www.colourware.co.uk

The Showmans Show 2016 review

Our 3x4m Commercial Demi DIY Marquees are ideal for covering entrances to buildings or mobile toilet units. Our Commercial Demi range is far superior to the Classic Range with thicker 500gsm PVC The entrance height is 2m with a height of 2.6m on the tallest side. The marquee is modular meaning you can extend or reduce its size in 2m sections to suit your needs.

An excellent 4-season marquee (can be used year round though additional precautions should be taken in snow and extreme conditions) ideal for sustained use in the domestic market or marquee hire industry. We recommend the use of tie down kits unless you have your own method for anchoring the marquee down. As with all DIY Marquees should the unforeseen happen any replacement part is available to purchase separately and our experienced customer service staff are always available for any advice you may require.

This marquee is made up of one piece, not by connecting multiple marquees.

Our 3x4m Commercial Demi DIY Marquees feature:

• 500gsm Rip-stop Duracoretex PVC Roof cover
• 500gsm Rip-stop Duracoretex PVC Side Panels
• Unbranded
• Flame retardant to BS5438 & BS7837 for safety
• High frequency welded PVC joins for complete waterproofing
• Strong up to 38mm galvanised steel framework
• Roof braces at either end for added strength
• ‘simplex’ design (only 2 different length poles used throughout the marquee) for ease of erection
• Groundbars included
• 3m wide wall panels with zipped entrances at either end
• Individual window panels on both sides
• Wind-stop velcro sealed joins for all side panels
• 12 month warranty and full spares back up service for peace of mind
• Can be extended for future expansion

It’s nearly The Showman’s Show time again where we grab the slowest moving members of our staff and decamp down to the Newbury Showground for a few days.

We will be in our usual spot halfway down Avenue E on stand number 263 opposite the Arcotherm stand. Come out of the hall and turn right then first left for Avenue E.

For those unaware of The Showman’s Show it is the one trade show where all of the marquee hire industry have a presence. Any supplier serious about supplying the hire industry will have a stand and just about every existing or prospective marquee hirer will come to visit.

This is where you will see new innovations first and create contacts you may use for years.

The marquees we will be exhibiting at The Showman’s Show 2016

At this year’s showman’s show we will have on our stand:

Commercial marquees for sale

A 4x8m Commercial peaked roof marquee. The peaks add an attractive touch to what is one of the most durable and flexible 4m wide marquees in the industry. We are manufacturing an interior lining for half of the marquee so visitors can see the difference a lining makes.

A 3x4m Deluxe Demi Marquee and our new 3x4m Commercial Demi Marquee: We designed these marquees to butt up against buildings, they give a much larger entrance height and any water falls away from the building eliminating two of the largest issues marquee hire companies have when butting up against buildings. They have also proved popular as standalone market stalls. The popularity of our Deluxe model has encouraged us to produce a similar structure in the slightly lighter Commercial design. Compare for yourself at the show.

Marquee tents for sale

A 4x4m pop-up marquee: We only supply the heaviest duty pop-up models (58mm dia. legs), at the show we are including our unique interior lining, compatible with just about any make of pop-up.

A 2x4m Walkway: Our walkways arrive as 2x6m but are modular so can be put up as 2x2m, 2x4m or 2x6m. At the show we’ll be putting it up as 2x4m and again include our interior lining.

We can’t display all of our marquees at the show but by exhibiting the above we are displaying a reasonable selection and illustrating many of the unique structures and accessories we provide suitable for marquee hire companies.

The rain in Spain (and France) can be a pain

One of the joys of running DIY Marquees is I get to chat to people from geographical areas that I have no experience of. When I ran a marquee hire business the area we covered was as compact as we could make it (for obvious logistical reasons) so it’s great hearing about other people’s experiences especially if it’s something I can share to others on this blog.

It’s fair to say that France and other parts of Europe have had a bit of rain recently. Torrential rain is always a headache in the marquee industry, it’s a pain dealing with wet equipment and a party is always better in the sun than rain.

