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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.

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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

Will Hard Water Affect a Float Tank? – DSP 165

Hard water is something that comes from having too many minerals in your water source. It can cause a lot of problems with plumbing if it’s too hard, and most buildings will have resources for dealing with this to help avoid calcium buildup in pipes and along tubs or pools. As for how it interacts with a float tank, specifically, it seems like the larger issue is going to be how it impacts the rest of your building. 

Graham and Ashkahn break down what they know about how hard water affects float tanks and the differences you’re going to have to look out for if you’re using well water over municipal water sources.

How do you Know What to Delegate and When? – DSP 164

The eternal small business challenge. You can’t be everywhere at once, but how do you decide what to delegate and to whom? Unfortunately, there’s not an easy solution, but there are some philosophies behind how you run your business and operate that may be helpful to review. 

If you’re reaching this wall and you’re not sure what to do, think about how your work is laid out and what is required of you. Some things are naturally going to be more repetitive and have more built in redundancy. That’s a good place to start looking for delegating responsibility, but it doesn’t have to end there. It all just takes time.

Graham and Ashkahn get into the Float On way and how it’s come about that they’re the owners, but don’t run the shop and are no longer making the major decisions in running it as a business. Worth a listen even if you’ve never even seen a float center before. 

How to Delicately Handle Difficult Customers – DSP 162

Sometimes there’s just that one customer. The “Problem Child” customer that you don’t like having to deal with. The one who totally know is definitely (probably) making things up to try and get a free float. And they’re such a nuisance! What can you do about that? Obviously you don’t want them getting vengeful if you tell them to kick rocks and spread lies about you.

How do you handle that situation? Well, Graham and Ashkahn lay out some nice ground rules for how they handle people and it comes down to setting clear boundaries that at least appear rigid on the outset. Then, if those boundaries are crossed, the reactions you have are totally expected.

What’s the Difference Between a Residential and Commercial Float Tank? – DSP 161

Ashkahn and Graham break down the differences between float tanks designed for home use in comparison to ones intended for a commercial setting. Depending on how it’s intended to be used can drastically affect the construction of the tank. Most home use tanks, for example, aren’t made of fiberglass, because those large, rigid structures are difficult to move by yourself or just with one other person. Likewise, the filtration demands for a home use tank are a lot different.

Listen in and check out all the differences and which tanks are more intended for use at home as opposed to commercial use.

Do Floaters really Go into a “Theta State”? – DSP 160

Sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate the claims of scientific benefit of floating from those that are just anecdotal. The idea that floating causing greater theta brainwave activity is one of those things that sounds right, but what does the data say? And how can everyone else find out?

Fortunately, Graham and Ashkahn have done the legwork and even talked to the researchers who do this kind of stuff. They break down exactly how true the Theta claim is and what, if any, real research corroborates it. 

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