Places You Can Set Up a Bounce House

A bounce house may be a perfect idea to engage your children in a fun-filled event. These inflatable castles and structures can add a joyful memory to your little folks. Besides setting the bounce house in your backyard, there are many places you can inflate these fun castles by ensuring some requirements.

A bounce house or castle requires an even land or ground to stand on. Generally, it can stand still if the ground slope is less than 5% and anchored properly. It also requires a protective tarp beneath it to protect it from rocks, twigs, roots, or other poking items. So keeping these in mind, you can place a bounce house on your lawn, backyard, driveways, garage, or even indoors! 

In this article, we’ll tell you where and how you can set up a bounce house to inflate your kids’ time with fun!

Basic things you need to ensure to set up a bounce house-

• Enough space
• A flat/level ground 
• Proper anchoring
• A protective layer  
• Electrical outlet and continuous power supply  

Let’s jump further to know how you can ensure these requirements to place your bounce house in various places and spots. 

How Much Space Does a Bounce House Need?

A residential bounce house can be 3 feet to 15 feet long. This means the area will be around 3’x3’ to 15’x15’ square feet. These houses are great for 2-4 kids depending on the size and the age of the children. 

Commercial bounce houses are larger. They differ from 10 feet to 80 feet long. 4-10 kids or even adults can play inside these bounce houses. 

The height can be from 3 feet to 10 feet. It’s important to choose the right-sized bounce house before you rent or purchase it.   

How to Ensure a Level Ground?

Basic science says, if your ground has a high slope, the chances of your bounce house tipping over is also high. So ensuring a level ground is vital for your children’s safety. 

Note that, it is safe if the slope is less than 5%, which means the ground can incline or decline 2.86 degrees highest. Another way to understand this is for every 20 units of length, you can have 1 unit of height difference. Suppose, one side of your ground is flat and another side, at a 20 feet distance is 1 foot high from the starting side. This means it is in the acceptable range. 

On the other hand, if the slope is more than that, you may have to ensure extra anchoring. But keep that in mind, a level or flat ground is always better and preferred. 

How to Anchor Properly?

You need to anchor your bounce house to protect it from tipping off. Don’t forget that those joyful jumping kids have the ability to turn the bounce house upside down anytime! Also, anchoring saves the bounce house from blowing away by the unexpected wind. 

Anchoring can be done by stakes or spirals which will hold the castle to the ground. Sandbags or waterbags may also be used for anchoring. Usually, the rental companies provide stakes or sandbags along with the bounce house. 

To anchor, first, you need to inflate the bounce house and set it properly. You’ll find loops around the house to tie with stakes or sandbags. 

If you’re using stakes or spirals, make sure you press them underground. It’s important because if not cautious, a standing stake can hurt a running kid.   

Anchoring on grass 

Bounce houses are usually set up on the grass. This means the house stands on dirt or muddy area. Stakes or spirals are perfect for anchoring on grass. 

Put the stakes on the loops or anchor point of the bounce house and then press stakes down underground. If it’s a spiral, twist it to put it down. 

If your anchor points are higher up, you can use a rope to tie it and then anchor it to the ground. 

Anchoring on concrete, asphalt, or other hard surfaces

If you’re anchoring on concrete or asphalt or any other hard surfaces, you will not be able to use stakes or spirals. 

Sandbags or water bags will be the best option in this case. These bags contain sand or water which makes them heavy. When you tie the anchoring points with these bags, they’re likely to hold the bounce house very well. 

If sandbags are not available, you can consider tying up the house to anything heavyweight, like concrete slabs or heavy bricks, which will give a good hold of the house to the ground. 

Anchoring indoors 

bounce houses which are set up indoors or in the garage are not likely to be blown away by wind or be tipped over. However, if the space is large, it has a chance to roll.

That being said, you may not have to anchor the bounce house indoors. But to ensure proper safety, use sandbags to anchor it.

How to Ensure a Protective Layer?

Ground debris, sharp objects, or hard surfaces can be a threat to these bouncy inflatables. So, there is no better way than protecting the bounce house by spreading a protective layer beneath it. 

