Nothing tops a proper English country garden on a warm and sunny Spring afternoon. At the end of a long Winter season, many look forward to the respite that the Springtime brings, from the rain, clouds and chilly winds. My client was on the look out for the perfect venue for his daughter’s Spring wedding which he wanted to host in a garden filled with roses and daffodils and he and his wife pictured how lovely the garden would be with plump grey doves flying in across the skyline and making themselves at home on the garden wall which their guests walked up the brown pebbled driveway from a walled garden which provided ample parking. Fortunately, the couple had located just the place in a village in Hampshire which was able to accommodate their need for a large, flat green garden patch on which to erect a 4 x 12m premium marquee which we had identified as the perfect option for the wedding.

DIY Marquees

As someone who has experience with providing marquee options for many clients over many years, it is always exciting to find an exciting, never-before seen venue! Although it did mean that I had to ensure that the venue was just right for the marquee and that the right marquee was used in case of, what is quite common this time of year, unseasonal weather changes. After inspecting the venue and measuring the area to ensure that the marque size would work in the space available, I informed the client that everything would be in order.

With a perfectly flat piece of land to erect the marquee on, the job was an easy one. If there had been any hills to negotiate, I knew that I could always refer to the DIY Erecting videos which have been provided as a free resource on the DIY Marquees website. I have been a client of DIY Marquees ever since I began my entrepreneurial endeavours as a freelance events co-ordinator. Having my own marquees allows me the flexibility I need to offer my clients the perfect venue almost anywhere in the country, regardless of location or the weather. Having done my research on the DIY Marquee website, I have been able to educate myself on the best marquee for specific occasions and seasons. The information on the website is generous and covers everything that one could possibly think about knowing about marquees, their sizes, features from add-ons to heating, decorating and preparation areas, they have a suitable solution or suggestion for all.

Excellent quality marquees which are guaranteed to withstand the weather considerations are extremely useful to have for anyone in a similar business. Someone in the market for a purpose-specific marquee can investigate the available options by using the DIY Marquee buyers guide along with the interactive planner which provides you with the tools required to test to see how many people, chairs, tables and features one would be able to host in the specific size marquee they may have in mind. DIY Marquees offer a simple and exciting alternative to your usual indoor venues with far more flexibility.

DIY Marquees is an independent family run business committed to the design, manufacture and supply of the best quality marquees and marquee accessories. Having built up and successfully run one of the leading marquee hire companies in the UK, DIY Marquees now uses their years of experience to advise other hire companies while designing and supplying commercial quality marquees, linings and accessories.

4x12m professional diy marquee

No matter the size of the DIY Marquees’ Commercial range, this range is ideal for marquee hire companies and people who require a much stronger, more durable and flexible marquee than some of the other ranges. A 4 season marquee which can maintain its strength and durability under any of the more extreme weather conditions, this marquee is the most resilient of the DIY Marquee range. Many of the commercial marquee have the capacity to remain erected year-round due, largely to the use of PVC for its construct. PVC is widely considered as having a lifespan of at least twice that of PE material and which is also superior to Poly/PVC material blend. DIY Marquees uses a specific PVC made from rip stop Duracotex for all Commercial marquees which is also lined with Luxmarq lining material which reinforces the PVC adding to the over-all strength and durability of the tent.

May be an image of outdoors

Commercial tents for sale can also be joined using high-frequency welding (as opposed to stitching) which will ensure the marquee will be 100% waterproof guaranteeing the quality of the marquee to be fit for purpose. One DIY Marquees 6x14m Commercial marquees was erected over an outdoor pool which was under renovation in Haslemere, Surrey on the 19th December 2020 and taken down on Saturday 30th January 2021. Pictures provided show the marquee to be fully contained and functioning.

Standard measures of Commercial marquees are 3, 4, 6 and 9 Meter wide with various options for length. The larger 9m width has a maximum length of 18 meters while the smaller 3 and 4 meter range has a maximum length of 24 meters. By far the most expansive and durable is the 6 meter width, which is offered up to an impressive 36 meter length which is maximum coverage. All of the DIY Marquee commercial range come with the option to choose from a variety of side panel configurations and roof and wall or curtain linings.

