01 May 19 - Setting up bouncy castles outdoors on hard surfaces

Setting up bouncy castles out doors on hard standing ground is a question we at 1st Choice Bouncy Castle Hire get asked all the time, sadly some customers feel we are only trying to be awkward when we explain why we cant do this. There are certain rules and laws regarding the set up of inflatables on hard surfaces such as concrete, block paving, tarmac ect ect.

I will try to give as much information in this article as possible regarding this issue and hopefully it will help clear a few things ups for customers who don't quite understand why we don't take these sort of bookings.

What Doesn't Help ?

What makes it difficult for some customers to understand and also makes it hard for us when trying to give our reasons why this isn't safe, is the fact that some companies will still take on these sort of jobs using sand bags to weight down the inflatable knowing for well they will void any insurance they may or may not have and worst still they are willing to put other people at risk in the process. Making money at any cost is not something 1st choice bouncy castle hire will either do.

Why cant we set up on hard standing ?

Any inflatable or bouncy castle been set up outdoors on hard surfaces has to be safely anchored to the ground, most standard bouncy castles have 6 anchor points but some bigger inflatables have as many as 20 and some even more. Most customers think we only so no to these sort of jobs because of not wanting our bouncy castles getting damaged on the hard surface, I can assure you this isn't the case.

When can inflatables be set up on hard surfaces outdoors ?

Sometimes there is a way around this issue that been to bolt the inflatable to the ground using thunder bolts, but still there are many obstacles not to be over looked before making this decision. Thunder bolts can not be used on slabs or block pavers and can be used on solid concrete areas.

This requires drilling into the concrete using a large drill and drill bit, then after the holes have been pre drilled the inflatable is secured to the ground via the use of a thunder bolt and metal plate on each anchor point. Companies that offer this service will charge an added fee usually around £25 - £30 per castle.

Do 1st Choice offer a bolting service for hard standing ?

We have never offered this service and more then likely never will, even if the thunder bolts are instilled correctly they are only as strong as the concrete they are drilled into, when drilling into concrete you only see what's on the surface and not how deep or how well the concrete has been laid.

Summary

Please don't get offended when we explain why 1st choice cant set up bouncy castles on hard standing surfaces, customers safety is more important to us then trying to win more bookings for extra money especially when this is against all insurance policy's and essentially against the law. Unless like I have mention above all inflatables are bolted to the ground.

We have successfully supplied 1000s of inflatables to customers in Walsall, Dudley, Cannock, Sutton Coldfield, Wolverhampton & Surrounding areas.

Although we try our upmost to help customers anyway we can, and we understand some of you may have already pre arranged your parties or events not knowing the above information, we will always put customers safety over everything no matter the cost. Its far more of a cost if someone had been hurt by us not following these rules.


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