From a waterproofing point of view rain shouldn’t be an issue however the weakest point will always be a join -this is why nearly all DIY marquees use roofs that are all in one piece. Providing guttering has been fitted correctly and tested then it should cope with all but the most extremes of downfalls.

Something that has been highlighted in discussions with some customers in both France and Spain recently is what about the run off from other buildings? Whilst most houses in the UK have guttering that is often not the case in other parts of Europe or even on outbuildings or barns here in the UK.

If you are putting a marquee up against any building then it is always wise to look at what would happen if it rained – could the water run off the building? If so where will it go? Could it overload a guttering system (theirs or yours)? If you use roofs that come in sections (as I say, our main marquees don’t have this problem) then will this compromise the waterproof integrity of the join?

In relation to how often this situation may arise this is a minor issue, it is however something you as a professional marquee hirer should be aware of, it is much better to learn from our experience or those of our customers rather than make the same mistake yourself.

If in doubt then as always, take some photographs and email them to us – we’ll happily advise as best we can.

If you are wanting to view DIY Marquee’s range of marquee for sale look no further than the leading experts and their large range of party tents for sale

What size of marquee do I need?

When looking to buy a marquee the first thing to do is decide what size(s) of marquee you need, only then can you decide which range of marquee is most suitable for you.

There are several ways of calculating this:

Measure your garden. If space is limited your guest list may be restricted by the maximum size of marquee able to fit in the space.

If your garden is an awkward size then consider using more than one marquee connected together to cover the space. Multiple marquees can take a little more thought in planning a successful party but please contact us, we’re marquee specialists and are here to help.

If you need help in picturing the layout of a marquee then check out our interactive marquee planner and experiment with different layouts.

The following size guide shows the capacity (seated or standing) or each size of marquee. Size guides can vary greatly, this is due to the variety of ways a marquee can be used. For example a 6x12m marquee can seat 70-80 people at round tables but if you allow for buffet tables and/or a dance floor then the capacity is reduced.

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

Size of Party Tent/Marquee (width first) Capacity seated Capacity standing 3m x 2m 4-8 4-12 3m x 3m 6-10 7-15 3m x 4m 6-12 9-18 3m x 6m 12-20 15-30 3m x 8m 12-24 18-35 3m x 10m 15-30 20-45 3m x 12m 18-40 27-60 4m x 4m 8-15 10-22 4m x 6m 12-24 18-35 4m x 8m 12-30 18-45 4m x 10m 15-35 18-55 4m x 12m 20-48 25-70 6m x 4m 12-24 18-35 6m x 6m 15-40 20-60 6m x 8m 20-50 30-75 6m x 10m 30-65 40-100 6m x 12m 30-80 40-120 6m x 14m 30-100 60-140 6m x 16m 40-110 70-160 6m x 18m 40-120 70-180 6m x 20m 50-130 80-200 6m x 24m 60-160 80-240 9m x 12m 60-160 80-240

DIY MARQUEE feel so confident with the quality of their products they have written several interesting articles on how to care your pop-up marquee.

Have a look at this helpful article recently written

How often do marquees need cleaning?

It depends on the frequency a marquee is used, the environment it is erected in, the material in question and the weather conditions but in general marquee hire companies will lightly clean a marquee nearly every time it goes up but do a thorough ingrained clean maybe twice a year.

By lightly clean I mean wipe down any marks or mud that may have splattered on to the sides, this can be done when the marquee is erected on site. By ingrained clean I mean using a power washer, a floor scrubber or brush and strong marquee cleaner product or getting a professional marquee cleaning company in. Ingrained cleaning removes the grey film that builds up on marquees over time.

