Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Roy Curet]

I’m looking for some portable staging for a local nonprofit. I need enough to make a stage about 10’ by 24’. Segments should fold and have wheels for ease of storage.

Can you recommend a specific brand? The budget is next to nothing so used is good.

[Scott Holtzman]

I’m looking for some portable staging for a local nonprofit. I need enough to make a stage about 10’ by 24’. Segments should fold and have wheels for ease of storage.

Can you recommend a specific brand? The budget is next to nothing so used is good.

I make zillions of dollars with my Wegner staging.  Literally they are out all the time.  With that in mind rough condition decks are still $300 each and you have to ship them.  They require maintenance. 

How often will you need them?

Intellistage is crap, don't waste your money.

[Mark Cadwallader]

"Portable stage" and "budget next to nothing" are not two phrases typically found in the same sentence.  School district surplus sales are worth watching. You might find a party rental company that could maybe help you out finding used staging. 4' x 8' panels are the most common size. A 12' x 24' stage means 9 sections. Don't forget you will need at least one (more likely two) sets of steps or stairs.  Wenger is top of the line quality; National Seating markets to schools.

How tall do you need your stage to be?  What is the intended use?  Instead of wheels, consider getting/building a steel cart to load the panels onto, and strap them down to the cart.

[Cailen Waddell]

"Portable stage" and "budget next to nothing" are not two phrases typically found in the same sentence.  School district surplus sales are worth watching. You might find a party rental company that could maybe help you out finding used staging. 4' x 8' panels are the most common size. A 12' x 24' stage means 9 sections. Don't forget you will need at least one (more likely two) sets of steps or stairs.  Wegner is top of the line quality; National Seating markets to schools.

How tall do you need your stage to be?  What is the intended use?  Instead of wheels, consider getting/building a steel cart to load the panels onto, and strap them down to the cart.

Also worth noting that depending on venue and function you may be required to have an ADA accessible ramp for your stage as well...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mike Monte]

I’m looking for some portable staging for a local nonprofit. I need enough to make a stage about 10’ by 24’. Segments should fold and have wheels for ease of storage.

Can you recommend a specific brand? The budget is next to nothing so used is good.

Is the staging for a "one-off" (single event), or does the non-profit want to own a stage??

[Scott Hofmann]

I've heard of Wenger staging but not Wegner. Is this a new brand?

[Roy Curet]

Thanks for the replies. I know there is a disconnect between the hopes and the resources. They are looking for staging that can be moved within the venue (Senior Center) as needed or stored out of the way when not in use.

Does anyone know of any sites besides ebay that list such things? i haven't found a good one yet.

[Tim McCulloch]

Thanks for the replies. I know there is a disconnect between the hopes and the resources. They are looking for staging that can be moved within the venue (Senior Center) as needed or stored out of the way when not in use.

Does anyone know of any sites besides ebay that list such things? i haven't found a good one yet.

We got out of the staging biz because of liability insurance costs that went sky-high after a high profile incident we were not involved with....

Used staging will tend to be in lousy condition unless you happen to find a school or municipal government selling off surplus inventory.  Staging is a product that, in commercial use, is used until it falls apart.

See what the Senior Center's insurance company thinks of used stages with unknown history.

[Robert Piascik]

Used staging will tend to be in lousy condition unless you happen to find a school or municipal government selling off surplus inventory.  Staging is a product that, in commercial use, is used until it falls apart.

^^^  this  ^^^

I have portable staging (StageRight) and done right it is safe. It consists of decks and understructures and I am convinced is better and more stable than the rickety fold and roll units I see at most hotels and schools (especially after years of use). Either way units are not easy to move or set up and require multiple people to do so. If it is sturdy enough to support 125 lbs/sq ft it is going to be heavy duty and difficult to move easily. There are no magic websites for cheap used staging that I am aware of.

[Mal Brown]

I own a 24 x 12 Stageriht setup.  Wish I didn’t...  it works great but I have trouble keeping that crew separate from Audio and boosting 125lb stage decks around is something most foh.mon.stage manager kinds of folks despise doing...  not enough revenue for me to justify it.
Good stuff, just wrong in my biz model...

[Tim McCulloch]

I own a 24 x 12 Stageriht setup.  Wish I didn’t...  it works great but I have trouble keeping that crew separate from Audio and boosting 125lb stage decks around is something most foh.mon.stage manager kinds of folks despise doing...  not enough revenue for me to justify it.
Good stuff, just wrong in my biz model...

Stages and roofs are something your crew needs to have some passion for, like your sound guys do for their craft.  Lack of such personnel was the other reason we got out of staging.

You can make a bunch of $$ with stages but you have to do them right, with a crew who cares about even edges and level surfaces, and skirting, risers, and tents for sound wings & FOH when outdoors.  Most sound/lighting guys don't want to deal with that.

[Dave Garoutte]

My stage goes out more than my PA.

[Steven Cohen]

Roy,

We have switched to Wenger StageTek staging. They have a few nice features. First, different size legs can be purchased. Second, they are light weight. Here is a YouTube video that shows the product,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxMeaOJJjXQ

I’m looking for some portable staging for a local nonprofit. I need enough to make a stage about 10’ by 24’. Segments should fold and have wheels for ease of storage.

Can you recommend a specific brand? The budget is next to nothing so used is good.

[Mike Monte]

My stage goes out more than my PA.

I am clueless, but curious...  How much does it cost to rent a stage?  I am on the "providing the sound/lights" end of production....which is enough to think about:)
For instance:
site is within a 20 minute drive from your shop (in town)
1 day rental
concert in park venue
set up by 10:00am
strike after 5:00pm
2' rise
24'x16'
no railings needed on stage
1 stair unit w/railing
truck/transport can drive up to the staging area

What does the above go for??