When you rent a bounce house, the rental company usually provides a large tarp along with it. You need to lay this tarpaulin cover on the ground and then inflate your bounce castle. 

A light-colored tarp is recommended because darker-colored tarps usually absorb heat from the sun, which can be harmful to the grass. 

However, if you’re putting the castle indoors, you may not have to use the tarp. You can just lay a carpet and inflate the castle over it. 

Do You Need a Continuous Power Supply?

Yes, bounce houses need to be blown continuously with a blower to keep them inflated. And to keep the blower on, you need to ensure a continuous power supply. Usually, rental companies give you an almost 50 feet long cord for power. So you must need a stable power supply outlet in the range of 50 feet from the bounce house location.

If you can’t ensure that, consider renting a generator with the bounce house. The rental companies rent a generator too for some extra charge. 

However, some small inflatable units don’t need to supply power continuously. Usually, they need to be blown once and they are sealed.    

Why Setting on Grass Is Ideal?

If you’re thinking what is the ideal location to set up a bounce house, the answer is on a flat grassy surface. 

Two reasons make it the ideal location. Firstly, grass gives a soft cushion-like floor around the bounce house. After having a great time inside the inflatable, the children will come out and the soft grassy lawn under their feet will surely make them feel nice. 

And secondly, a grassy lawn provides good anchoring because you are able to use stakes. 

Furthermore, if the bounce house has a water slide or pool, the water may splash and make the surroundings slippery. This may lead to small injuries to big accidents. But, if you’re having a grassy lawn, you can get away with this risk. 

How to Set the Bounce House Indoors

If you’re planning to set a bounce house indoors, you have to ensure enough room to contain the inflatable castle.

Usually, a small bounce house requires a 10’x10’ area. There are even smaller ones that take a 6’x6’ area. Height can differ from 3’ to 5’. 

So you have to make sure that you have enough space to hold the castle straight along with the sandbag anchorings. If there are no chances of wind blowing, you may set the inflatable into a corner so it can’t move. In that case, you may not have to use any anchoring. 

That being said, you can set the bounce house inside your house, garage, gym, or auditorium. Larger room space can contain those big houses too! 

And while setting up in a hard-surfaced garage, don’t forget to place a tarp beneath it.     

How to Set the Bounce House on the Driveway

While setting up on driveways, you can’t use stakes or spirals. If your driveways are made of concrete or asphalt, it is important to place a tarp over it before you inflate the castle. 

Also, you may have to use sandbags or waterbags for anchoring. Your driveway might be steeper with a larger slope. But if you ensure proper anchoring and place a durable tarp beneath it, you can safely let your kids play.  

How to Set the Bounce House on Hard Surfaces

It’s better to clean the surface before you set up the house. The inflatable should not be placed over rocks, branches, gravels, or any other poking or pointy items without a protective layer.  

You can still set the bounce house if the area is solid and almost leveled on all the sides. You need to place a reliable tarp to protect the bounce house. 

While inflating the castle on hard surfaces like cement, concrete, or asphalt, it can hurt the inflatable by rubbing and wearing against the surface. So, rental companies sometimes don’t allow setting the house on hard surfaces. But as long as you’ve set a protective tarp, you don’t have to worry much. 

Can You Set Up a Bounce House in a Park or Public Place?

You can set up a bounce house in a park or other public places but you may have to take permission. It’s better to ask permission from the appropriate authority before inflating and starting the fun.

Also, make sure the area is flat and clean of rocks or other debris. You may also put an elder person to supervise for the kids’ safety.  

Can a Bounce House Be Placed in the Rain?

Rental companies usually discourage keeping the house inflated in times of rain. Because, rain may make the equipment slippery, which can lead to many accidents. Also, you can’t roll it again if it’s not dried out properly. 

So, it’s better to deflate the castle when it starts to rain. However, in the case of water slides or pools, you may keep it inflated during drizzling rain, but not when it’s raining heavily or snowing.