There are three categories of dirt on a Classic DIY Marquee:

• mud splatters or other marks on the covers. These can be removed by light cleaning
• grey film that builds up over time, to be removed by an ingrain clean
• dirt and residue from trees. If it rains when your marquee is under a tree a lot of dirt gets washed off leaves on to your marquee, there may even be some sap on there too. The dirtiest marquee I ever saw was one erected under a tree. These need ingrain cleaning immediately as they won’t be good enough to hire out and leaving sap on PVC would not be good.

Different marquee materials, different cleaning methods:

• Canvas cannot be cleaned without removing it’s FR coating
• PVC can be cleaned as above; good quality PVC (like ours) will have a laminate coating to make it easier to clean.
• Clear PVC (window panels) must be cleaned very carefully so the clear material isn’t scratched.
• Poly/PVC you have to be careful as the PVC coating is a single layer than can be scratched off with aggressive cleaning.
• PE material can be cleaned similar to PVC though doesn’t have a laminate coating so will not come back as new.

The most important point of all – never put your marquee away when wet. A wet stored marquee will create mildew (PVC & PE) or may rot (canvas & the stitching in any stitched marquee).

Speak to DIY Marquee for further information on their stunning range of pop up party tents for sale

Recently came across the most helpful site when looking to buy a commercial marquee, considering it’s a commitment deciding to go in the marquee business I decided to ‘snoop’ around DIY Marquees website to get an idea of the ethos and reliability of the company. DIY marquees has an excellent reputation in the industry, however, I was intent on doing my own research.

The first thing I noticed going on the blog posts is the transparent way in which each post is written thus showing that the owners of the business are open, honest, passionate and willing to go the extra mile to ensure their customers have all the knowledge they need thus making a success of their business.

I came across this special post that I wanted to share as this sheds light on the history of the company.

The first marquees sold by C & D King Ltd

DIY Marquees is part of C & D King Ltd, a company that has been manufacturing for over 30 years. Originally the manufacturing of clothing was bigger than marquees but over the years the balance has reversed.

Over Xmas I found some photographs from the early years.

This is c 1983 and we think the first marquee built by us. A lot of work for a 3x6m!

This is c 1984. The marquee in the background is likely to have been the 3rd or 4th one we built/sold (a bit different to the thousands we have sold since!).

Circled top left is Mary who had just joined after leaving school. Mary is now head of production and responsible for much of the smooth running of the company. Bottom right is lil’ ol me. Also featured are my brother, mother & grandparents. Quite the family company!

So if you are thinking of buying a heavy duty marquee look no further than the experts in heavy duty marquees for sale.

Spencer King owner of DIY Marquees share  some interesting ideas, news and advice on  his blog, he has been passionate about  Marquees for many years and with all the  experience he has had with starting his own  business he is very happy sharing his  knowledge and expertise especially with  passionate individuals wanting to start their  own business.

Whether its marquee lighting or whether you need advice on buy party tent Spencer is you man.

Spencer has thanked everyone for visiting their  stand at this year’s Showmans Show.

Showmans Show 2015 – review

“Thank you to everyone who came and visited our stand at The Showmans Show 2015. I grew up on stands at various outdoor shows and as I’ve said previously The Showmans Show is so much better organised and so much more exhibitor-friendly than any other show we have exhibited at it is a joy to be a part of.

The atmosphere among the marquee hire trade in general is so much more positive and upbeat than just a few years ago.

Our newly designed demi-marquees seemed to go down very well, they are based on a concept we developed years ago but it’s nice to at last produce a more polished model. The deluxe version will be available early 2016 with a commercial model to follow.

The best part of the show is meeting people. Whether it’s meeting new start-ups with the energy they bring or existing customers that we have dealt with for years. There are also a number of past customers who pop in having moved on to the bigger machinery-erected structures that intimidate and impress me in equal measure!

Thanks for visiting us, I hope to see you at next year’s show.

Spencer “

Read this excellent blog on Selling used marquees by a man called Ben Dawson who has written a really interesting blog post on Linkedin: Selling used equipment – marquees especially

‘For those who don’t know Ben he’s the man who set up curlew.co.uk which is simply the place to sell second hand marquees or associated equipment. He’s a very, very knowledgeable person on marquees and I can only agree with all the points he makes’.

