FAQ

WHAT IS A STRETCH TENT?

A stretch tent is a shapeable canopy. They are enchanting structures. Check out the gallery!

DOES IT HAVE WALLS?

It can have walls and we do stock them, but the reality is that they are rarely used. Heating is a better use of your money than the comparable cost of walls. If the weather is inclement and additional protection is needed, we can install them.

WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM SPACIAL DIMENSIONS YOU WILL NEED?

As an absolute minimum we will need 11 x 10.5m of uninterrupted space with centrally placed obstacles (fountains, bushes, etc.) of no more than 1.5m tall.

WHAT PITCH SURFACES CAN IT BE ERECTED ON?

Our stretch tents are designed to be erected primarily on grass fields and therefore this option is far more economical. Concrete ballast can be used in other areas for a starting price of £2,000. Concrete ballast blocks will need to be delivered by a full sized lorry at a drop off point no further than 30m away from the set-up area. The run between drop off to set-up locations should be adequately paved or the ballast will sink into the ground during transit. Set-up times are also likely to be more protracted.

CAN WE INCLUDE OBSTACLES INSIDE THE TENT?

Certain obstacles such as fountains, bushes or small trees can sometimes fit underneath the tent. Usually anything over 1.5m is likely to be heavily draped by the fabric at some point during the installation and this may damage the obstacle or our equipment.

CAN WE HEAT IT?

Stretch Tents can be heated but it is not very energy efficient for obvious reasons! We only install tents during the months of June to September and heating is rarely needed. We normally use indirect space heaters that blow a lot of hot air in to increase the overall ambient temperature. The heaters work well, but in some cases walls will have to be installed in order to make them more efficient.

CAN WE ATTACH IT TO BUILDINGS?

Stretch Tents can be attached to buildings and this can be an interesting way of extending space. However, a stretch tent is a tensile structure and the force exerted through its anchorage should not be underestimated. Therefore, attaching a stretch tent to a building is a potentially dangerous undertaking that should only be carried out after careful assessment and with absolute certainty. In cases where any doubt at all exists, a surveyor must be appointed. 

This approach should be expected to be complicated, expensive and potentially dangerous. This is clearly and quite rightly off-putting for most and it is something we generally avoid.

FIREPITS

Who doesn’t like a fire at a party as a retreat for guests escaping the music? It is a sad reality that falling ash from fires inevitably tarnishes and destroys stretch tents. The ash from a single bonfire at an event will sink into the fabric creating millions of indelible black marks that will reduce a perfect, spotless tent to an unusable, sooty mess. As such, fires are permitted only so long as they are located at least 50m away from the tent in an area where the wind is not expected to blow the ash over to the tent. Additionally, they should be fuelled using kiln dried hardwood exclusively. We can work out possible bonfire options on the site visit.

ALL CONFIGURATIONS AND METHODS

If it can be made with a stretch tent, we can make it. There are no known stretch tent shapes that we cannot make so let us know and we can work it out.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO INSTALL IT?

We would like to get there as early as possible so we can finish earlier but this is not always possible or convenient, depending on the event. Generally speaking, we are normally packing up by about 3-4pm. 

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO TAKE IT DOWN?

We are normally packed up and ready to leave by about 12-1pm.

COLOURED POLES?

We can provide any colour of poles that you would like. Its not a frequent request but let us know and it can be done!