We set up our first float tank in the basement of our home. We hosted floats for friends and family and in the beginning, we were embarrassed by the rickety set up; it was far from ideal. You’d wear a robe and slippers to walk from the bathroom shower to the float room, and then track salt all the way back again after. In colder months the tank was wrapped in an insulated tarp to help maintain consistent temperature. This was always a temporary situation.
After a year of hosting floats in this less than perfect set up, we realized people didn’t seem to mind at all. The benefits of the float experience far outweighed any potential negatives of being in the home. Penticton is a very business friendly community, and there are many home based businesses. From dentists, accountants, massage, yoga, and hair salons, people in our community are accustomed to coming into homes to receive services and luckily floating didn’t seem to be an exception.
Being home based was always supposed to be a temporary situation. Float studios have unique requirements, and we spent a year searching for the right location. There was so much to consider. The size and shape of the space, the existing infrastructure, available parking, any nearby sources of noise and smell, who the neighbors were, and might be in 5 years. In the end every location we looked at just wasn’t going to be right for us. We finally came to the conclusion that a home based float studio would grant us the most control and flexibility.
When opening a float studio, the float tanks themselves aren’t the biggest investment, the construction surrounding the float tanks is the expensive part. The plumbing for showers, water, salt, and sound proofing requires great attention to detail. The walls are heavily insulated with two layers of drywall, sealed with acoustical caulk, and the floors are a strong epoxy able to hold up to the salt. In a commercial location this investment would mean nothing to the leaseholder and required strict stipulations about what we could and could not do within the space. Owning the space meant we could control the entire construction process and build a better float studio.
We spent 14 months building oGoFloat. We incorporated roll down shutters which entirely separate our living quarters from the float studio. When you visit oGoFloat it feels comfy like a home, but as clean and professional as any commercial center. We spent great attention and intention to build the best possible float space for the citizens of our community.
In 2020 we watched with extremely heavy hearts as business after business closed. We are so incredibly grateful and lucky that we haven’t experienced the same fate. We know being home based was a big part of what saved us, (turns out our landlord is pretty lenient). It also means that we are not going anywhere. It’s going to take more than a global pandemic for us to lose our primary asset and your friendly neighborhood float studio. You can rest assured oGoFloat will be here for many years to come and any float credits you’ve purchased are secure and redeemable.
Choosing to build oGoFloat into our home was one of the best decisions we ever made. Years in and we couldn’t be more happy or proud to be a home based float studio. Our guests feel comfortable coming here in their pajamas and letting their hair down. There are no worries about leaving into a busy strip mall or parking lot. It’s quiet, private, and cozy.
The perfect environment to allow you to Relax Harder.