Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Float centers, more so than some other brick and mortar businesses, tend to be desperate for maximizing the efficiency of their space. And float rooms would have so much extra space if they didn’t have to deal with a door swinging in and out all the time. Why don’t float centers do it this way instead?
Well… Graham and Ashkahn explain exactly why centers don’t do this already, along with the vast majority of other buildings being made currently. It’s likely a code violation and even if it weren’t, it’d probably be unnecessarily hazardous to travel through your center that way.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: Alright.
Ashkahn: Welcome. Welcome everyone.
Graham: I think that might have actually been our longest intro that we’ve ever done. Referential intros’ll get like that.
Ashkahn: My name’s Ashkahn.
Graham: I am Graham.
Ashkahn: And, we had a big Q coming.
Graham: Big Q coming your way. And that is, “I haven’t started construction yet.”
Ashkahn: Nice.
Graham: “But, I’m sitting here, looking at my blueprints and wondering; would it make more sense to have the float room doors open into the hall instead of the rooms, to increase usable space in the small float rooms?” That old doors opening into the hall dilemma.
Ashkahn: The old doors going outside instead of inside so you can get more accessible square footage space in the float room question.
Graham: Classic.
Man, if I had a hundred dollar bill for every time someone asked me that, I’d be able to go out some eat some dinner tonight. That would be really nice.
Ashkahn: Yeah. So, yes. It is annoying that your doors take up a bunch of swinging room in these tiny float spaces that you have.
Graham: But only when the door is actually opening or closing, right? Once you set it, then you get the square footage back.
Ashkahn: Well, kind of.
Graham: You can’t hang a shelf on the wall there, or-
Ashkahn: Your float tank can’t be in the way.
Graham: Your float tank can’t be in the way.
Ashkahn: This is a problem. Yeah, but, even in on of our rooms, the door can’t open all the way ’cause there’s a float tank there.
Graham: It’d be really nice if we could open it a little further. I see where they’re coming from.
Ashkahn: I do too.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: That’d be cool.
Ashkahn: In fact, I think I’ve thought this when we were doing our thing. They were like, “Let’s just have these doors swing the frigging other way. What are we doing having them swing in?”
Graham: So, in a world where it’s complete anarchy, and there are no regulations you need to follow, you can totally do this, and it might still cause issues. Like, what if someone’s walking down the hallway and someone opens the door with gusto, and they get slammed in the face with the door?
Ashkahn: I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s the biggest problem here, right? I mean, there’s other specifics
Graham: That is the biggest problem. Yeah.
Ashkahn: People just walk down hallways.
Graham: And, your staff, oftentimes, is walking pretty fast down hallways, and trying to get these rooms clean as fast as they can.
Ashkahn: I’m just picturing our hallway, which has six doors, opening up into it in a matter of 30 feet.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: That sounds really dangerous. And intense. It would be like some sort of video game. Like, some sort of old 90s video game, where you die all the time, and you need to keep starting back at the beginning.
Graham: Paper Boy Extreme.
Yeah. So, that’s the biggest problem, right? If someone is opening the door inward, it’s really rare that someone’s going to be walking into someone’s float room while they’re in there, and specifically right when they’re about to be coming out anyway, on the other side of the door.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: So, making the person, where the door is going to be swinging, in charge of the motion of the door, is just eliminates the chance of accidents happening.
Ashkahn: And, I mean, there’s probably some ADA laws, and stuff like that. I mean, if you look around you in your life, everywhere you go-
Graham: In your commercial bedroom.
Ashkahn: But anywhere, right? Think about hotels. Think about just the bedrooms in your house. Every door into a room swings into the room instead of out into the hallway.
Graham: In general. There are definitely some exceptions for that. I’ve seen restrooms where the door swings outward, and things like that. Especially in high traffic areas. There are definitely some times when that’s not the case. But, usually it’s when the person on the inside is more likely to get hit by a door swinging, right? Or, just, intuitively makes more sense that that would happen.
Ashkahn: I think it makes more sense, too, more than interior or dead end sort of space that you’re in, the more likely you’re gonna be answering the door for someone.
Imagine having a door where someone knocks on it, and to let them in, you had to open it towards them. Right?
Graham: Yeah, that’s awkward. It’s weird.
So, the other side of that is, it is very likely to not actually pass code in your area.
Ashkahn: Yeah, I’d be pretty surprised if this was legal, unless you had-
Graham: And wide enough hallways might be one case. We’re not code experts. But, maybe if people have such a big avenue to walk down the center of a really wide hallway, that doors opening on either side just aren’t likely to hit them in their main path, then it’s okay.
