Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Starting up a float center out of your home isn’t nearly as daunting as it may sound at first and is a great way to get your foot in the door. Graham and Ashkahn break down the logistics of this time honored tradition in the industry.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: Today’s question is, “what do I need to do differently when running a float center out of my home?”
Well, probably not run a 24 hour operation. Unless you are just that extreme, you know.
Ashkahn: Well, so I’m assuming you’re not talking about … You need to get some sort of thing to be able to run a business out of your home.
Graham: Right, so we are assuming over the radar.
Ashkahn: Yeah, or you are just running some test floats for friends and stuff like that.
Graham: And not really taking money for them or turning it into a business or anything.
Ashkahn: Like towards the path of opening in a commercial space. But just running a commercial business out of your home probably has like zoning questions and depends on your city, and a few things like that that you might want to look into.
Graham: So assuming all of your commercial zoning ducks are in a row, then what’s different?
Ashkahn: Well …
Graham: Usually you don’t build out the rooms as intensely-
Ashkahn: Yeah, definitely not.
Graham: …as you would a float tank center.
Ashkahn: Some extreme construction to do to your house. You’d have a really weird room left in your house if you ever took that float tank out after this point.
Graham: Yes, so most notably though means there is not as much salt and water proofing up around your own house as there would be in a float tank center.
Ashkahn: Which is kind of dangerous, like the salt …
Graham: Scary, scary is a word I would use to describe it.
Ashkahn: Scary, so you’re vulnerable to that sort of salt and water damage, and you have to be careful about what you are actually doing. There are certain things you can do to minimize the risk as much as possible. It’s probably easy to put some layer of something on the ground that would do some amount of water-proofing without going to extreme. You probably want to think about where the closest shower is, you probably don’t want someone having to walk all the way across your house to a shower. Like putting in a room closest to the bathroom is going to help you out a lot.
Graham: In general, I guess, moving it into portions of your house that are less nice than other ones, right? Like if you have a choice between like hardwood maple floors and an unfinished basement, maybe throw your float tank down in the unfinished basement.
Ashkahn: Yeah, maybe not on the second story, and some of it comes with how you talk to people when they come into float. One of the nice things about having a float tank in your house is you probably have one float tank. It’s like one person coming in at a time. It’s just a lot more manageable than a commercial float center. So you really have the chance with these persons that come through to say, “Hey, once you hop out of your float, stand here on this little drying stand thing I put right in front of the float tank.”
Graham: Like a tray, like a float tray. It’s really common, too, actually. Even if you order home tanks from the manufacturer, oftentimes they have little trays you step out into and kind of catch the saltwater, because they realize you are not going to have drains everywhere and perfectly laminate floors and everything.
Ashkahn: So step out there and do a really good job of drying yourself off, put on this robe, like do that before you walk away. You can tell them that otherwise the salt kind of gets everywhere and can damage the place. You just have a much more one on one interaction with someone to try to encourage them to not spread salt and water all over the place. I think they’ll probably understand they’re in the house, it’s obvious it is not a like a giant waterproof thing like maybe a commercial float center would have.
Graham: Like running a commercial float center sometimes I feel people want to get every last dollar that they spent on their float. Like to them that means getting out of the tank and shaking off like a shaggy dog and just getting water everywhere.
Ashkahn: Splashing.
Graham: Using every possible thing they can in the basket, like there’s almost a sense when you are in a place of business that you get to not worry about that kind of stuff. So stressing that, and again, that just kind of naturally happens that when people are in your home they understand and will take better care of it than they would in a totally commercial space.
Ashkahn: So that’s probably the biggest one, it’s a concern and there are ways to go about dealing with it without spending the kind of construction money that you would in a commercial retail style shop float center. There are some obvious ones like you want it to be quiet so find the quietest room in your house, like this is probably going to be hard to do if you live in an apartment building, or in near a busy road, or any of that sort of stuff. You’re going to have to blank out the windows to not allow any light to get in.
Graham: That said, my first float was in an apartment building.
Ashkahn: Yeah, mine too. Most float tanks don’t come totally light proof. Although the more home style float tanks do tend to do a better job of light proofing than the other ones. So depending on what tanks you purchase, it might be more or less of a concern to completely and perfectly make the room the float tank is in pitch black.
