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How do I get 100 balloons to stay in place hanging over the dance floor?

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I want to have 100 balloons over the dance floor with the strings hanging down. How do I keep them from floating around?

How to Hang Balloons From Ceiling Over Dance Floor


The best way to keep the balloons from moving around would be to fill the whole ceiling of the room.

The next best solution would be if there was a frame around the ceiling above the dance floor, as shown in the image I uploaded.

Another option would be using glue dots to attach the balloons to the ceiling. According to this balloon ceiling without helium tutorial, you need roughly two dots per balloon.

You can purchase these double-sided adhesive dots on a roll (100 dots per roll) or sheets (100 dots per sheet).



Alternatively, consider using the balloons upside down and without strings tied to them, like this:

1. String one long piece of fishing line across the dance floor, but don’t tape it up to the ceiling yet (it’s easier to tie the balloons on down low!). You can tie it onto two posts, or use the back of chairs.

2. Blow up your balloons with air and attach a 2 feet long piece of fishing line to each of them. Then tie them to the long string of fishing line.

3. Once your long piece has all the balloons you want on it, raise it up to the ceiling. Secure the long piece of fishing line with scotch tape every 2 feet or so and on the ends as well.

The big advantage of both this upside-down method and the glue dots option is that you don't need to fill the balloons with helium, which is difficult to get and expensive.

Comments for How do I get 100 balloons to stay in place hanging over the dance floor?

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How many balloons for a balloon ceiling (Reply to Ela)
by: Margit

Hi Ela,

That's an excellent question. I thought I had already answered it somewhere on BloonsUp, but turns out I didn't.

Here's how to calculate the number of balloons you need to cover your ceiling:

Step 1:
Calculate the square footage of the ceiling you want to cover by multiplying ceiling length with ceiling width.

For example, a 20 feet (6 m) long by 10 feet (3 m) wide room would result in a 200 square-foot (18 square meter) ceiling area to cover.

Step 2:
Know how many square feet each balloon covers, depending on its size.

I've found different calculations, but this is the one from Qualatex that I trust most:

11" balloon = .66 sq. ft. (613cm2) covered by each balloon

16" balloon = 1.4 sq. ft. (1301cm2) covered by each balloon

3’ balloon = 7 sq. ft. (.65m2) covered by each balloon

Step 3:
Now divide the square footage of the ceiling by the square footage of the balloon.

To cover our 200 square-foot ceiling from the example above with 11 inch balloons, we'd calculate:

200 sq. ft. divided by 0.66 sq. ft. = 303 balloons

Similarly, for 16 inch balloons it would be:

200 sq. ft. divided by 1.4 sq. ft. = 143 balloons

Bonus Calculation:
To calculate the square footage of a balloon of any size, do this:

Multiply the diameter of the balloon by itself, then deduct 20%. Why minus 20%? The balloons may not rest exactly 9, 11, or 16 inches apart as they tend to nestle into each other.

Example for a 9 inch balloon:

9" x 9" = 81 sq. inch = 0.56 sq. ft.
0.56 sq. ft. minus 20% = 0.45 sq. ft.

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Calculations
by: Ela

Great tips for doing this job. Specially now that helium is so expensive and difficult to get hold of. My question is, how do we know 200 balloons is enough to cover the ceiling? Is there an easy calculation?

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Posting a picture with a comment
by: Margit

Hi Melanie,

Is the image somewhere online? Then you could post the image URL (address in browser bar) in your comment.

Otherwise it's not possible to attach an image to a comment.

When you submit a question, you can upload up to 4 images.

Best of luck with your balloon ceiling!

Margit

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How do I post a picture with my comment
by: Melanie

I posted a comment but don't see a way to include a picture.

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Pic attached
by: Melanie

This is the ceiling.....so I think it will work

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