Richmond, Virginia is taking matters in to their own hands. This can work!! Use your imagination and get off your butts!!!
Skatepark warranties- too good to be true? Only if you're the customer, it seems.
For years I've questioned the promise of 15 and 20 year warranties offered by some companies and, I have to say, they are too good to be true. Seriously, can anyone really expect any product built from concrete or steel to last 15 or 20 years, let alone have a realistic expectation that same product will have a warranty that long? Police cars, fire trucks, computers, electric generators, water lines or even the very building in which you are probably sitting right now... are any of them covered for 20 years? 15? Maybe 10? How about 5? In short, no they're not... and neither is your skatepark.
Can customers really believe this promise? These prefab steel parks have a history of 3-5 year effective lifespans after which time they are typically either removed, replaced or refurbished. So what, you say? After performing the necessary maintenance to keep one of these items viable and safe- or moving the ramp within the same park or to another location- the warranty is VOID.... period, done like dinner, it's all on you now. It's hard to imagine that moving a ramp across the lot (remember all the promises of being able to reconfigure the park to keep it interesting?) can some how be responsible for the steel walls rusting but it must be true, otherwise why would they write it?
Below is a copy of the warranty from a prefab steel and precast concrete ramp manufacturer. When a promise of a 15 or 20 year warranty is qualified by saying "installation of replacement parts... not covered under this warranty and freight is to be PREPAID by purchaser" I think the "purchaser" should be scared. Can you imagine not only paying twice for an item but prepaying for shipping on 10,000 pounds of prefab concrete? Then, once the item arrives at your site you have to remove the old ramp with a crane and dispose of it, install the new one with a crane and perform the necessary repairs to the surrounding site. Do we see a problem here?
Here's how I read this warranty-
* warranty is at the discretion of manufacturer
* warranty does not cover normal wear and tear (it is a skatepark, remember)
* warranty does not cover acts of God (such as freeze and thaw cycles?)
* if a purchaser does not follow the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance recommendations the warranty is void
In my opinion, these promises are misleading and intended to offer nothing more than an empty one-up to the competition in a selfish game of sales wars. And as long as "purchasers" hang their hats on the number of years the product is (supposedly) covered our industry will remain stagnant and the skaters will lose.
Seriously, isn't using a warranty written by the vendor like asking the fox to guard the hen house? WRITE YOUR OWN WARRANTY!!!
Companies like Who Skates do not hide behind caveats but rather clearly and honestly spell out what we will and will not cover and for how long. Cities and Towns should write the warranties as Exhibits to the contract and remove all of the wiggling and fine print... force builders to make the commitment to no-fine-print warranties covering EVERYTHING in their contract, give them little or no wiggle room and go for the jugular if they leave you hanging... in a test of only the strong (or experienced) survive you will be doing a service to the taxpayers and the skaters.
Oh, and make sure shipping is included...
For years I've questioned the promise of 15 and 20 year warranties offered by some companies and, I have to say, they are too good to be true. Seriously, can anyone really expect any product built from concrete or steel to last 15 or 20 years, let alone have a realistic expectation that same product will have a warranty that long? Police cars, fire trucks, computers, electric generators, water lines or even the very building in which you are probably sitting right now... are any of them covered for 20 years? 15? Maybe 10? How about 5? In short, no they're not... and neither is your skatepark.
Can customers really believe this promise? These prefab steel parks have a history of 3-5 year effective lifespans after which time they are typically either removed, replaced or refurbished. So what, you say? After performing the necessary maintenance to keep one of these items viable and safe- or moving the ramp within the same park or to another location- the warranty is VOID.... period, done like dinner, it's all on you now. It's hard to imagine that moving a ramp across the lot (remember all the promises of being able to reconfigure the park to keep it interesting?) can some how be responsible for the steel walls rusting but it must be true, otherwise why would they write it?
Below is a copy of the warranty from a prefab steel and precast concrete ramp manufacturer. When a promise of a 15 or 20 year warranty is qualified by saying "installation of replacement parts... not covered under this warranty and freight is to be PREPAID by purchaser" I think the "purchaser" should be scared. Can you imagine not only paying twice for an item but prepaying for shipping on 10,000 pounds of prefab concrete? Then, once the item arrives at your site you have to remove the old ramp with a crane and dispose of it, install the new one with a crane and perform the necessary repairs to the surrounding site. Do we see a problem here?
Here's how I read this warranty-
* warranty is at the discretion of manufacturer
* warranty does not cover normal wear and tear (it is a skatepark, remember)
* warranty does not cover acts of God (such as freeze and thaw cycles?)
