Construction projects, whether they are suburban housing developments, or city centre office projects take years to complete. At any one time there can be 100s of workers on site. When it is lunchtime or time for a much-needed teabreak, what do you do with them? Where do they go? Here’s our guide to their needs…
Shelter
Our British weather is famously unpredictable. The storms of the summer of 2024 have shown how quickly the weather can change. If there is work indoors for them to do, all is good, but if you’ve still got bricklayers, roofers and infrastructure engineers on site, they’ll need some protection from the elements.
Changing rooms
Construction sites aren’t the cleanest places in the world – lots of dust, mud, plaster and more around. Whilst some staff may be happy going to and from the site in their work clothes, plenty of them would prefer not to take construction mess into their cars, public transport and then into their homes. Providing changing rooms makes life much more pleasant for everyone. When the weather does turn inclement, having somewhere clothes can hang to dry can really help too.
Canteens
Whether the workforce are expected to bring packed lunches or you have kitchens on site where they can buy food, nobody wants to eat their lunch leaning against a lampost, in their car or up against a wall. Marquees make great canteens with plenty of space, solid floors (to keep their boots out of the mud) we can provide all the tables and chairs you need. Your teams have a space they can:
- Relax during their breaks
- Talk with colleagues and friends, chilling out
- Have informal team meetings when needed.
Adding heating in the winter is, of course, an extra cost but it can be taken away again when the weather improves. You can see how we helped Berkeley Homes here.
What else?
- Equipment storage so it’s not on display for prying eyes
- Keeping plasterboard, wood and other supplies out of the rain
- Office spaces for management, for training and for meetings
All three can quickly and easily be created to whatever size is needed with a marquee.
Flexibility
By their very nature construction sites change. Where the canteens, changing rooms and office need to be at the start of the project are highly likely to change as the project progresses. They need to be moved quickly and often need to change size or shape.
Moving alternative solutions requires hiab lorries, significant expense and planning weeks in advance. Moving a marquee means some of our trained specialists and a flat-bed Luton van – and that’s only if the poles and vinyl need moving some distance.
If you’re about to start a new construction project, or you’ve not thought yet about where to put your teams for lunch breaks as the colder weather approaches, give us a call and lets talk about how canteens and changing rooms are not the only uses for a marquee on a construction site.
