Hard Surface Guide

Hiring on a ‘Hard Surface’ such as block paving, patio or atroturf is not recommended, but can still happen, dependant on your enclosed area. Garden types vary from household to household but the safety of the equipment and the users of the inflatable are to be seen as top priority. If your hiring a inflatable on either of these surfaces, there’s a few things to check first.

1. A large open space that can potentially allowing wind to travel underneath a inflatable is not suitable for this type of equipment. Your area must be enclosed with at-least 6ft fence panels travelling around your garden to be used as a wind barrier.
2. The most ideal method of securing an inflatable is pegging into the ground. Every anchor point on an inflatable is to be used with no exception. If you’ve astroturf, consider the holes being left behind once the inflatable hire is finished. This will most definitely leave holes, potentially allowing weeds to grow through.
3. You cannot hire an inflatable to the likes of ‘Street Parties’ where there is no means possible of preventing wind from travelling underneath the inflatable. Remember, just one gust of wind can put the users on the inflatable at risk. Hiring on a hard surface is strictly suitable for Garden Hire only.
4. You must check predicted wind speeds for your planned day of hire regularly and communicate with your hire company about potentially increased wind-speeds if predicted through-out your hire period.

What options have I got?

The safest way to secure an inflatable is through pegging (not required for indoor hire). If considering outdoor hire on a hard surface, make sure you have researched all other options first such as Venue Hire, Public Garden Hire or even asking your neighbour next door (the one with the grass).

If you’ve selected ‘Outdoors on a Hard Surface’ as you preferred method of surface, you’ll need to pay a one-off fee (we charge £25) for the extra hiring of heavy sandbags that will be used on every anchor point, a groundsheet to protect the base of the inflatable from friction from the ground and the hiring of a annometre (wind-measuring device) to measure and record wind speeds regularly (safety information sheet provided).

A nominated supervisor must watch the inflatable at all times, and it must be clear who is responsible for the safety os users (a high-vis vest labelled supervisor is recommended for public events - see Supervisor Safety Pack)

Your area must be enclosed with at-least 6ft fence panels travelling around your garden to be used as a wind barrier. If you have any wind breakers (such as what they use at caravan parks etc), have them ready. They’ll come in handy just in-case.

On a grass area, the maximum wind speed to safety use an inflatable is 24mph. On a hard surface, this should be reduced to a maximum of 18mph, with extra caution taken if wind speeds are constant at the measure.

We’ll also provide numerous extra safety mats around all entrances and exits to the inflatable.

As always, you (the hirer) need to understand that remain fully responsible for the safety of users whilst the inflatable is in use. The hire company providing your inflatable is not responsible for user safety after completion (or handover) has been accepted by the hirer (yourself). The maximum amount of users specified both on our website and on the inflatable should be adhered to at all times, regardless of the surface type.

If in doubt, contact us first with a photo of your surface type.