[Art Welter]

I am clueless, but curious...  How much does it cost to rent a stage?  I am on the "providing the sound/lights" end of production....which is enough to think about:)
For instance:
site is within a 20 minute drive from your shop (in town)
1 day rental
concert in park venue
set up by 10:00am
strike after 5:00pm
2' rise
24'x16'
no railings needed on stage
1 stair unit w/railing
truck/transport can drive up to the staging area

What does the above go for??

There could be about a factor of ten difference depending on many factors: Location, (of the town) Location, (of the park) Location (of the state, IATSE/right to work jurisdiction).
The three "L"s are a start, then the age, condition, appearance and quality of the equipment, and weather, and grounds (level pavement, soft grass, uneven dirt...).

[Tim McCulloch]

There could be about a factor of ten difference depending on many factors: Location, (of the town) Location, (of the park) Location (of the state, IATSE/right to work jurisdiction).
The three "L"s are a start, then the age, condition, appearance and quality of the equipment, and weather, and grounds (level pavement, soft grass, uneven dirt...).

Years ago I used to quote $10/s.f./day off the top of my head.  If that didn't make prospects soil their garments, we'd talk...

And it was more for building stages and platforms over ravines, storm water discharges and some other interesting locations clients found it absolutely necessary to have a stage.

Mike, I sent you a PM.

[Justin Perrachon]

I am clueless, but curious...  How much does it cost to rent a stage?  I am on the "providing the sound/lights" end of production....which is enough to think about:)
For instance:
site is within a 20 minute drive from your shop (in town)
1 day rental
concert in park venue
set up by 10:00am
strike after 5:00pm
2' rise
24'x16'
no railings needed on stage
1 stair unit w/railing
truck/transport can drive up to the staging area

What does the above go for??

Locally it seems vendors charge $55 for a 8x4 Wenger versalite on the low side. Add skirt, stairs, delivery and you're probably looking at $875+

Add a couple hundred more to cover fees for specific delivery time and pick up after business hours.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Robert Piascik]

For instance:
site is within a 20 minute drive from your shop (in town)
1 day rental
concert in park venue
set up by 10:00am
strike after 5:00pm
2' rise
24'x16'
no railings needed on stage
1 stair unit w/railing
truck/transport can drive up to the staging area

What does the above go for??

I charge $65/deck, includes delivery and pick up, so the above would be $780. I am significantly cheaper than the big local production companies. I can set that up with one helper that costs me ~$80 (for the in and the out). I might try to upsell you on a 2 deck drum riser.
I own 26 decks and if I need more I can cross rent them for ~$52 each, I’m happy to about break even on rental decks if I’m renting all of my decks (within reason). I have equipped my trailers to transport decks easily.
I started out doing sound and lights only, with only the occasional call for a stage (not enough to justify buying). When I got a 12 concert series in 2003 I took the plunge and bought 12 decks. Over the years I’ve added other used decks I bought from other companies liquidating. They don’t match but come in handy as drum risers or wings or FOH platforms. It has paid for itself many times over but like Tim mentioned, you have to want to do it and do it right.

[Scott Holtzman]

I charge $65/deck, includes delivery and pick up, so the above would be $780. I am significantly cheaper than the big local production companies. I can set that up with one helper that costs me ~$80 (for the in and the out). I might try to upsell you on a 2 deck drum riser.
I own 26 decks and if I need more I can cross rent them for ~$52 each, I’m happy to about break even on rental decks if I’m renting all of my decks (within reason). I have equipped my trailers to transport decks easily.
I started out doing sound and lights only, with only the occasional call for a stage (not enough to justify buying). When I got a 12 concert series in 2003 I took the plunge and bought 12 decks. Over the years I’ve added other used decks I bought from other companies liquidating. They don’t match but come in handy as drum risers or wings or FOH platforms. It has paid for itself many times over but like Tim mentioned, you have to want to do it and do it right.

Same hear in Cleveland.  We meticulously rebuilt our Wenger stage decks,  keep extra legs and other parts handy.  My guys like the extra money for the in/out,  we have three cases of precut sills and c-clamps. 

With a package the stage (20x14) can be as low as $600 extra.  If the truck is rolling generators  uprights,  extra lights,  pipe and drape, stage set pieces all increase revenue by better utilization of existing crew and infrastructure. 

We don't have a lot but enough to do risers, wings and FOH.  I have 8x4 and 6x4.  Next step will be Stageright and a variety of Z braces in different heights.  We work with another production company that has extensive inventory.  We have rented 2k stages from them.  They use is as excess capacity and trust us to do shows in their shirts.

The stage opened these kind of doors.  In 2 years we have quadrupuled average revenue per event.



Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

[John L Nobile]

Staging keeps our porter staff very busy at the resort. We have 32 decks of KAD Ultrastages with 3-5 and 2-4 foot xframes. We also have a whack of older Wenger staging. It's constantly in use and we have to rent another 30 KAD decks in the spring for dance competitions.

I'm so glad I don't have to setup staging anymore. A 60x 40' stage is a lot of heavy work.

[gordonmcgregor]

We have abot 40 stage decks and they go out a lot, we also have 3 trailer stages which have done well this year, both on their own and as a package with sound and lights

[James Feenstra]

My KAD stage decks (ultra/smart stage) are my most rented item.

That being said, they also take up the most space, but in under a year the decks I bought paid for themselves so they’re well worth having.

Decks rent cheap in town though, anywhere from 30-65/deck/day, with the pieces to put it all together generally included.

[Jason Joseph]

Good info thanks guys..

[ProSoundWeb Community]