DIY Marquee also offer Professional tents for sale, Premium tents for sale and party tents, which are suitable where a less semi-permanent structure will be more a more viable option. Buyers who are interested in a marquee for personal use or for hiring on a short-term basis would be impressed by the quality of the party tent which is constructed with PE material on roof and side panels and robust steel piping structures which ensure that the party marquee has suitable strength vs built for purpose requirements.

Investigate options of party marquees available to you for sale, by using the online interactive marquee planner which will help you to ascertain the best fit for your needs. DIY Marquee sales team is available to consult with you regarding any questions you may have.

9x9m traditional diy marquee

Considering purchasing a marquee as part of your business plan? Look no further for the most durable, quality marquees in the industry. DIY Marquees has the ideal, traditional 9m x 9m marquee for sale for those companies looking for your more traditional, high quality marquee.

What makes our marquees so high quality? Its all in the materials. DIY has years of experience with manufacturing and supplying marquees made from all varieties of materials and there is no doubt that while PVC materials are a little more expensive than PE or canvas, DIY Marquees knows that beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is no reason to compromise quality for other inferior materials, which do not have half the life-span that PVC does. Meaning that you may invest a little more at the beginning, but your investment will last you twice as long, with less degeneration and repair costs down the line, and the marquee will stay strong for double the amount of time.

PCV, or Polyvinyl Chloride, is a high strength thermoplastic polymer which is used for a vast range of products, especially in the construction where strength and quality products cannot be sub-par.

9x9m traditional diy marquee

What is Duracoretex PVC?

Likewise, DIY Marquees will not settle for sub-par materials, which is why we only use Duracoretex™ PVC for all of our PVC DIY Marquees. Duracoretex™ PVC comprises 5 layers of materials comprising of 2 layers of UV stabilising flame retardant laminated coating, 2 layers of plasticised PVC coating and 1 layer of highly durable, rip-stop polyester mesh.

Duracoretex PVC

Duracoretex™ PVC is tested to ensure that it meets the high quality standards which we require to ensure that we continue to satisfy the many new and returning professional marquee consumers who we have serviced with our marquees. Customers return because they themselves have already tried and tested our products and know that the quality is incomparable to other marquee suppliers. Laboratory tested for quality, performance and sustainability standards, by Intertek, leaders in testing of in-house testing for the optimisation of raw materials, DIY Marquees 9x9m Traditional marquees, made with Duracoretex™ PVC is guaranteed to have twice the life span of other, inferior materials.

The 9x9m Traditional DIY marquees, is the pinnacle of all 4-season marquees. You can expect your marquee to stand strong under almost any weather conditions, although we do recognise that sometimes nature is brutal and so at the first sign of tornadoes and other extreme weather-conditions, we recommend safety first! Other aspects which contribute to the strength of our marquees is that the high quality PVC allows for the use of high-frequency welding to seal the joins, which is superior to stitching which might lead to tearing of the material should the marquee come under strain. This also contributes to the weather-proofing of the marquees which is ideal for the wet UK climate.

Other strength enhancing features include physical eave braces and gable uprights which support the marquee when under additional hard-wearing conditions, ensuring that the DIY marquee and Duracoretex™ PVC are well supported during any event.

A marquee is absolutely the smartest event venue that anyone could think of. Reasons why are self-explanatory but because of their belief in their products. A marquee can be a venue for all seasons which is one of the main reasons why so many people choose to invest in a marquee as a solution to their venue or catering problems.

4x6m green commercial diy marquee

A special event, celebrated in a marquee always adds a certain kind of sparkle to that event… perhaps it’s because it’s a little out of the ordinary, or perhaps its because a marquee can be set up to perfectly suit the function that you need it to, while also looking absolutely stunning during day or night! No one thinks of a marquee and doesn’t think of how lovely it can be for any event. It’s fun and fresh as opposed to the same old pub or club venue that your family has been using for decades. And don’t just use your marquee once…use it again and again for any special event. It is a purchase that you will never regret.