How much is a second hand marquee worth?

I’m often asked how much a marquee is worth.

The simple answer is as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

There are many factors that you should consider; here are a few…

Who made the marquee

There are a few factors that I’ve got to take into account.

1) Unknown manufacturer (The customer has no way of knowing the quality of the marquee frame or covers)
2) They will not be compatible with existing stock (Roder, Tectonics and Custom Covers).
3) I don’t know how much they cost new so may assume they are cheaper that they really are.

Imagine you were buying a car, which would you buy… a BMW, or a car made by Guangzhou Automobile group (China). There is no question. They may or may not be of equal quality, however, I know which one I would buy.

Again using the analogy of used cars a second-hand 10 year old Ford keeps more of its value than a BMW. Possibly because there are more cheap spare parts for a Ford or more people want a cheap run-around than a big old gas guzzling luxury car.

Still, considering buying cars, people will pay much more for a car from a main dealer than a back street garage. And again less if the car is sold privately.

Profile Size

The same width of marquee can be made with different sizes of profile.

It makes sense to have one profile for different number of widths of marquee. This means that for example you can have a 12m marquee on a small profile that is one third of the weight of the heavy profile.

Generally heavy profiles are more expensive to buy new and you receive less money when you sell them second hand.

This is because the heavy profile requires more material to make however is less attractive to a smaller marquee company who generally prefer marquees that are easier and quicker to put up. As well as much easer to transport.

Condition is King!

As an item gets older apparent age is more important that it’s actual age, for example if something is 10 years old and looks new then it will be worth more than a new marquee that looks 10 years old!

This also applies to how you present your marquee for sale. If the photos look like they are from a wedding magazine your marquee is worth much more than if you can’t be bothered to stack the marquee neatly and it looks like you are looking at scrap parts.

Timing

The price should be based on the price you can buy the equipment NOW not the price you bought it for.

So if prices rise or fall with inflation or exchange rates so do second hand prices.

There is more demand leading up to the summer season than just before Christmas!

However it’s just after Christmas when I get the most people looking at the website. However many of them take time to get into the buying mood. I have always said customers have to smell the chocolate of Easter eggs before they buy marquees. However Marquees do sell all year round. And if your marquee is not on the site customers can’t buy it.

Service

In my experience the marquees that sell quickly are the ones where the vendor offers just a little bit more….

For example

• Help with delivery
• It will be cleaned before we sell it to you
• Advice on using the marquee
• Training in the correct erection of the marquee
• Complete installation
• Ongoing support running the business
• Offer to take back the marquee if they are not happy with it

The last item on this list may seem extreme. However customers are averse to taking risks, often you will not be able to see the condition of the marquee until you have bought it.

When I was selling marquees I used to give this following offer. “If you don’t like the marquee when you put it up for the first time, just give it back in the same condition that you bought it in and I will give you a full refund, less the price of a hire” In 15 years of selling marquees I never had one come back (however all my marques were in as described condition)

Depreciation

I have made the following table.

This assumes you lose 25% of a marquees value as soon as you have bought it. Then 10% per year….

Some sizes of marquees hold their value better than others i.e. 9M wide marquees hold their value better than 3m x 3m marquees.

The age something looks is more important than it’s actual age. (if your kit is 2 years old but looks 10 it’s only worth 26% of it’s original value!)

Conversely – If your marquee is 15 years old, and you have looked after it and it still in a 4 year old condition, then it’s still worth 50% of what you bought it for!

