Marquee Weighting Guide

Cast Iron Plates

Cast iron leg weights are our preferred method of weighing a marquee down and will always be our recommendation. These are what will be required by councils and markets as there is no dispute about their hold down equivalent.

Our leg weights are sold in 15kg sets, but made in two 7.5kg plates to meet OH&S carry limits. They also have a built in carry handle that makes transporting and loading of the leg weights easy. 

Simple and easy to use

There is no sand to find, or water to fill, these are a simple and easy method to weighing your marquee down.

Just set up your marquee, and then slip these over the feet. Stack each second layer at a 180 degree turn to interlock the weights over the foot plates. 

Stack multiple plates together

You can use as many cast iron leg weights as you need. Unlike all the other weighing systems, these don’t “max out” because you just keep on stacking them higher and higher until you reach the requirement for the wind speed zone you’re in.

Sandbags

Sandbag marquee weights are also a really popular method to weigh marquees down. They’ve been around for years and are simple enough to use.

Sand is not included

We don’t include, or even know of anyone that includes sand with their sand bags. You need to purchase additional sand (you cannot take it from a beach - that’s illegal!) to put into your bags.

Wear and tear

Obviously these are used on the marquee legs, and the marquee feet sit on concrete and other hard surfaces. As the sandbags age, they will wear, and have the potential to spring leaks.

This means that you’ll need to use another bag inside your sandbag to hold your sand together, but really it can start getting a bit messy. 

Pegs & Ropes

Pegs and ropes are a tried and tested method to secure a marquee to the ground but there are a lot of things to consider when using them and to a degree requires a little extra care and attention by the user compared to all the other systems. 

The soil conditions

First and foremost, you need to be using the right type of peg and rope for the particular conditions you’re in. A peg for sand is very different to a peg for soil or clay. 

Then, if you are setting up on soil or clay, you need to consider what the weather has been like lately. For example, if it’s been raining for the last 3 weeks, and the ground is soft, a peg that might normally work may not be adequate in those conditions. 

The best solution here is to ensure you get a marquee with the largest and strongest pegs - although they still might not work in sand!

Getting the right angle

A peg needs to be driven into the ground at an angle that’s perpendicular to the direction of the rope. 

We recommend that the ropes that come off the marquee are set up at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees. A good balance is driving in the pegs at a 45 degree angle. 

If the angle is too steep, it won’t go deep into the ground (which is also generally where you find the harder soil), and if the angle is too shallow it won’t provide enough resistance on the rope to hold the marquee down.

Don't even use cheap pegs & ropes

In our opinion, if you have low quality pegs and ropes, we wouldn't even bother to use them. All they'll do is provide a false sense of security and an unexpected wind may turn an otherwise happy situation very sour.

What to look out for:

• Thin steel used in the peg
• Short length on the pegs
• Light gauge rope/string
• Missing spring and toggle which prevents being able to tension the rope after install

The pegs & ropes included with our Circulex® frame are all commercially rated.

Water Weights

Marquee water weights are readily available at many retailers, and at first they might seem like a great option, but we’ve never produced, nor ever intend to produce water weights as in our testing they’ve not proven durable enough for our customers. 

Prone to cracks and leaking

These marquee weights are cheap for a reason. Typically, there are no UV stabilisers mixed into the plastic which means that over time the plastic will become brittle.

Additionally, if these are dropped or dragged, they can develop leaks which prevents them from staying full and providing any hold down weight to the marquee. 

Their weight density is low

The density of water is approximately 1 gram per cubic centimetre, compared to cast iron being approx 8 grams per cubic centimetre.

What this means is that a water marquee weight will be approx 8 times larger than a cast iron leg weight for the same amount of weight. This makes them very bulky on a marquee leg if they’re going to provide any significant weighting.