Your marquee is adaptable, re-designable, do-up-able, and functional! Add a red carpet and a fancy chandelier and you have the stuff from which great formal events are made. Add a heater and closed panels and you have the coziest joint in the neighborhood during the winter chilly months. Divide your main tent from the catering area and you have a workspace right on hand from which you can serve your guests the most delectable eats in superb style. And while the dance floor hots up, you caterers can pack up and leave without disturbing the event for the night so that you can party the night away.

Now that you have heard all of the good things about marquees, you are no doubt wondering where and how you can get your hands on the trendiest venue in town… DIY Marquees doesn’t pretend to know it all about marquees because they do know it all and will assist you with every aspect of your purchase from start to finish.

It couldn’t be easier when you visit DIY Marquees for sale – all of the information that you would ever need to know when buying a marquee including the Green Marquee for sale range is available on the site: sizes, options, additional extras, materials used, where to use which marquee and which is recommended for which conditions. DIY Marquees make buying a marquee an absolutely seamless experience.

Guest Post: How We Set Up Strawberry Fieldz!

5 years ago I was about to head back to my very boring job following maternity leave, to work as a Relationship Development Consultant at a well know insurance company. My husband Adam was working in a planning role, which he had done for many years and was fairly bored. His main passion has always been music, gigging with his Dad from the age of 5 and playing in bands all through is life, teaching guitar, and running his own recording studio also. So we find ourselves at a small local festival, with a badly erected tatty party tent, with a tiny stage, and really badly managed sound where no one on stage could hear themselves. We sat in the sun after his performance and agreed we could do this set up better. So we did. Simple as that!

Adam researched products and prices, and I worked on a business plan and researched local companies. Where could we add value, go the extra mile, and make our offering unique.  After extensive research I found that websites were hard to navigate, quotes often did not turn up or where wrong, too many contact forms and not enough personal service. So that was where we felt we could really excel, using our years of customer service experience to offer the personal touch that was missing from our competitors.

We launched 8 months later with a website and no marquees at that point.  We used a well known business directory and got a fair amount of work from that.  We had a summer of bookings ahead and so we made the decision to borrow some money and buy the equipment.

DIY Marquees were absolutely amazing, they gave us brilliant advice because they have been there, started a marquee company and been in the hire market themselves. I turned up with a wobbly trailer and two screaming toddlers and we took our marquees home.

The rest really is history. We called many pubs and introduced ourselves, emailed local councils, joined local business networks, and had our vehicles sign written. Our hit rate for converting an enquiry to a booking was around 75% and I think this has to be down to us really caring about our customers and it coming across to them that we have time to discuss their needs, and we really want them to have a good experience with us. This has undoubtedly contributed to the amount of repeat bookings we receive. We have a strong repeat customer base and get recommendations all the time which saves on advertising costs!

We took very little pay in the first 3 years ploughing it all back in to the business to grow as quickly as we could.  We started offering small festival stages in the second year of trading which has added variety to our business. We have provided stages for festivals, local councils, pub events, and got paid to watch live bands!

We have so many great memories over the last few years, from our customers that invite us in to share a freshly made curry, to the quirky sheep that leapt in our van and ate our biscuits.  Every day is different, and each customer unique but it’s been an amazing experience and watching our business grow has been very rewarding.  DIY Marquees has been crucial to our success and have always gone the extra mile to help us. We have had to order next day delivery items at 4.59pm in the evening as we have lost a vital component, had issues onsite and needed advice, and been totally fine with us never giving the correct part name for an item in spite of them sending them to us numerous times. 😊

Get in touch with DIY Marquees if you are wanting to buy a marquee

DIY Marquees have the largest range of marquees for sale in the UK, they offer honest and valuable advice for anyone who want to buy a marquee. Their friendly team have years of experience and expertise in the marquee industry, so whether you are wanting to start your own marquee hire business or would like to host corporate events or special occasion event hire such as wedding functions, DIY Marquees will give your the best advice around.

DIY Marquee range of Party tents for sale can be used for lots of different functions from weddings and formal events to garden parties and BBQ’s, their final appearance is entirely governed by the accessories you buy. For more formal functions you can buy flooring and linings for your party tent marquee or for less formal events you can decorate the party tent yourself using balloons or decorative ribbons. Whilst all marquees may look the same from the outside it is how you design the interior that personalises the party tent marquee.