Depreciation table –		-25.00%	Then	-10% per year
Price	100	£1,000	£2,000	£3,000	£4,000	£5,000	£6,000	£7,000	£8,000	£9,000	£10,000
Years
0	75	£750	£1,500	£2,250	£3,000	£3,750	£4,500	£5,250	£6,000	£6,750	£7,500
1	68	£675	£1,350	£2,025	£2,700	£3,375	£4,050	£4,725	£5,400	£6,075	£6,750
2	61	£608	£1,215	£1,823	£2,430	£3,038	£3,645	£4,253	£4,860	£5,468	£6,075
3	55	£547	£1,094	£1,640	£2,187	£2,734	£3,281	£3,827	£4,374	£4,921	£5,468
4	49	£492	£984	£1,476	£1,968	£2,460	£2,952	£3,445	£3,937	£4,429	£4,921
5	44	£443	£886	£1,329	£1,771	£2,214	£2,657	£3,100	£3,543	£3,986	£4,429
6	40	£399	£797	£1,196	£1,594	£1,993	£2,391	£2,790	£3,189	£3,587	£3,986
7	36	£359	£717	£1,076	£1,435	£1,794	£2,152	£2,511	£2,870	£3,229	£3,587
8	32	£323	£646	£969	£1,291	£1,614	£1,937	£2,260	£2,583	£2,906	£3,229
9	29	£291	£581	£872	£1,162	£1,453	£1,743	£2,034	£2,325	£2,615	£2,906
10	26	£262	£523	£785	£1,046	£1,308	£1,569	£1,831	£2,092	£2,354	£2,615

Spencer and his team would like to wish all their customers a very happy holiday this festive season and looking forward to doing business with you in 2016!

Contact Spencer by clicking here Pop up Marquees

THE SHOWMAN’S SHOW 2015

DIY Marquees specialise in selling marquees, marquee Lighting and party tents and just had notification that we will be on stand 262 Avenue Eat this year’s Showmans Show. Come out of the entrance marquee, turn right and then first left – we’re halfway up on the right as usual and opposite the excellent Arcotherm (well worth a visit for marquee heaters). Please do pop in and say hello, we’ll be launching our new range of demi-marquees as well as exhibiting our always popular walkways and other marquees including Pop up Marquees.

The marquee hire business I built up got to a sufficient size that I could not be on site for every job. We would be running several teams of erectors with me and another site foreman running between each site. I turned up one afternoon to find a team nearly finished. The marquees were up, the flooring and linings were fitted and they were just setting up the furniture.

The quality of finish was excellent. They proudly stated the only thing left was the walkway to the house “and they’re easy”. Walkways are easy to erect, indeed our current model of walkway is the easiest one we’ve ever designed. They are not easy to erect if you don’t leave enough space for it – as this team had done!

The lesson to learn from this is when connecting marquees to houses always always start building from the house outwards. Build the walkway (or one of our demi-marquees, details coming soon) first and then butt the main marquee(s) up to it. That way you know you’ve allowed enough space or know you’ve got to do some adapting to make fit before you get too far in to the build. As for the job in question it was solved using a hacksaw and PVC welding to still give an excellent job but it turned an early-finish day in to a late night one for everyone.

Do you need help with buy party tents? Are you looking to buy marquee party tent that’s durable, affordable and safe? Speak to the experts in marquee sales for their professional advice. They will advise you on the best party tents to buy.

The term party tents generally refers to structures that are lighter weight than average marquees. Party tents are made using PE material in weights of 90gsm (grams per square metre) in the basic models up to 240gsm in the heavy duty party tents. There is a similar range of different quality framework ranging from 20mm pipework in lightweight models up to heavy duty 38mm steel pipe in heavy duty party tents.

If you’re looking for a good quality party tent marquee then look no further than DIY Marquees – we offer a wide variety of different models starting at our light weight and easy to erect party tent range up to our commercial marquees designed for the marquee hire industry. Whatever your requirements we have the party tent marquee for you.

The following table shows the available sizes in our Classic range of marquees. Size guides can vary greatly, this is due to the variety of ways a marquee can be used. For example a 6x12m marquee can seat 70-80 people at round tables but if you allow for buffet tables and/or a dance floor then the capacity is reduced.

