“What is the biggest water slide you have?” That is a very common question that we receive. Everyone always wants bigger and better. One of biggest problems we run into in this business is customers under estimating the size of our equipment. Most people just think that bounce house will fit out back no problem. Then when we come to set up it’s a different story. Never do we hear “do I have enough room?” Hopefully these tips will help you if your yard is a bit tight like mine.
Accessibility
First before you even look out in your yard and ask do I have enough room, scope out the entrance to your property for accessibility. Is there a gate? Is the gate wide enough? Will we be able wheel the bounce house in between your house and your neighbor’s? So exactly how wide of an access do we need? 4 feet wide is a good safe number for most of our equipment. Some of the smaller stuff will fit through a standard 3 foot gate no problem. Others may need some finesse to fit. “We can just unroll it and drag it around back.” Absolutely not. This was the solution given to me to fit a bounce house in between two houses in Scranton that had a path where in some spots I had to turn sideways to fit. Bounce houses are made of vinyl not kevlar. They do tear, and will tear if handled like this. “You can unroll it and lift it over the fence a little at a time.” Again absolutely not. One snag on that fence and that unit is going in for repair.
Measure The Area
Second if there is any doubt whatsoever about the bounce house fitting into a certain area measure the area for fitment. We list the dimensions of each unit for this reason. Don’t just eye ball it. Sure that space between the pool and the back porch looks like 20 feet, but it is probably more like 12-15 feet. One thing to keep in mind is the additional space needed around the bounce house. For example our castle is 15′ x 15′. Ok so you can measure out 15 feet square and you are good… Wrong. There are stake points at each corner that extend out an additional 12-18 inches. There is the blower tubes in the rear of the bounce house. Then there is the entrance step in the front of the bounce house. Oh and you need room for the kids to get in and out. When everything is said and done instead of 15 feet square, you are at more like 20 feet square.
Look Up
Ok so you have good access and a clear area for the bounce house. Let’s set this thing up! Wait a minute you forgot to look up. “It will fit under those trees no problem.” Are you sure about that? Just like the fence, a tree limb can puncture a bounce house. When measuring out your area, don’t forget to look up for tree limbs, clothes lines, power lines, etc. While this does happen on some of our bounce house rentals, it is more common for the water slide rentals. 18 feet seems tall when thinking about it. Standing next to it is a little different.
Don’t Risk Being Disappointed
So what was the purpose of this blog? Well honestly I hate seeing people disappointed. You went through the trouble of reserving it, paying the deposit, then getting the kids pumped up for it only for it not to work. There have been an instance or two where we just couldn’t fit a bounce house into in area because of the things listed above. One of them was with the smallest one in our inventory. Believe me we tried everything to get it to fit. We just so happened to have our cotton candy machine available for that day, and she decided to go with that instead. And guess what? Cotton candy was a hit! The kids were raving about it when we came to pick the machine up. Mom even gave us a really nice tip for trying so hard to get that bounce house to fit.
Just Call
If you have questions about fitment of something in our inventory just call or send us an email to Keith@SirBounceALotNEPA.com. We would be more than happy to answer your questions, or help you pick something out that will fit. Remember to always ask do I have enough room before you reserve your equipment. Sir Bounce-A-Lot Party Rentals is always here to help. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates to our inventory.