ensure you get the most out of the course we aim to have a maximum of 6 Candidates on each course.
Price: £220 + VAT per candidate

If you have been in the hire industry for a few years and look to be taking the next step up in complexity of marquee bookings then I would recommend attending the Event Electrics Course first with the Event Lighting Course later.

All of your electrics require regular PAT testing, rather than paying an electrician to come in and test them it’s likely a wise investment to train you or a reliable member of staff up as a PAT tester.

At DIY Marquees we always try to promote best practice, we offer help and advice throughout the life of our marquees and in doing so try to ensure our marquee hirers can maintain good standards. Attending training courses like these that are specifically designed towards marquee hirers is good practice for everyone in the industry.

12Mar/160

Marquee business advice

Spencer King from DIY Marquees offers excellent advice for those wanting to set up their own marquee company; be it buying a pop-up marquee or one of the hundreds of different marquee available. DIY Marquees not only offer Marquees they also sell many accessories such as lighting, heating and  flooring.

DIY Marquees

Nearly all professional marquee hire's use diesel or gas powered heaters. When using one of these to heat a marquee personally I would always put a carbon monoxide tester in the marquee too. They’re cheap, easy to fit and give peace of mind to both you and the customer. Not only that it makes you look (even more) thorough and professional. All fumes from a diesel heater should be kept outside from the chimney but what if the wind blows it straight back towards the marquee?

L B Whites have a very useful heating app that’s worth looking at and illustrates why electric heaters are just not man enough for any serious size marquee.

Inputting a 6x12m commercial (3m apex height) marquee with a rise of 30 degrees C (they do metric, I can’t!) gives a requirement for approx 100,000BTU’s or 30KW of heating. Had we designed our marquees to have a higher apex not only would they be less wind resistant they would also require far more heating – the requirement goes up to 40KW.

The maximum an electric heater can supply is 3KW of heat. If you wanted to heat one of these marquees using electric heaters you would need a whopping 10-13 of them and a very large generator to power them all!

Stick to diesel (indirect) or gas (lbwhite) and fit a carbon monoxide detector.

Find out more about pop up party tents for sale

9May/150

Compare the range of marquees for sale from DIY Marquees

When hiring out marquees it is good practice to have some discrete marquee branding. Keep in mind that any branding shouldn't be over the top or take up too much of the available face, you do not want your marquee to appear as a billboard. You want your marquee to remain looking clean and elegant whilst guests who wish to find out who supplied the marquee can find out if they want to by having a discrete vinyl marquee branding on one or two side panels or the trim of the roof.

Marquee lighting is not always required - any good quality white marquee will be light inside if it is light outside so for daytime functions lighting in marquees is not always necessary. For evening functions there is a variety of possible marquee lighting options but whatever option you choose -festoons, uplighters or chandeliers, ensure all lighting is dimmer-controlled to help the party atmosphere.

Marquee Flooring always adds to any marquee but be wary of any cheap breathable options. Professional marquee hire companies always put a non-breathable layer down before any type of marquee flooring, this prevents the grass giving off water vapour which then forms as condensation and can ruin a function. All of the marquee flooring packages we offer at DIY Marquees include this non-breathable layer as well as a choice of colour carpet to suit any occasion.

Pop-up
Range

Party Tent
Range

Classic
Range

Commercial
Range

Professional
Range

Deluxe
Range

Roof and Sides

There are many different qualities of PE and PVC, we ensure we only use the highest quality materials

500d polyester

240gsm PE

500gsm PVC

500gsm PVC

650gsm PVC

650gsm PVC

There are many different qualities of PE and PVC, we ensure we only use the highest quality materials

500d polyester

240gsm PE

380gsm PVC

500gsm PVC

500gsm PVC

650gsm PVC

British Standards for flame retardancy are far higher than European or American standards

x

Having multiple end panels makes the marquee more wind resistant

One-panel

One-panel

One-panel

Multi-panel

Three-panel

Three-panel

Zipped entrances make for convenient entrance and exit points

Rain skirts carry the rain further away from the marquee to avoid it coming back under the sides

All side panels have a wraparound velcro sealed cover to protect against drafts in the marquee

Heavy duty bungees

Heavy duty eyelets

Welded seams make for a 100% waterproof join

x

x

True Georgian windows with cut out curved tops

Square

Square

True Georgian

True Georgian

True Georgian

True Georgian

A re-enforced curved wave-drape edge to the roof

Straight

Straight

Wave-drape

Wave-drape

Wave-drape

Wave-drape

Framework

Frame material

Aluminium

Steel

Steel

Steel

Steel

Steel

Frame diameter

58mm hex

38mm

38mm

38mm

38mm

50mm

Galvanised finish

x

Eave height is the height from the floor to the top of the leg.