Size of Marquee (width first)	Capacity seated	Capacity standing
3x2m DIY Party Tent	4-8	4-12
3x4m DIY Party Tent	6-12	9-18
3x6m DIY Party Tent	12-20	15-30
3x8m DIY Party Tent	12-24	18-35
3x10m DIY Party Tent	15-30	20-45
3x12m DIY Party Tent	18-40	27-60
4x4m DIY Party Tent	8-15	10-22
4x6m DIY Party Tent	12-24	18-35
4x8m DIY Party Tent	12-30	18-45
4x10m DIY Party Tent	15-35	18-55
4x12m DIY Party Tent	20-48	25-70
6x6m DIY Party Tent	15-40	20-60
6x12m DIY Party Tent	30-80	40-120

We love DIY Marquees blog posts, they are not only informative but make an interesting read from the experts who have been in the industry for many years; having tried and tested every area of marquee for sale business.

I found these interesting articles especially for those that would like to set up their own small marquees for sale business.

Why are most marquee linings ivory?

In the UK marquee industry now just about all professional marquee linings are ivory, this has come about from years of experience and customer feedback not just from us but from all lining manufacturers in the country.

From a customer’s point of view ivory just adds a touch of class to the marquee, if you have two lined marquees side by side one with white and one ivory customers choose ivory every single time – whether they go for flat/shaped, pleated or ruched is personal opinion and another matter altogether!

From a hirers point of view ivory is much lower maintenance than white, marks and creases show up far more on white than ivory. It also ages better than white – we used to have 10 year old ivory linings right next to brand new ones without any issue. Try putting  a 10 year old white t-shirt next to a brand new one and see the difference!

The only down side to ivory used to be there were many many different shades of it from different material suppliers in the marquee lining industry, fortunately in the last 10 years or so everyone has settled on a similar shade generally referred to as mid-ivory.

That’s why 99% of professional marquee linings are ivory now.

Especially for marquee companies for sale

Check list for completed marquees

Its good practice when you’ve finished a marquee (and before the event) to have a check list, one copy for the customer and one for you.

What goes on a check list is entirely up to you but here’s some suggestions:

• Sign to say that they are happy with the marquee. It won’t cover you completely, they may find something and call you back but it does help to have a paper trail should anyone try to take action against you after the event (I’ve never heard of this happening but it’s simply good practice).
• Sign to say that all furniture is there (by sign I mean one signature for everything)
• Sign to agree to take responsibility for all of the equipment (unless you have separate insurance/damage waiver).
• Sign to say they have been shown how to use any marquee heating and/or lighting.
• A note to say where any equipment can be plugged in (and not to plug in anywhere else)
• A note asking for any decorations around the marquee not to be attached using staples or non-removable tape.
• A note mentioning no metalwork should be removed and side panels only removed if good weather.
• A note asking for pets (dogs) not to be allowed in to the marquee. There were a couple of occasions I can remember finding presents from the family dog, they were not pleasant experiences!

It’s also good practice to have the emergency contact number on the bottom.

Note this is a check list for the customer (they have a copy, you have a copy) which may be separate from your own erectors check-list, something the team leader might fill in ensuring everything meets the required standards. Flooring is well fixed down, all straps are done on the outside of the marquee, no lighting or heating could come in to contact with PVC/lining, furniture all laid out, dance floor laid flat etc etc.

For those who are starting out this may all understandably be a bit of overkill. If you’re in charge and just putting a 6x6m shell of a marquee then that’s fine. The above should always be the aspiration though, as you get bigger, as your equipment becomes more diverse, the jobs become bigger and when more of the responsibility is delegated to others having check lists is simply good practice.

Some see setting up a marquee hire business as very easy. Others see setting up any business as a potential headache. At DIY Marquees we work very hard helping people set up marquee hire companies by taking a lot of the stress and worry out but promoting good practices so they can thrive in the long term.