But, in a float center, you’re usually trying to make the most of your space. Doors will be directly opposite each other. So, again, check your local code, if you really, despite our deterrences, are still really eager beaver to get these doors opening in the hallway direction, but even if you’re convinced for yourself, you might still not be able to do it.
Ashkahn: Yeah. So, I’m sorry.
Graham: Shoot the message, not the messenger. That’s what they say.
Ashkahn: Yeah. And it probably does just make more sense to have your doors open. It just feels right.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: You think about all those Scooby Doo montages or the Benny Hill Show. Think how weird those would look with doors opening out.
Graham: And they’re have to pause right before, which means the ghost chasing them would have to pause, too, just out of politeness.
Ashkahn: Yeah, see, so, yeah.
Graham: But you did the right thing, in that you thought you had a brilliant idea, and then you sent it to us to destroy, which I encourage everyone else out there to do too.
Cruise on down to floattanksolutions.com. If you’re feeling like it, type in /podcast as well. That’ll take you to the page where you can actually submit questions. And, we’ll be here same time tomorrow, if you listen to us at the same time every day.
Ashkahn: Every day. Yeah. We just sleep in this little room that we’re in right now.
Graham: We just sleep in your headphones.
Ashkahn: One of us in each ear.
Graham: We’ll be here when you’re ready for us.
Ashkahn: Snuggled up in there.
Bye everyone.
Graham: Right.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Should You Install Shower Screens in your Float Rooms? – DSP 219
Float centers, it has been said, are nearly in the shower business as much as they are in the float business. In fact, float centers run twice as many showers as floats. No doubt about it, they are an important part of the float experience, as is designing them.
So do you include shower screens or doors? Graham and Ashkahn weigh in and share why the think it’s better to skip the door altogether, and dispel any sort of benefit that it may appear to have for a float center.
Flushing Salt Crystals out of your Filtration System with Hot Water – DSP 218
In the Daily Solutions Podcast episode #137 Cause and Solutions for a Crystallized Pump, Ashkahn and Graham discussed what causes this, how to avoid it, and some tips for fixing it.
Today, the guys share a more in depth solution on the problem, and specifically talk about the step by step process of desolidifying your pump system by flushing it with hot water.
5½ of the Most Common Construction Mistakes Float Centers Make – DSP 217
Graham and Ashkahn have been around the proverbial float block. They’ve visited centers all over the world, consulted with them, and trained them on how to make their centers as good as possible. It’s tempting to ask them, specifically, what are some of the most common mistakes they’ve seen in this time.
Fortunately, someone did. The duo hash out exactly what they think of when it comes to both “common” and “expensive” construction mistakes for float centers, especially where those two points intersect on the float center Venn diagram of unhappiness.
What Post-Float Music do you Wake Up Floaters With? – DSP 216
There’s a lot of options for floaty music out there. Some are free with a creative commons license, some are built into tanks by manufacturers, some float centers will use meditation tracks to pull people out of it, or self compose music on occasion.
How does Float On pick their post-float music? Ashkahn and Graham explain their thoughts on post-float music, why they maintain a minimalist approach, and explain the formation of Theta State Records.
Cool Obscure Stories from Early Float History – DSP 215
If you’ve ever met one at the Float Conference, you’ll know they have some of the best and most bizarre stories in the float industry.
Graham and Ashkahn share a couple of their favorites from the old researchers that they’ve heard.
Latest Blog Posts
Announcing: The 2015 State of the Industry Report
The results are in, and 88 existing centers and 185 aspiring float center owners have responded to create the 2015 State of the Float Industry Report.
What Happens When the Media Doesn’t Give a Shit
Float tanks have been getting a lot of media love recently, which is unsurprising given how beneficial people seem to find them, and how crazy they sound when you’re explaining them for the first time. Most of the press has been very positive, and coverage like the Nightline piece still bring a giant smile to my face whenever I watch them.
Media Reporters and EditorsUnfortunately, not everyone has taken the time to do the appropriate level of research into floating before writing about it.
Permits: Planning for your Planning Department
Construction permits differ from state to state, and even from county to county. Keep in mind that everywhere has its own quirks, and, more than likely, it’s own unexpected fees that can cost several thousand additional dollars…
#WhyWeFloat – An Industry Wide Social Media Campaign
One of the best ways to tell someone the benefits of floating is through stories and testimonials from others who have floated. To make gathering these powerful stories even easier, join the industry wide social media campaign called #WhyWeFloat.
