Decorations and scenery usually arrive last, as other trades finish or while a venue operates and needs to open quickly. Good installation starts long before the team arrives. These are the matters we agree with clients and main contractors.
1. Installation window
First: how much time is available and at what hours? A shop may offer nights, a hotel a closed zone and a water park a few days’ maintenance. This determines workshop versus site work. We fitted the 80 m² rock display in a Paris shop in two nights because all elements had been prepared in the workshop.
2. Delivery route and unloading
- Dimensions of doors, corridors, lifts and gates.
- Unloading and element storage space.
- Vehicle restrictions, delivery hours and floor protection.
We use this information to divide large forms into segments that can be safely carried in and assembled on site.
3. Scope and trade interfaces
Record who provides the substrate and supports, waterproofing, water and electrical services, lighting and flooring around the decoration. These must be ready or precisely planned before we start. In the Alps, we adapted rocks to another company’s decoration; such interfaces are best discussed in advance.
4. Services inside the decoration
Lights, LED strips, speakers, water jets and access panels: everything inside or behind the rock is agreed before production. Openings and channels can then be prepared in the element rather than cut on site.
5. Documents and client requirements
Some venues require technical and material documentation, declarations or inspections, as on AIDAvita in Palermo harbour. Required documents should be known at quotation stage.
6. Safety and work organisation
Induction, qualifications, scaffolding, work at height and protection of guests in an operating venue. We also agree where equipment is stored and cleaning after each shift.
7. Handover and care
After installation, we inspect the decoration together, refine details where needed and give care instructions: surface cleaning and looking after lights and water.
Why prefabrication helps
The more work done in the workshop, the shorter and more predictable installation becomes. Jungle Quest scenery at Suntago took around 4 weeks in the workshop, followed by 5 working days in the water park. We installed the Istebna snow grotto in one evening.
If you are preparing a quotation or schedule, send the design, quantities and planned installation window. We will reply with questions and a proposed scope.
