Glamping platform on screw piles: what goes into the design and the budget

Choose the tent model before fixing the platform dimensions

Ask the manufacturer for the footprint, the anchoring plan and the instructions for installation on a platform. On some models, the area taken by the fixings exceeds the outline of the interior space.

Check the position of the entrance, the doors, the poles and the edges of the membrane. The platform must allow fixing to the elements provided, manage water and give the access wanted. A rectangular deck and a round tent do not automatically become compatible just because they have sufficient areas.

Some manufacturers offer deck anchoring separately. For example, FDomes presents the option of platform anchoring in the configuration of its products. For the tent you choose, ask for the specific detail and the loads transmitted to the support.

What a complete platform includes

When you ask for a price per square metre, attach this list and tick what you want quoted. Two prices for a "platform" can describe very different works.

Planning example: three 8 × 8 m platforms

Three 8 × 8 m platforms means 192 m² of platform. This is an example of organisation and budgeting, not an executed project nor a structural configuration.

If a tent with a diameter of 5 m is placed on each platform, its circular footprint is about 19.6 m². The difference up to 64 m² does not become fully usable free space: the anchorings, circulation, bathroom and the distances required by the chosen model must be checked.

Before calculating the foundation, draw the tent, the terrace, the entrance and the bathroom on the plan. Mark heavy furniture or equipment separately. That way, the structure can be designed for the real use of the platform, without improvised changes after installation.

A light tent can transmit significant loads

The foundation must take the platform's loads and the loads from use, as well as the effects of wind transmitted through the tent's anchoring. A low self-weight does not remove the need to check for uplift and lateral displacement.

Do not assume that attaching the membrane to the deck board is sufficient. The fixings must be tied to structural elements capable of transmitting the loads down to the foundation.

A hot tub, a tank or an area with equipment is not just added to the list of fittings. Their weight in use and their position enter the design brief.

The bathroom and the utilities are coordinated before the foundation

A bathroom brings walls, equipment, floor build-ups and drainage routes. Decide whether it is inside the tent, on the same platform or in a separate unit.

The positions of the connections must be correlated with the beams and the supports. The drainage needs a discharge solution and the levels necessary for it to work. For cold-season operation, the services design must resolve frost protection.

Keep the possibility of inspection and intervention under the platform. A removable decorative screen can be more useful than a closure that prevents access to the pipes.

How to prepare a site with several units

Number the units and use the same code on the plan, in the offer and at installation. For each unit, note the level, the orientation, the access route and the connections.

If the platforms are far apart, mobilising the machine between them and supply can matter a lot. The same total area may need a different organisation on a compact plot than on an extensive property.

A useful approach is to finalise the brief for all the units before the first stage and, when the project justifies it, to use the first platform as a coordination reference for the rest. The ground conditions are checked for the relevant areas, without assuming they are identical everywhere.

What changes the budget and the possibility of relocation

The budget depends on the foundation, the platform structure, the flooring and the related works. The slope, the bathroom, the platform height and the access can change the bill of quantities more than a small difference in area.

Dismantling can be an advantage of a build-up with mechanical joints. Relocation, however, must be prepared through the design: transportable dimensions, access to the joints and checking the components before reuse. Services and finishes can limit what is recovered.

For the planning requirements of the site, consult the guide on the building permit. Being demountable does not, on its own, confirm that a project can be carried out without a permit.