2m

2m

2m

2m

2m

2.3m

Having vertical sides means it is easy to weather the marquee against other marquees or buildings. It also means you can make full use of the complete marquee footprint.

Groundbars add to the stability of any marquee (they essentially make the marquee a strong box)

x

Optional

Optional

Horizontal and vertical roof braces add greatly to the strength of a marquee

x

✔ (6m)

✔ (6m)

✔ (4&6m)

Intermediate purlins add greatly to the strength of a marquee

x

✔ (6m)

✔ (6m)

✔ (4&6m)

At most two different length poles used throughout the marquee for ease of erection (excluding braces and connectors)

x

No

Gable uprights allow for individual 2m or 3m panels which are far more wind resistant than having one large panel across the end of the marquee. They also allow the window and wall panels to be interchangeable.

x

x

x

The added height of a 2.3m eave means that every leg should have an additional brace to add strength to the frame

x

x

x

x

x

Features

Unbranded

x

x

2-season, 3-season or 4-season

season is spring & summer, 3-season is spring, summer & autumn. 4-season is year round though additional precautions are required for snow, unseasonal or severe weather

2

2

3

4

4

4

Suitable for marquee hire

x

x

Interchangeable side panels

x

x

✔(4&6m)

12 months manufacturers warranty

We manufacture high quality interior linings for all of our marquees

We supply guttering kits to make waterproof joins between marquees

Able to purchase extension bays in future

Spares available

8May/140

What size of marquee do I need?

DIY Marquees have a fabulous range of marquees for sale, the largest ranges in the UK. They are a professional team of people who pride themselves in being the leaders in marquee sales, they will give you advice on Marquee Flooring, décor and size of the marquee. Read some useful information on BUYERS GUIDE when making a decision on what marquee to purchase.

What size of marquee do I need?
 
When looking to buy a marquee the first thing to do is decide what size(s) of marquee you need, only then can you decide which range of marquee is most suitable for you.

There are several ways of calculating this:

  • Measure your garden. If space is limited your guest list may be restricted by the maximum size of marquee able to fit in the space.
  • If your garden is an awkward size then consider using more than one marquee connected together to cover the space. Multiple marquees can take a little more thought in planning a successful party but please contact us; we're marquee specialists and are here to help.
  • If you need help in picturing the layout of a marquee then check out our interactive marquee planner and experiment with different layouts.

the classic diy marquee range

The following size guide shows the capacity (seated or standing) or each size of marquee. Size guides can vary greatly; this is due to the variety of ways a marquee can be used. For example a 6x12m marquee can seat 70-80 people at round tables but if you allow for buffet tables and/or a dance floor then the capacity is reduced.

Click on the size marquee you require and you will then be taken to the ranges we offer in that size of marquee.

If you are in any doubt over the size marquee you require please contact us with your requirements and we would be more than happy to put together some sample layouts for you.

 

Size of Party Tent/Marquee (width first) Capacity seated Capacity standing
3m x 2m 4-8 4-12
3m x 3m 6-10 7-15
3m x 4m 6-12 9-18
3m x 6m 12-20 15-30
3m x 8m 12-24 18-35
3m x 10m 15-30 20-45
3m x 12m 18-40 27-60
4m x 4m 8-15 10-22
4m x 6m 12-24 18-35
4m x 8m 12-30 18-45
4m x 10m 15-35 18-55
4m x 12m 20-48 25-70
6m x 4m 12-24 18-35
6m x 6m 15-40 20-60
6m x 8m 20-50 30-75
6m x 10m 30-65 40-100
6m x 12m 30-80 40-120
6m x 14m 30-100 60-140
6m x 16m 40-110 70-160
6m x 18m 40-120 70-180
6m x 20m 50-130 80-200
6m x 24m 60-160 80-240
9m x 12m 60-160 80-240