Q & A's
Here are some of our most asked Questions about Marquee and the purchasing and erecting of marquees and tents.
We hope the you will find the answer to your question within this section, but if not please Email your question to info@bigmarquees.co.uk and we will Email back with the answer as well as including it here for future reference.
Will i need tie downs for my marquee- All erections are different it all depends on the situation where you are placing your marquee. What you need to remember is that the roof of your marquee is like a huge kite, and it will not take a large amount of wind to lift the whole structure and carry it away if it is not properly anchored. In short we would recommend that all marquees are anchored with tie down kits.
Do i need a fire certificate - When hosting an event in which you will be inviting people to attend you must make sure that you have taken the appropriate safety measures to ensure that if there is a problem you are prepared - you must consult your local fire department who will send an officer around to inspect your event structure and facilities, the officer will then tell you how many fire extinguishers you require, whether there are sufficient fire exits and weather exits are properly lighted and freely accessible amongst other things.
Once satisfied the officer will then provide you with the appropriate certificate, this process has to be performed for each event you have, not just one certificate provided for your marquee at the time of purchase.
However some events organisers will require that you have a fire certificate provided with your marquee to state that it is manufactured with BS standard Fire Retardant materials before they will book you your pitch. This however does not mean that your setup is fire safe only that the materials used in the marquee are fire retardant.
Will i be able to erect the marquee myself? - All of the marquees we supply come with DIY erection instructions, these marquees are simple to put up and will take 4 people approx 3 hrs to put up a 12m x 6m on a first attempt, once you are used to putting one up this time can be halved.
All of the marquees we supply even the 6mx14m marquee can be put up by two capable individuals.
There is a video situated here to aid with the erection of our marquees.
What kind of marquee will i need for an outdoor catering business? - For a catering business you will need a sturdy marquee of all steel or all aluminium frame and PVC cover.
To comply with many events criteria you will need a fire certificate for your marquee which states that the material is fire retardant to BS standards.
You will also need a good storm proofing kit to hold your marquee down (DO NOT LET A COMPANY SUPPLY YOU WITH CHEEP PEGS OR STAKES DESIGNED TO HOLD DOGS) Our anchors are designed for marquees, used by the military and Lloyds Tested to 200kg in wet ground.
You will also need to ensure that your marquee is waterproof and windproof, a lot of the cheaper marquees on the market which have leg covers attached to the roof, are not water or windproof as behind the leg cover, which is only attached to the bottom of the leg pole with a small hook, there is nothing to stop rain and wind getting in where the sides join the leg poles.