To green or not to green
I have not checked the ecological impact of any of the strategies I'm hoping to implement in the tiny lil shop measure a grand total of 45 square meters for example.
The struggle is as follows.
It has to be cheap - like dirt dirt cheap. So in my effort to figure out the cheapest possible way to build it I'm exploring the particle board route. Particle board can't be that green - or maybe it is. It is made by collecting the debris from a saw mill and compacted, so as to minimise waste. But how does one find out this crucial information? I wonder, were I to have a good look, how accessible would this information be? And are the tree farms they are cut from virgin forests or 'sustainable'. How far did the boards travel to get to me? So many more questions and then you have to quantify them all. Being green is hard!! Too much work or am I just giving excuses and the answers will be there if I ask? But I have such low expectations of the suppliers giving out this information - but I'll give it a go when I get the chance.
It's almost time to plant some trees. The ideal thing for me would be to find some really rare indigenous trees and figure out how to clone them in my backyard and do some guerrilla planting on my own accord. Rather than asking municipality folk where I can plant a tree. Or perhaps I'll end up doing both.
The construction of the wood goes as follows.
- Primer - 20l
- Thinners - 25l
- Duco paint - 20l
- Sandpaper - 600 grain - whole roll
This route will look nicer but is more labour intensive. WAAAY more labour intensive. I think we are going to need a crew of about 8 other guys to sandpaper that bastard down to a pleasant looking smoothness after we have the first coat of primer on it. Then we pray. 'coz it's not just anybody who can sandpaper the board. An inexperienced hand would sandpaper off the first coat of primer. Once the primer is gone - the particle board is going to soak up the Duco varnish like a joke. And goodbye effect that we were looking for. I think we are going to have to apply 3 coats with an airbrush.
Gosh!
I hope Dan has been practicing his airbrushing technique - 'coz we only get one chance to make it look good.
Hopefully the weather is going to hold up and make the drying of the paint go much quicker.
If we end up going the melamine wood route - we can have that baby done in a week no problem and we can build it in the shop and it will be fast. Only problem is it's so expensive to buy finished wood.
If we go the super wood route - we are looking at a longer lead time and much more labour - but much better finish.
Cheaper it might be in the end - but it is much much harder to pull off 'coz...
We are going to have to build it off site. 'coz of the spraying & the thinners. The fumes would kill us and everyone in the mall if we tried to do it in the shop. Drying time would be extended.
Which means there is going to be no give if our dimensions are off. Even just a little. We won't be able to make spot decisions as we build the custom display stuff.
Am I over thinking this?
Maybe.
But there is going to be transportation to consider as well. I need to figure that cost out asap. I wonder how far away Dan's shop is to the location of the store in Illovo. All I know is he builds it in Meyerton. Googlemaps will give me an answer.
I think this is going to work out regardless of the route we take. It's gonna look SICK!
I hope.
lol
Well - today was otherwise a useless day as far as design goes - 'coz all I managed to do was this lil thing for Mnive.
All the running around I did today produced no clear results - just made me ask - more questions.
FUCK!
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