Erecting marquees on hard standing

Our DIY Marquees like most Commercial Marquees for sale are quality ones that can be erected on hard standing. There is the small issue of how to anchor the marquee down (answer: longer tie downs to a nearby soft surface, bolting or use heavy weights) but otherwise it is easily done.

There is one small issue which you should make your customer aware of and that is what happens when it rains. If a patio normally floods in heavy rain, a marquee won’t stop that occurring. If the hard standing has a slope then water may try to flow through the marquee.

The risks of this happening are usually very slight and whilst it’s worth mentioning to customers it’s not worth going overboard or scaremongering about it. If the forecast is bad there are some solutions:

  • Wooden floor throughout – this raises the floor up so the water passes under. The best solution but also by far the most expensive and most work.
  • sandbags or similar round the perimeter of the marquee.
  • strips of carpet underneath the groundbars – this was suggested to me recently by a marquee hire company and I think it’s an excellent and resourceful idea. Strips of old carpet rolled up and then squashed underneath the groundbars cuts out all but torrential rain from making its way in to the marquee.

Different styles of management on site with marquees

Different people have different styles of management, most (certainly in the marquee industry) fall in to one of two categories: Leading by example or leading by delegation.

Some will be proficient in both but most people naturally use one or the other and it is well worth learning both how your own management style works and those you work with to prevent conflict.

the commercial diy marquee range

Leading by example:

In a small group this is a good way of getting the job done. The person in charge sets the pace and does the work and everyone else is there as an assistant. This is how most people in small businesses work, if you’ve ever worked with a self-employed electrician, plumber or similar this is their only way of working.

  • With a small group of people this is often the fastest way of getting the job done
  • The quality of the work will always be high, after all it is the best person/most qualified that would be doing all of the work
  • Everyone has to work at the same pace as the leader which prevents people dragging their heels
  • This does place a lot of work/pressure on the leader who becomes irreplaceable
  • It’s difficult to scale up – a person can only work with so many assistants

Leading by delegation:

This is ideal for larger groups where tasks are delegated to different people. This is obviously how larger businesses work

  • The only way of working with large numbers of people
  • The quality of work can be more varied as you are relying on different peoples finishes
  • You can have different speeds of work which can breed resentment if one team is significantly slower than another

What does this mean in marquee hire? Whether it’s a DIY Party Tent or a Commercial DIY Marquee this can apply.

In my experience small groups are the most efficient way of working, within this small group should be a leader who leads by example (as above) otherwise it all becomes a bit aimless and drags on. The leader is the one who will set the pace, get the job done and maintain the standard.

On larger sites where you need more people the leader needs to be able to split the people and tasks in to smaller groups so they need to lead by delegation and have a leader by example in each smaller group.

Once the frame of a marquee is up you can split people up accordingly – some do the flooring, some do electrics, some could start another marquee if required. It is simply not efficient to have everyone doing the same job, if you have enough potential leaders working in 2’s and 3’s is by far the most effective and efficient way of working on site.

It is never a healthy thing having only one person capable of doing a certain job. If you run a small business and always work in a small group take the time to train those working with you as you work. It means your business will be easier to scale up (your assistant becomes a new leader) and less pressure on your shoulders.

Summer is here and the perfect time of the year to host a fabulous party, whether it’s a wedding, work function or a 21st party DIY Marquees for sale has a marquee for every occasion.

I came across some useful information on DIY Marquees site and thought it relevant to share one particular article as this is useful for any party you wish to host.

Tips for Daytime Party Marquees:

Furniture:

Unlike marquees furniture is often too expensive to buy so hiring is usually the best solution

For a formal atmosphere use larger round tables (5ft for seating 8/9, 5ft6in for seating 10)

Use a mixture of smaller tables to create an informal atmosphere.

You can get away with fitting more people in a marquee for a party than for a wedding, a wedding

Requires more space but you can squeeze people up a bit at parties.