You’re going to have to do some laundry. You’ll have to do a lot more laundry than you are used to doing for the amount of towels people are using. So you’ll get used to that.
Graham: And you’ll just have to keep a really close eye on things. The nice thing about this is I’ve known people who’ve had float tanks in their apartments for 15 to 20 years and it is a carpeted apartment. There’s no damage. It’s totally possible to maintain a float tank in your private residence without completely destroying your house.
And I know float tanks that have been in people’s houses that have sprung leaks and done a lot of damage, so there’s … It’s not really different than a commercial center, except for the fact that …
Ashkahn: It’s your house.
Graham: I was going to say, and again, people are a little more cautious and tend to take it a little more easier on your house then they may do on a commercial center.
Ashkahn: I think there’s benefits, too, to having float center in your house. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that you can offer a really nice personalized, individual experience for people coming to float. Like you’re there, you’re giving them all your attention, you can do cool things, have snacks for them afterwards, have stuff like that that’s a lot easier to do for one person than when you are floating like 60 people a day or something like that. Have juice, have a chance to really sit down and just chat with them afterwards, for whatever 10 minutes, 20 minute, an hour. Like it is just a much more casual, nice, person to person experience than is really possible to run that easily in a … Like you got to work a lot harder in a commercial float center, too, to provide that same sort of experience.
Graham: Yeah, we spent a lot of money trying to get our lobby to kind of feel like a nice living room, if it’s in your house, you have a living room. So, mission accomplished.
Ashkahn: It’s probably a little more peaceful, it’s out in the neighborhood, there’s a lot …
Graham: Generally less noise concerns, too. The float itself might be noisier, because you’ve done less soundproofing on your house than you would in a center, but usually you have way less big trucks, less noise coming in than you would have in a commercial center. It’s a little easier to just maintain in that sense. Everything kind of balances out, like you’re not going to be able to make a ton of money running it, no way is running one tank out of your house going to make you wealthy or anything like that. Getting to pull in a little ancillary income and provide floating, if you’re doing another job or something like that, or just if you’re trying to get used to float tanks and build up to having a commercial center, this can also be a really nice …
Ashkahn: Or if you just want a float tank in your house and this is how you’re justifying it.
Graham: Yeah, it’s like funding some of the maintenance and chemicals and cleaning with the people coming through. That’s how you maintain your own private float tank, that you get to float in five times a day, or whatever moderate amount of floating you decide to do.
Ashkahn: Yeah, be careful about that, be careful about humidity, is another one you should consider when putting this float tank into a place. You’ll probably want to make sure there is some amount of ventilation or something happening so that you’re not slowly destroying the room that it is in with humidity.
Graham: Yeah, and again, other than the fact that they’re totally different business models, there’s actually a ton concern wise that’s different, it’s just a much lower scale. You’re still worried about soundproofing, just not as much. You’re still worried about making sure water and salt don’t destroy your building, but you’re probably going to use less actually protection and really more on people’s conscientiousness to protect your floors. Again, that little tray you set out in front. Your showers aren’t going to be directly connected to the float tank, but you’ll probably have some sort of walkway going out there. It’s all the same things again, just much, much tinier concerns than in a full blown float center.
Ashkahn: And you get to give people some really crazy stories. People are going to get to leave and tell their friends they went to some random person’s house and hopped inside of a sensory deprivation tank.
Graham: And they just got out and had the best orange juice in the world.
Ashkahn: Yeah, so that’s fun, you get to contribute that to the world.
Graham: And if you have anymore questions to shoot along our way, go to floattanksolutions.com/podcast.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Should I Wire my Float Tanks into the Wall? – DSP 265
Ashkahn is currently recovering from his talk and the after-party last night, but Jake and Graham have gracefully taken the time to answer a construction question again today.
On the docket today is a question about wiring a float tank directly into the wall. Graham and Jake provide an overview of why some people may prefer this (it’s much easier to keep waterproof, e.g.), and why at Float On they use the twist lock for their outlets and how to properly utilize them.
Can I Keep My Old Ceiling With My Buildout? – DSP 264
Hopefully everyone had a lovely time at the Friday Activities and the after-party.
