Print

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

[Lyle Williams]

How much ballast should be used for securing a 10'x10' pop-up shade tent?

40lbs per leg = 160lbs, based on what the vendor sells (sandbags that hold up to 40lbs)

 -or-

250lbs per leg = 1000lbs, based on the 10lbs/sqft guide for temporary structures?

-or-

Something else?  Currently using 65lbs per leg.

[frank kayser]

How much ballast should be used for securing a 10'x10' pop-up shade tent?

40lbs per leg = 160lbs, based on what the vendor sells (sandbags that hold up to 40lbs)

 -or-

250lbs per leg = 1000lbs, based on the 10lbs/sqft guide for temporary structures?

-or-

Something else?  Currently using 65lbs per leg.

A lot depends on the wind.
10-15mph creates a lot of lift.

[Lyle Williams]

1000lbs is a lot of concrete to drag around for a structure that is (unfortunately) commonly unteathered...

[Bob Faulkner]

How much ballast should be used for securing a 10'x10' pop-up shade tent?

40lbs per leg = 160lbs, based on what the vendor sells (sandbags that hold up to 40lbs)

 -or-

250lbs per leg = 1000lbs, based on the 10lbs/sqft guide for temporary structures?

-or-

Something else?  Currently using 65lbs per leg.

The 65lb per leg should be more than adequate for most (no all) wind issues.  In my experience, to get full benefit of added weight to a tent, the weight needs to be tethered from the top of each tent leg... not resting on the ground next to the leg.  We use 50lb cylinder sand bags, no issues.

[Bob Stone]

I'd assume you're not on grass where you can anchor into the ground?

There's a point of diminishing returns too, eventually the structure can't cope with the wind and just tacos itself anyway.

[scottstephens]

Lyle,

 I stole this idea from a friend.  Go to your local big box home improvement store and get 1 gallon buckets and a bag of Quick Crete. Also get some ratchet straps and put in the buckets with the hook side out. Pour in concrete and let dry. That gives you 20lbs per leg and takes up almost no room. If you need more than that, use straps and anchors or cancel the gig. Because high winds mean major damage and law suits!!!

Scott

[Luke Geis]

I just throw a 25lb sandbag on top of the tent on each corner. The tent cover sags allowing the sandbag to seat against the frame locking it in place. Not as pretty, but much faster and I already have dozens of sandbags on the job anyway. Also, no straps to snag on and nothing on the ground to trip over.

[Kevin Maxwell]

We use an EZ-UP tent for shows we do outside (at the beach) in the summertime here in CT. This is for shade so I can see the displays and the buttons on the digital console. And so I don’t get cooked by the sun. A lot of the time when the sun goes down we take the tent down at an intermission so the people behind can see better. This is never left up overnight like would be done for vendors at craft shows. I got the feeling that you may have had that in mind so I mentioned it. The tent is setup in the grass so we can stake it down if needed. Most of the time we don’t bother with staking it down because the weather is calm enough. We use tie line from above the top of the leg to the stake that is right next to the leg. I don’t want to create a trip hazard for someone walking next to the tent. For a while I tried to use the corkscrew looking stakes but they were so hard to get a good bite with them that I now just use straight spikes (extremely large nails that came with the tent) and put them in on an angle. So if you pull on the line straight up they won’t come out. 

I have seen water filled bladders specifically made to weigh things down. I always worry about them leaking near electronics. But if you have a water source where you are working the empty bladders are a lot lighter to transport then sand bags or any other type of weights. You will need a lot of weigh. 

One time the lifeguards came up to us and told us that really bad weather was coming at us from the north. I had been looking to the west where it usually comes from. We quickly tarped the speakers and tied around the tarp and did the same to the mixer inside of the tent and then rather quickly the wind and rain hit us. Another fellow and I were hanging onto the tent that was staked down keeping it from flying away. It was a struggle to keep it from blowing away.

I was working an event in Cannes France and a bad storm hit us. The very large Circus size tent on the beach that was set up for an evening event disappeared into the Mediterranean See. Never to be seen again as far as I know. Sometimes the wind wins.   

[Dave Garoutte]

If you know the wind is coming, take off the cover!  At least release the perimeter so it can flap instead of becoming an airfoil.

[Lyle Williams]

Thanks everyone. 

An initial reading of the building codes found that a 3x3m (10'x10') temporary structure required 4x 120kg (1000lbs) ballast.

It looks like a heavy metal-framed marquee is considered to be a temporary structure but a pop-up tent isn't.  So the table telling me that I needed 1000lbs doesn't apply!  I'm glad about that.

[ProSoundWeb Community]