This member’s vote is to allocate funds from the Expansion budget for floor finishing in the new areas. These funds WILL NOT come from the general fund, only from the funds earmarked for expansion. This vote is for transparency on where our funds are going. The items listed below are supplies needed to move forward with this task. These materials will accomplish the following:
Rental of a heavy-duty floor scrubber and vacuum to clean the floors in the areas noted below. This is in addition to utilizing the building floor scrubber machine. That machine does not clean the floor effectively enough for paint to adhere. More aggressive scrubbing is needed. This is for a one-month rental. If we finish with it in a week, our cost goes down. It all depends on the volunteers who show up.
Foam and quick-set cement for filling large holes/penetrations between floors. *THIS IS NOT TO LEVEL THE FLOORS*
Paint for each of the areas to match the color of the CNC Shop.
Contingency for unexpected expenses/supply needs.
Areas being Finished
New Welding Shop
New Community Shop
New 3d Printing / Electronics / Audio area
General aisles that are included with the expansion. (Not including Member storage and cornerstone)
I generally trust your competence and given that, I’ll probably be a yes vote. But before I commit to that, I am curious:
Did anyone get a quote for having the floor prep and paint done by someone who does this professionally? Do we have members who have experience with this work? I don’t have experience with it myself, but I’ve been led to understand that it’s quiet easy to not get it right if you don’t know what you are doing, and that the chemicals to clean/etch cement floor properly for good adhesion are pretty unhealthy. Given that, should we be leaving this to a professional?
I don’t see any etchant in that BOM. It doesn’t look like the floor is getting etched, only scrubbed. I thought tests were done previously and the area that was etched didn’t seem any noticeably superior.
Etching cement before coating isn’t difficult. I know this, as I have done it. The stuff is nasty, but as long as you aren’t huffing it or bathing in it, it is no worse than other stuff we have on site at the hive.
But hey, I’m going to support cutting a check for things that don’t require member volunteer time, if it means they would spend that time on things did require it.
Before the CNC room was finished I got a quote to do this area and it was 10-20k depending on the area we wanted cleaned. That was with out walls too…. Not even painting / finishing.
So I did the following (Ryan H / Steven H did some experiments as well)
When I cleaned the CNC room I didn’t use any chemicals or do any etching.
First I had the building clean the floor with their machine. Did a paint sample. It didn’t adhere.
Then I rented a scrubber (the one I have listed) and scrubbed the floor with water and the grout brush.
Spot cleaned areas and rinsed again.
Let it dry well
Painted the floor. And that is what is currently on the floor. The only damage so far is where we slid the pallet rack…… oppps.
So all and all I don’t think professional cleaning is needed especially at the cost. I cleaned the CNC area in about 4 hours myself so if we have have a few people help we can knock out most of the spaces in a weekend with the painting following the days after.
I would love to say we job it out but I’m not sure that’s in the cards cost wise. It just needs some human effort from our membership to make it happen.
Oh one additional note. I used my Graco paint sprayer to put the paint down and it was fast and efficient. Rolling it wasn’t great as it didn’t get in to the small holes and such in the floor. My sprayer is still at the Hive.
I think Ryan did the etching, because I brought down some of my leftover etchant from work at the old house. But still remember it not being worth it overall.
$20k is a big sticker. As with all of this, if the guys doing the work have a way they want to do it, they get my support.
