Excerpt From Chapter Three: Facility Placement
Facilities are anything which need to occupy space at the site. This is very important because you and everyone else will have to live with the placement of all the facilities. You will need to know the size of the tents you are using, and the dimensions of the trailers before you can adequately plan.
Assume that all tents will have some kind of wood flooring unless the event is perpetual and you can have asphalt pads laid. The flooring can be of two types: either level flooring or contour which follows the elevation of the ground. If the slope is too severe, don’t skimp, go with level flooring. It may cost a bit more, but it is much better in the long run. You don’t want your guests sitting on a tilted floor; it tends to spill drinks.
This is an example of the construction of level flooring. Notice the scaffolding on the left of the picture and the 4”x6”beams on top of the scaffolding. Plywood will be screwed to the beams and carpet installed on top of the plywood, as shown below.
The same holds true for decking. Walkways may be able to use contour flooring as you are really only concerned about wet ground but again if the ground is too hilly go with level flooring. Wherever you have flooring, you will want to put a covering on top of the wood. Bare wood is not the image you are trying to achieve. People have paid a lot of money for their experience and bare wood flooring will cheapen the look. Astro turf or carpet are the norm. Don’t forget to add this to the budget.
The placement of the corporate tents is first and foremost, due to the revenue produced.
Hopefully, you know the size each tent needs to be to maximize potential. The marketing team should have conducted this research. That being said, you need to leave some room between the tents for heating and air conditioning condensers if air or heat is going to be used. Make sure trees don’t come too close to the tents otherwise the tent company will have a problem raising the tents. On occasion I have had to find the personnel to trim branches. Otherwise, the tent could not be raised.
This is an example of building around trees. This flooring system is call “biljax”. “Biljax” floors are 4’x4’ square metal frames with plywood inserts that interlock together supported by metal columns which can be adjusted to the correct height. This system is installed faster than the scaffolding and beams but can only be used to six feet above ground. After six feet, it is recommended the scaffolding system be used.
