>> event planning articles > Marquees up in bad weather

Marquees up in bad weather

The weather outside – it’s not so good. As a marquee erector you face a few problems:

i. You get wet. Go back a few weeks and read my post about buying good waterproofs! You know that tan that’s just fading away? Well this is the down side of working outdoors!

ii. Waterlogging. This is a serious problem, some peoples gardens and patios will hold surface water and you’ve got to put a marquee up on them. If it’s just soft underfoot then the usual groundsheet under matting/carpet is okay, if there’s water sitting on top of the surface then you have to consider raising that surface somehow – usually by building a wooden floor underneath using plywood with battens on the back. You can be imaginative in putting sandbags round the outside or something but really a raised wooden floor is the only sure-fire way.

iii. ‘pooling’ of water on the marquee roof. This can happen to any marquee in severe wind and rain but needs resolving swiftly to avoid damage (just push the water out). You can help prevent it by making the sure the roof is tight -use your best bungees on the roof and when you assemble the metalwork don’t have the roof poles fully in to the sockets when you tighten the bolts, this makes the roof a few inches wider and stretches out the fabric. If pooling occurs regularly think about attaching a tight rope from the middle purlin out to the eaves purlin to help stop it.

Thanks for reading

Spencer.