Reality Check: breathable vs non-breathable marquee flooring

Sometimes the claims of some companies in the marquee sales industry go beyond honest marketing with outlandish statements such as 'PE material is the same as bullet proof vests' and arrogant statements such as 'and don't believe anyone who tells you different' without actually offering any evidence to confirm their claims. At DIY Marquees we try to take a more positive approach to marketing and an evidence based approach to our marquee design.

With the above in mind we are producing a series of Reality Check articles displaying the pro's and con's for readers to see why we design marquees the way we do:

The advantages of using a breathable marquee floor:

cheaper to produce
takes longer to yellow the grass

The advantages of using non-breathable marquee floors:

prevents excessive condensation
prevents mud from coming up through the floor
gives a superior finish
used by most marquee hire professionals

Breathable marquee floors are usually plastic grid matting originally designed for caravan awnings where they wanted to re-use grass pitches again and again without killing the grass.

Non-breathable marquee floors usually take the form of a non-breathable layer (polythene or groundsheet underlay) with the actual floor being laid on top in the form of carpet, coconut matting or wooden floor. The non-breathable layer prevents the grass giving off water vapour that comes back down as condensation. Grass is tough stuff so is fine being covered over for a week (with some slight yellowing) but longer than that and you may need to pull the flooring up to look after the grass.

Breathable flooring is a good, cheap surface to use in gazebos. If you run a professional hire company or wish to emulate that quality then use non-breathable flooring with a better quality top surface.

Thanks for reading.

We are always happy to offer more customised advice for your event, please contact us giving a few details of the event you are planning (type of event, space available, number of guests and diagrams/photographs of the site if possible) and we will be more than happy to advise on your options.

If you would like to use or quote any part of this article please contact us for permission or licencing.