This is going to be a huge blog entry with a lot of new information that will be exciting to quite a few members. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, scan down to see all the subjects and pick the ones you are interested in.

Cleaning

While this is probably the least interesting part of moving, it is one of the most important. Keeping things clean while we are moving and then finally cleaning each space and closing the door on it needs to be done and anyone who will help with this part will be everyone else's favorite person.

Trailer Loading

Things are moving quickly with the loading. The first two trailers are full. They will get taken away and two more will replace them Friday morning.

There's still a lot of stuff to get palletized and wrapped. You can come down and help with this any time you want to.

Building Walls

We will be receiving the studs for building the walls on Friday.

We are still looking for three more helpers for this project. Some skills in reading a tape measure and running a screw gun are helpful, but not required. If one person was able to do some lifting would be good too. We will need to hand carry all materials up the stairs by hand. I wish we had a way to forklift it up there, but we don't. We even have a crane available just up the street, but no way to get it in upstairs. Oh well.

Floor story

Carolina Debris has removed the carpeting from the downstairs floor and is in process of epoxying that space. This should be done by Friday or Saturday and ready for use by midweek next week. The way this all came down resulted in my redesigning the shop spaces and I really like what has come out of it. I have not yet shared the designs because ... well, I don't know how to post them. I will get on that and post where we are with the floor plans as soon as I can.

Music at TSRDU

Music at TechShop Durham has always been a problem for a lot of people. Most of us like to have music around us. But we all know that not everybody likes the same music. We have held a hard line on music ever since the beginning largely due to Headquarters stance on this due to safety reasons.

I have again talked to HQ about this subject and found they have new policies in place and we will be doing the same.

At TechShop RDU, you will be able to use your iPod or similar device to play music anywhere except while using any machine. You will also be able to have low volume music in any private space, the kitchen or hub area or any space that is not around any machines. Please respect the people around you. It could be your favorite music but the person near you could hate it. Hopefully there won't be any complaints and we can continue this policy.

Open hours

TechShop Durham's hours have been 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TechShop RDU's hours will likely be the same when we open, but we are expecting to be open longer hours very soon. We have quite a few people renting spaces at TSRDU and many want access to their space for extended hours. We may handle this one of two different ways. We might simply extend our hours, with an employee and access to all the shop spaces, or we might lock all the tools and equipment and give all renters a front door key and keys to their individual space. The new layout seems to offer this choice, and I am looking into making this a reality. After all, our goal is for TechShop RDU to be open 24/7.

You can help us succeed

We Need Your Help! This is not a done deal yet. In order for us to finish our buildout and get everything up and running we need people that will pitch in and help in one or more of these five ways:

1. Pledge to Become a Lender ($25,000 or More)

2. Pledge to Buy a Lifetime Membership ($5,000)

3. Pledge to Become a Monthly Member ($99/mo Auto-Pay)

4. Pledge to Make a Donation ($25 or More)

5. Pledge to Volunteer Your Time for Build-Out

Make Your Pledge or step forward with money Right Now. To pledge, please send email right now to "scott@techshopdurham.com" and indicate how you would like to pledge to help us finish TechShop RDU. Please include your name, phone number, and email address. If you want to step forward with money right now, you may email or call me to set up a time for us to meet.

Take pictures

We cannot have too many pictures of the beginnings of TechShop RDU. If you are coming, and have a camera, bring it and take pictures. We'll figure out how to post them soon enough. You might be the one to tell us how to do it best or even help us do it.

That's it

OK, that's it for now. I told you there was a lot. There will be more tomorrow too. Talk to you then

Scott