Learn best practices for starting and running a float center:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Show Highlights

In this episode, Graham and Ashkahn succinctly breakdown the cost of float room construction. The average float room cost per the industry survey is $75,000 per room. How much of that is float tank cost and how much is construction? There are some variables to consider based on geography and types of tanks, but the guys lay out the average and clarify some of the numbers we’ve released previously.

Show Resources

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Graham: Today’s question is, “the state of the industry survey shows people spend about $75,000 per float room. How much of that is the tank cost versus construction cost?”

Ashkahn: Basically float tanks can range from probably around $10,000 at the cheapest for a commercial float tank.

Graham: Plus pump set up and all of that, yeah.

Ashkahn: Up to, I mean, they can get up to-

Graham: $90,000?

Ashkahn: Yeah, $90,000 dollars for a float tank.

Graham: So if you’re buying a $90,000 dollar float tank, then you’re now in negative money for room construction, negative $15,000. So, it depends a lot on what people are doing individually, and of course the survey itself is very subjective for what people are putting in there almost, so how people are defining everything that’s going into their room construction. It’s probably not 100% accurate even between individuals filling out the survey.

Ashkahn: But, I would say, if I had to make an average guess of how much people are spending on float tanks, it’s probably somewhere around $30,000 dollars a float tank. 30 – 35.

Graham: Which would be about $45,000 for doing the room construction, and I would say actually between maybe like $35,000 to $45,000 is not a crazy amount to assume for room construction. So not quite half and half, or half and half of the split that’s different for different people or something like that, depending on how much soundproofing largely you’re doing.

Ashkahn: Yeah, and we see that in general in terms of people’s cost total, float tank plus for rooms. It really does seem to range pretty much somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 dollars for the whole shebang for a room. That was always kind of our calculations, and then seeing the industry report averaged that at about $75,000 kind of seems to support that.

So my guess is people on the higher end people are buying probably slightly more expensive float tanks and doing slightly more expensive construction, and at the lower end people are probably buying cheaper float tanks and doing cheaper construction.

Graham: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Again, there’s an, “Oh, yeah.” They’re like both how people are answering that question, and what you decide to do for your own center, and types of tanks, and whether you’re in the middle of a city or out in the countryside. All of these are going to affect how much is going into your individual build.

So, don’t assume that if you’re coming in a little under, if your ratio of tank to construction is different then the industry average that you’re somehow doing something wrong. It largely does have to do with how many tanks you’re installing at once, and how much crazy soundproofing you need to block out from city noises, and airplanes, and things like that.

Ashkahn: Yeah, you might just have less expensive construction if you’re way outside the city and you don’t have a ton of noise to deal with.

Graham: Yeah, just throw your float tank down a grassy hill somewhere-

Ashkahn: Yeah, call it good. Sprinkle some salt in the lake.

Graham: Sprinkle? I think it’d be a little more than that. This giant industrial dump operation puts Epsom salt or something into a lake.

So, if you have any more questions, go to floattanksolutions.com/podcast and we will answer them.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Floating with Intention – DSP 205

Not every float is going to be pure bliss. Sometimes the anxiety doesn’t go away. Sometimes that back pain is still there. Are there ways to float with intention to help control the outcome of a float? 

Graham and Ashkahn share their thoughts on techniques intended on getting the most out of your float and things that may work, as well as the perils of trying to control how your float goes. 

Different Reasons for Writing a Float Center Business Plan – DSP 204

Writing a business plan can often feel like you’re throwing hard work into the void. If you’re not getting a bank loan, who’s going to see it? What’s the point of it if all the numbers are going to be different?

Graham and Ashkahn break down their experiences of starting Float On without a business plan and how useful it was writing one later, as well as how they’ve used that business plan to help dozens of other centers get funding and open their doors. 

How Many Times Should A Float Center E-mail about Deals? – DSP 202

Let’s say you’ve got a discount going on and you’re counting on your email mailing list to get some traction. How many times should you email? A lot? A little? Well, the answer depends on who you ask and your own business philosophy.

Ashkahn and Graham share Float On’s philosophy on reaching out to mailing lists and how they reached those conclusions.

Should my Float Center Have Dynamic Pricing? – DSP 201

Dynamic pricing AKA changing prices based on demand or availability, is a pretty common tactic in certain industries. Airlines do it with tickets. Restaurants and bars do it with “happy hour” to get people to come in during slow times.

Graham and Ashkahn weigh in on this practice as it pertains to the float industry and, if you are going to do it, how to do it right so you get the most bang for your buck without confusing your customers. 

Latest Blog Posts

The Many Floaty Things We Are Looking Forward To…

The Many Floaty Things We Are Looking Forward To…

Although we encourage people to live in the current moment, the team here at Float Tank Solutions is anxiously looking forward to what’s coming up at the 2015 Float Conference on August 13-17th. Admittedly, we’re a little spoiled being allowed behind the scenes access...

The 2015 State of the Float Industry Survey

The 2015 State of the Float Industry Survey

Prior to the 2014 Float Conference we set out to get a snapshot of the floatation industry while we had the majority of the community in one place. From that survey we gathered the only statistics we have on floatation and publicly released those findings in our 2014...

Finding the Right Temperature for Your Floaters

Finding the Right Temperature for Your Floaters

What is the Perfect Float Temperature? I am sure we have all heard of the skin receptor neutral temperature that float centers preach. The sacred 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems to be the temperature that most centers set their tanks’ water to. We even do it at...

How to Properly Wake a Floater

How to Properly Wake a Floater

aka What to Do when You’ve Got a “Sinker” There are multiple ways to let your floaters know that it is time to get out of the tank. According to float lore, the first centers to open back in the 70’s used to wake people up by popping open the hatch and giving the...