Terrace cover and shade sail for hospitality
Your terrace is full and then it starts to rain. Or the sun beats down all afternoon and nobody wants to sit outside any more. A stretch tent over your terrace takes care of a lot of that. In hospitality, restaurants, hotels and beach clubs use one as a terrace cover, for an event or for a longer period.
A stretch tent is one large fabric stretched over wooden poles and held in place with ratchet straps and ground stakes. There is no fixed frame: the tension in the fabric gives the tent its shape. That means you can pitch it high or low, open or closed.
Shade sail or stretch tent?
You probably know shade sails: a piece of fabric you hang from a wall or a few posts. Fine against the sun, but not every shade sail keeps the rain out, and for a large hospitality terrace one is soon too small.
A stretch tent is bigger and sturdier. The fabric has four layers (800 g/m²) and is waterproof, windproof and UV resistant. It is also flame retardant to M2 and B1. One fabric covers 16 to 315 m². Everything you need to set it up is included: wooden poles, ratchet straps, rope sets and steel ground stakes. Want to close the sides, for example when the wind turns? Then add sidewalls.
How sturdy is a stretch tent?
Our tents are tested up to wind force 9, provided they are properly anchored and tensioned. They comply with EN 13782, the European standard for temporary demountable structures.
The poles are wood. You choose Douglas fir (sawn, sanded and treated, 75 mm thick) or Robinia, a naturally grown hardwood of 70 to 90 mm. On a terrace that looks a lot cosier than an aluminium frame.
Which size do you need?
Count how many guests you want to seat at tables. As a rule of thumb we work with 0.55 guests per square metre. That roughly comes down to:
- Cocktail 4 x 4 m (16 m²): 10 guests
- Cocktail 5 x 5 m (25 m²): 15 guests
- 7.5 x 5 m (37.5 m²): 20 guests
- 10.5 x 5 m (52.5 m²): 30 guests
- 10.5 x 7.5 m (78.75 m²): 45 guests
- 10.5 x 10 m (105 m²): 60 guests
Also allow room for a bar, a buffet and walkways. Does your terrace have an awkward shape? Then we make a tent to measure. All sizes are in the size and capacity table.
What does a terrace cover cost?
A complete set starts at €1,793.30 for the 4 x 4 m Cocktail. A rectangular 7.5 x 5 m tent costs from €2,780. All prices exclude VAT. Sidewalls and spare fabrics are available separately, and for custom work we make you a quotation.
Delivery
Standard sizes are in stock. We ship within 1 business day of payment. Delivery usually takes 2 to 3 business days in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and 3 to 6 business days in the rest of Europe. Prefer to collect? You can, in Duiven in the Netherlands, by appointment. A custom tent takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Step-by-step instructions for putting up the tent are in our set-up guide.
About BT Stretchtents
We make our stretch tents ourselves, in our factories in the Netherlands and Romania. BT Stretchtents is part of Buitink Technology from Duiven, which has worked with technical textiles, sailcloth and film since 1949.
Questions about your terrace? Send us the dimensions and we will think along with you.
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