A marquee can hold more people standing than seated (generally around 1.5 times the number seated)

but it’s  always worth having some seats in rows against the sides of a marquee even if you are

leaving the middle completely clear for standing (or using it as a dance floor area)

For formal seating remember an easel for table plans (or two for larger functions)

Furniture is often scattered around outside the marquee so a weatherproof chair option is popular

(white plastic bistro chairs for example)

Ideally have a marquee just large enough to house everyone (even if it very cramped) in case of

Sudden downpours.

Dance Floors:

Dance floors are only usually required at evening functions

Other:

With our DIY Party Tent if it is light outside it will be light inside so for a daytime only function

lighting is not usually required. In October to April you will need to heat the marquee have

the heating on for an hour before people arrive to ensure they walk in to a wall of warmth

In May to September you might need a heater just to take the chill off in the seating area later

in the evening, think of how your guests will arrive – a simple path of carpet with flower pots

makes an attractive and inviting entrance to the marquee.

You would normally allow one toilet per 40-60 guests. If you don’t have enough

available then consider hiring in a luxury toilet unit In general there is less drinking

and therefore you require less toilet facilities for daytime only parties.

the diy party tent range

As you may have noticed our website has changed, this is due to our expansion in to other ranges of marquees. We now have five ranges of marquees across 23 different sizes of marquee culminating in over 70 different marquees to choose from, we believe this means we have the largest range of marquees available for sale in the UK and hope to have the marquee to suit any requirement. We also now stock a heavy duty range of pop-ups and pagodas.

Our two new cheaper ranges probably won’t be of interest to you as a hire company – the party tent range including DIY Party Tentand Pop-Up DIY Marquee range uses PE fabric (only suitable for occasional domestic use) and our new Classic range is made using 500gsm PVC but without the features we believe are essential to hire companies – I wouldn’t recommend hiring out a 6m marquee without eave braces for example.

Our new Professional range should prove popular in the hire industry; it is based on our Commercial framework but with a heavier duty 650gsm PVC roof.

As always our new products and ranges come from feedback from customers (thank you) and our own experience. This is why we are one of the leading designers and suppliers of marquees in Europe. Which we’re quite chuffed about to be honest.

We always like to hear feedback regarding our marquees or website so if you have anything to add or any new product ideas please always send them along.

Are you thinking of starting your own marquee business? Have a read of some useful information which will help you to plan which marquees for sale and party tents for sale. slider3

 

Asking how big a marquee is required is one of your main jobs as a marquee supplier. Often the size of the garden will dictate the size of marquee but you still need to know how much space everything takes up to then plan suitable numbers.

Here’s how most marquee hire companies work out the space required in a marquee:

Round table seating up to 10 (usually 5ft or 5ft6in tables): Allow 3x3m -this includes space for walking between tables so for example a 6x12m area can fit eight 3x3m boxes so can fit eight round tables with space to walk between. Saying that it is more comfortable leaving one out to stagger the tables like this example.

Tradition long top table (usually three 6ft trestle tables but oval tables are similar): Allow 3x6m

Buffet (again usually three 6ft trestles): Allow 3x6m

Bar: Allow 3x3m for small functions, 3x6m in larger ones

DJ: 3x3m is usually fine

Band: 3x6m for a small band, larger bands you have to ask them (though be careful as they often want to take over half the marquee)

Dance Floor: A blog post in itself which will be written soon

Catering area: 3x6m or 6x4m for small functions, 6x6m for medium (80+ guests), 6x8m+ for larger functions (160+)

When planning layouts you also want to consider where people walk in to the marquee -ideally you don’t want guests walking straight in to a table so you may have to leave a gap. For marquees that are a bit tight consider having the entrance near the bar or dance floor to give some space.

Often you are asked to put marquees up over features like bushes, flower beds, small trees, water features or even swimming pools. This really adds character to a marquee so in my eyes should be encourages though as the marquee supplier it does make life a little harder and you should point out that it is not useable area. Often customers will need a larger marquee to allow for incorporating these features.

When planning the marquee remember which direction guests will be arriving from – you want it to look impressive. Windows make the marquee look more inviting – you don’t want guests believe that they are walking in to the back of the marquee. Also keep in mind access to the toilets, this may require an additional exit in the marquee.

Experiment with layouts using our interactive marquee planner, it allows you to drag furniture in to a marquee to experiment with capacities and layouts.