Glamping Decks and Tent Platforms: Building on Uneven Ground Without Concrete

Structurally they are the same problem with different loads on top. A safari or bell tent spreads load over a wider footprint and needs guy-line anchorage beyond the deck edge; a pod concentrates load at its own bearers and usually needs the platform dead level under them. Both sit on the same pedestal and joist build-up and both are demountable. Tell us which it is and what it weighs — that is the part that changes the pedestal schedule.

If your consent requires a non-permanent structure, a pad is not a cheaper foundation — it is a breach. If the land is leased, it is a reinstatement cost deferred to the end of the term. And if the site is in a protected landscape, it may not be permitted at all. Where none of those apply, concrete is a perfectly good foundation and we will tell you so.

24–40, 39–65, 60–87, 80–130 and 130–175 mm, deliberately overlapping. Set out from the lowest point of the pitch so the tallest pedestal still has adjustment left rather than sitting at the top of its range. The planner above tells you whether your fall fits inside one range.

They can sit on whatever gives adequate, drained bearing, and turf over soft ground often does not. The 8 kN rating is a property of the pedestal; the bearing is a property of what is underneath it. Both have to be adequate and only the first one is ours.

We cannot tell you, and no board supplier can. Our pedestals carry a working load of 8,000 N — about 8 kN — but that is one component. Platform capacity depends on pedestal spacing, joist section, board span and ground bearing acting together. The planner shows dead load from boards and joists only; people, furniture, a pod, snow and wind are not in it.

We hold no EN 13501-1 reaction-to-fire classification, so we cannot give you a supported answer. That is a straight no, not a hedge. Separation distance is a site design decision in any case. If your licence or insurer requires a fire class, raise it at design stage — testing can be arranged and credited against the order.

Our only slip result is R10 under AS 4586-2013 Appendix D on profile ZSGJ138H23A — the shod, wet ramp test at 15°. Barefoot wet areas are classified under DIN 51097 and we do not hold it. We will not present a shod rating as if it answered a barefoot question.

Five things, roughly in order of impact: the platform area; the board grade, since capped co-extrusion costs more per square metre than uncapped classic; the pedestal count, which follows from the grid your engineer specifies rather than from the area alone; the joist material, aluminium or zinc plated steel; and the carry distance, which is a labour cost rather than a materials one. We quote against a survey rather than a rate card, because two pitches of the same size on different ground do not need the same number of pedestals. Send the nine survey items above and we will price it.

The system fixes with clips and hand tools, so yes in principle. The real constraint is carrying weight across a field — boards alone are 22.4 kg/m², plus joists and pedestals. The planner totals it for you, and aluminium keel is lighter than steel where there is no vehicle access.

Wash it down. No sanding, staining or sealing cycle, which matters on a site where the working season is also the season you cannot close. Clear debris from the gaps, and re-check pedestal adjustment after the first winter — ground moves, and adjustment is what the pedestals are for.

70 m² for decking. A single pitch platform is usually well under that, so in practice a first order covers two or three pitches. It is well below a full container — you do not have to fill one to place an order.

20 days production for standard catalogue sections. Samples are free — you cover the courier and we credit it against your first order. For a multi-pitch rollout, ask for a pedestal alongside the board: the height range is much easier to judge in the hand than on a page.