Ashkahn is still busy running the conference, but Graham and Jake have stepped in to talk about construction!
Today the guys talk about keeping a drop ceiling or T-bar ceiling in an existing space that you’re converting to a float center. The short answer is don’t keep it, as it can cause problems, but the guys do have some workarounds if your landlord is opposed to changing the ceiling.
What to Expect When Expanding from 1 to 3 Tanks? – DSP 263
Ashkahn is busy preparing for everything that happens tonight and tomorrow for the Conference, but that doesn’t mean Daily Solutions will stop being daily.
Graham and Jake talk construction and what to expect when you’re expecting… a giant expansion for your float center. What’s it look like when you go from one tank to three? How do the demands change? What needs to be put in place to make sure that you’re not hitting snags?
Fortunately, these guys know the score and are happy to share.
All About Floor Drains – DSP 262
As Ashkahn gets everything ready for the Start a Center Workshop (happening today) and the Float Conference this weekend, Graham and Jake tackle answering construction questions on the podcast.
Today they’re talking about floor drains. What to consider for drains and how they might pair with different types of flooring. Given the hefty price tag for these more advanced drains, having as much research before making a decision on these is essential. Luckily, the guys have done the hard part already and identified a lot of things to consider.
How to Deal with Float Room Humidity – DSP 261
Graham and Jake are at the helm again while Ashkahn puts the finishing touches on the Float Conference.
Today, the guys are talking all about humidity and how to deal with it when constructing your float rooms. They talk about all the little nuances that you (or your contractor) might not think about when it comes to humidity and how soundproofing and regular airflow may not always go hand in hand.
Latest Blog Posts
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #24
Alberta is often called the Texas of Canada. Part large oil industry, part cattle country.
Don’t Mess With Alberta!
At the base of the Rocky Mountains, replete with an Olympic Stadium, Calgary is a world-class destination for winter sports. The float community developed here similarly to Edmonton – there wasn’t anything nearby except for one or two residential float tanks, and then, in a short period of time, several centers opened all at once. Instead of competing, they’ve decided to work together and have developed one of the tightest knit float communities we’ve seen. They even have monthly Float Dinners, much like we do with the float centers in Portland. They don’t keep meeting minutes, so it’s hard to determine what they talk about at these dinners; my guess would be salt, the effects of salt on various substances, and how salty salt damage can make someone salty.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #23
After Montana, we blazed our way back into Canada. The drive was long, but the scenery was beautiful. We followed the Rockies north, driving up to Edmonton. It’s a bit of a detour but, there are so many float centers in Edmonton, it seemed crazy not to stop by.
The city itself is primarily made up of workers from the oil fields – high risk, high income jobs that fuel the economy. At least until recently. Our visit was right in the middle of the Fort McMurray wildfire which has displaced a lot of the workforce, forcing 100,000 people to leave their homes. Many came to Edmonton, being the nearest metropolitan area to Fort McMurray. Some already split their time between the two cities, living in Edmonton and traveling to Fort McMurray for weeks or months at a time for work.
It’s understood that, in economic hardship, luxury commodities are typically the first thing people cut back on. Surprisingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case for floating. In fact, more people seem to be trying it to help alleviate the stress, many centers even offering free or discounted services to those displaced in an effort to help in a small way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #22
We’ve got two more stops in Colorado Springs before heading west. It’s a town known for its military base and long history of weapons testing. With such a large military presence, it comes as no surprise that the float center owners here are veterans, themselves.
After that, we shoot across to Salt Lake City. Utah is filled with gorgeous sights, from breathtaking lakes to stunning painted hills. With an international landmark famous for its effects on buoyancy, Salt Lake City should be pretty familiar with the concept of floating. With five different float centers, and the manufacturer of the Zen Tent out there, there could be some cause and effect.
After that, we head up into Idaho and Montana to close out the Central United States portion of our Tour. We’ll follow the Rocky Mountains north, taking in the scenery along the way.
The Float Tour Blog – Issue #21
Denver has been home to a vibrant float community for a long time. Some of the earliest commercial centers that started up in the ‘70s and ‘80s were out here. 30 years is a long time, and most of the old centers aren’t around anymore, but there’s a conscious community that has been floating since the old days and they love how much the industry has evolved and grown.
