by Laura Dobbins | Blog
First, I know what you’re thinking.
You: “Where the *bleep* have you guys been?”
Me: “Well, all kinds of places. Traveling, cooking, enjoying a semi-retired life.”
So yes, it’s been a while since we posted last. And many of you wrote us asking if everything was okay and when we were going to post again. And if I’m going to be completely honest, this post has been sitting nearly-done in my drafts folder for months. (I know, I know!)
But I’m here now, so here’s the latest. #1 – We did some more remodeling on both locations. #2 – There’s a competitor opening up across the street. #3 – Incomes are still going up every year at both locations. And while I’m going to comment on all of those things at one point or another, today’s post is related to #1.
So here we are again…the latest edition in our laundromat remodeling saga. If you remember from last round, we had removed our “1970’s Time Capsule” dryers, and revealed their shiny brand-new successors. Their sheer beauty made me cry (okay, not quite, but almost).
But as the installers were finishing tightening the final gas hookup, I was already thinking ahead. About those darned walls.
They were awful. Peeling grey paneling. Wood railing rotting away. Alternating mismatched patches of wainscoting and beadboard. Oh, and did I mention the base trim that was severely water-damaged and had dried in an unpleasant wave pattern at the bottom of the wall?
We could have just pulled the old wall paneling down, put up the typical fiberglass commercial wall paneling and called it good. You know what I’m talking about; that plastic textured paneling they put in hole-in-the-wall restaurants and, well, mediocre laundromats. (Warning: You will now start noticing this crappy wall paneling everywhere. And I’m sorry for that.)
But crappy wall paneling is not how we do things around here.
I went on the hunt for something different; something that would stand out; a cool, modern alternative.
And after a day of searching, I found it.
It’s 3-dimensional PVC wall paneling, and it comes in 19 different finishes and 24 different patterns. It’s made by a company called Fasade, and it was exactly what we were looking for. It’s durable but flexible, and can be cut and trimmed easily with utility scissors. It costs roughly 4x more than the crappy commercial paneling (Fasade is about $120 for a 4×8 ft panel), but it was worth it.
So a few weeks ago, we decided to tackle one small wall at our first location, just to see how easy it was to work with. A “guinea pig” wall, if you will.
On the left is the before photo, with that typical commercial paneling. It doesn’t look too bad from a distance, but be thankful you’re not up close. It had been painted white, but it was constantly getting dirty. (No, don’t try to rub that smudge off your screen, that’s good old-fashioned wall grime you see, not your screen.) Then the laundry carts would rub up against it, causing l-o-n-g dark streaks. We were having to re-paint it every few months. It was a pain. And it was ugly.
So we tore down the old paneling, measured the space, cut the new paneling, squirted construction adhesive on the back, slapped her up on the wall, and trimmed it all with PVC-based white mouldings. All in about 45 minutes. (PVC-based mouldings won’t warp due to moisture. And laundromats sometimes get moist.)
We loved the new look. And so did the customers.
So we did the entire store at our second location.
Here’s some pictures from the demolition phase…
But in just a few hours, we were done. And the walls looked like this:
Now you’re supposed to keep your eyes upwards in these photos because the floors weren’t done yet. But the floor remodel came next, and they turned out great too!
Thanks for tuning in, and until next time…
