DIY Marquees

11/03/2024

WHAT'S NEEDED IN THE TOOLBOX OF A MARQUEE HIRER?

At an enjoyable meeting over the weekend I was asked what should be in the toolbox/van of a marquee hirer. What’s the typical equipment you should set yourself up with?

Obviously we can supply most of these but they are reasonably standard equipment available in many places:

-Snips/wire cutters. Essential for cutting down cable ties used to attach linings and lighting.
-Spare cable ties – used for linings and lighting and 101 other uses
-Gaffa Tape – ideally in white. Just avoid the temptation to temporarily patch PVC using gaffa tape – when it comes to permanently patching the adhesive the tape leaves prevents the glue/weld from giving a good bond.
-A repair kit is always useful just in case.
-Carpet cutting knife (stanley) or similar, hammer, toolbelt & nails
-Detachable eyelets are useful
-Stake puller of some kind make life a lot easier than trying to loosen stakes with a sledgehammer
-Steps – commercial grade, shorter than 2m to work under the eaves but giving a safe working height of 3m
-Some offcuts of wood – useful for chocking tables in transport, supporting the odd footplate that’s in a slight dip
-Hacksaw – just in case (incredibly rarely required)
-Gas spanner – if you use gas heaters
-Vacuum cleaner or leaf blower – whatever you use to clean the floore range)
Pair of spanners (if using bolted together marquee like our deluxe range)
Vacuum cleaner or leaf blower – whatever you use to clean the floor
-Washing up liquid, cloth & bowl – for giving the marquee and any equipment a once over
-Baby-wipes – some people use these to ensure clean hands before fitting any marquee linings
-Hard hats – it’s debatable as our marquees are mostly assembled on the ground whether they are classed as lifting over head height and therefore require hard hats.

From experience I can say that you come across as a much more professional outfit if you wear hard hats until the structure is complete so I view it as good practice.

You wouldn’t need all of these initially, some you may never require but having most of these in your van/toolbox will make day to day life running a marquee hire business a lot easier. It will also save dashes to local DIY stores to get whatever tool you’re missing!

Thanks for reading.

05/03/2024

LOOKING AFTER YOUR MARQUEE

Looking after your marquees is a fundamentally sensible idea for running a marquee hire business. The longer a marquee lasts the longer you’ll have a return on your investment before phoning those lovely DIY Marquee people to order a new one.

The biggest factor is keeping your kit dry. Putting PVC away wet will age it a lot quicker than necessary whilst obviously any metalwork kept in a damp environment would become tarnished far quicker.

It’s PVC that needs the most looking after. If it’s consistently put in an abrasive environment then it can obviously wear through (parents who have been to an old soft play area will know that one) but the most common way is the coated layers of the fabric breaking down with dirty water getting in between and drying – this leads to black marks left inside the PVC which is impossible to remove.

If you see old marquees at country fairs etc then they will often have this ‘black spot’ in their walls and roofs.

How to avoid this aging:

Start off with a good quality PVC. For example there are 101 different version of 500gsm, the one we use shouldn’t become brittle or break down as quickly as the cheaper end of the 500gsm PVC range. This is the same across the whole range of PVC materials, going for a good quality fabric will save you money in the long term
Don’t put the PVC away wet if you can avoid it and certainly don’t keep it stored for a long time when damp

Don’t fold the PVC in the same place every time. A waterproof coat will leak first on the inside of the elbows, this is because it is forever under stress creasing and re-creasing in the same place. If you keep folding walls and roofs using the same fold lines then that is where the layers will crack first and you’re aging your marquee prematurely – use different fold lines or roll them up.

Thanks for reading, and remember – look after your marquee

Call: 01306 87 67 67
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk

27/02/2024

SO YOU WANT TO START A MARQUEE HIRE COMPANY?

Congratulations, a wise choice. But where to begin?

Research: You need to look into who you're targeting, what competition you face and the quality of marquees you want to buy.

Target Market: Weddings, parties, country fairs or maybe all 3. Weddings require a better quality finish (interior linings, flooring etc) than country fairs who generally just need a cover out of the rain.

Your competition: Check online, check yellow pages, get your competitors brochures or any literature you can to see what they offer -don't introduce yourself yet, you may want them to come and do a site visit for you (I'll expand on this later).

Quality of marquees: The quality of marquees varies greatly, though mostly it comes down to the thickness and type of material used in the roof (walls are less important). You should also consider upgrades -if you want to expand into the wedding market you MUST be able to offer linings.

Finally you need to consider what your budget is likely to be. Put together all the costs, how much you can charge per hire (slightly less than your competitors I'd suggest) so that you're aware of how many hires are required until you're in profit.

We believe our DIY Marquees are the ideal entry level into marquee hire. They offer excellent returns on investment whilst being suitable for any event - unlined marquees for fairs & fetes or add a lining for parties and wedding marquees.

For more personalised advice:
https://www.diymarquees.co.uk
Call: 01306 87 67 67
Email: [email protected]

25/12/2023

21/12/2023

WHY 2M END PANELS ARE MORE WIND RESISTANT

The end panels on a marquee can be susceptible to strong winds.

Using one large single panel transfers all of the force generated by any strong wind is taken on the eyelets around the edge. A single large end panel also has more slack with which to billow in and out.

Call: 01306 87 67 67
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk

Full article: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk/why-2m-end-panels-are-more-wind-resistant.php

18/12/2023

THE STRENGTH OF EAVE BRACES

Put simply eave braces make a marquee stronger, more durable and increase the expected lifespan of the structure.

Full article: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk/the-strength-of-eave-braces.php

Call: 01306 87 67 67
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk

14/12/2023

THE FLEXABILITY OF INTERCHANGEABLE SIDES

Have a nice view you want everyone to see? Position the window panels to face that view so guests can see it.

Have a view you don't want everyone to see? Position the wall panels to hide that view from guests.

Full article: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk/the-flexibility-of-interchangeable-sides.php

Call: 01306 87 67 67
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.diymarquees.co.uk