* if a purchaser does not follow the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance recommendations the warranty is void
In my opinion, these promises are misleading and intended to offer nothing more than an empty one-up to the competition in a selfish game of sales wars. And as long as "purchasers" hang their hats on the number of years the product is (supposedly) covered our industry will remain stagnant and the skaters will lose.
Seriously, isn't using a warranty written by the vendor like asking the fox to guard the hen house? WRITE YOUR OWN WARRANTY!!!
Companies like Who Skates do not hide behind caveats but rather clearly and honestly spell out what we will and will not cover and for how long. Cities and Towns should write the warranties as Exhibits to the contract and remove all of the wiggling and fine print... force builders to make the commitment to no-fine-print warranties covering EVERYTHING in their contract, give them little or no wiggle room and go for the jugular if they leave you hanging... in a test of only the strong (or experienced) survive you will be doing a service to the taxpayers and the skaters.
Oh, and make sure shipping is included...
Site selection- don't settle for less than you can have
February 16, 2010
I've always said that the skatepark should be designed around the site rather than designing the site for the park.
In short, a site holds the magic to the park and some really nice locations can be easily overlooked in the pursuit of a flat area.
Work with it!! Make the park fit the site... it isn't that hard but the rewards can save thousands of dollars in development and engineering costs.
In short, a site holds the magic to the park and some really nice locations can be easily overlooked in the pursuit of a flat area.
- Is there a little elevation gain that can be incorporated into the park to create a unique obstacle?
- Is the park facing South to make best use of the sun? Is there a big shade tree that can be incorporated for summer shade?
- Is there a house or a neighbor that should be protected?
- Is the entrance situated so that kids entering the park don't get run over?
- Does the engineer understand the unique nature of a skatepark?
- Is there an area for parents to relax?
Work with it!! Make the park fit the site... it isn't that hard but the rewards can save thousands of dollars in development and engineering costs.
There is one type of park that simply HAS to go away... the back-and-forth, quarter pipe at each end and a jump box in the middle. Sure, in a world where there is no other option it can be a way to get kids skating but let's assess this type of park with an analytical approach, by the numbers if you will.
The basis for this type of park is to deliver a skater to the handrail, stair set or Hubba ledge so that they can ollie or grind it... but here's the problem... we spend 70% of the budget just getting kids two feet off the ground and up to the handrail!! The noise and the ridiculous redundancy of the park, channeling all users into one common area and the fact that this type of park is generally a ghost town in two years should be reasons enough to stop the insanity...
Watch this video for a depiction of the wasted money just delivering the kid to the stair set-
Two quarter pipes that the kids have to clamor up on top of, drop in, cheat death with oncoming traffic (since EVERY skater needs to use the quarter pipe) make it up the disastrous kink on the middle section, go up, across the flat then hopefully ollie up on to the rail or ollie the stairs.... hoping that no one is doing the same thing in the opposite direction. SO, if you follow my logic not only have we spent approximately $10,000 on quarter pipes just to give kids enough speed to navigate a kinked flat ramp and arrive at an elevation 24" above the original elevation we've put them in danger of collision with the other skaters or bikers doing the same thing!! I'm confused and I just wrote this so don't feel bad.
Bottom line? Why not spend the money on a proper concrete deck at elevation 24" or 36", put a nice set of stairs, handrail, Hubba, Pier 7 ledge and let the kids skate the elements the way they skate them in the street?
So, by a show of hands? $35,000 for this (including slab)
Or this for about $40,000
A simple Poured in Place concrete Plaza is quiet, cost-effective and will last for many years and is what kids really want to skate. Plazas can be built on any tennis court or parking lot and require only about 2,500 to 4,000 square feet.
The basis for this type of park is to deliver a skater to the handrail, stair set or Hubba ledge so that they can ollie or grind it... but here's the problem... we spend 70% of the budget just getting kids two feet off the ground and up to the handrail!! The noise and the ridiculous redundancy of the park, channeling all users into one common area and the fact that this type of park is generally a ghost town in two years should be reasons enough to stop the insanity...
Watch this video for a depiction of the wasted money just delivering the kid to the stair set-
Two quarter pipes that the kids have to clamor up on top of, drop in, cheat death with oncoming traffic (since EVERY skater needs to use the quarter pipe) make it up the disastrous kink on the middle section, go up, across the flat then hopefully ollie up on to the rail or ollie the stairs.... hoping that no one is doing the same thing in the opposite direction. SO, if you follow my logic not only have we spent approximately $10,000 on quarter pipes just to give kids enough speed to navigate a kinked flat ramp and arrive at an elevation 24" above the original elevation we've put them in danger of collision with the other skaters or bikers doing the same thing!! I'm confused and I just wrote this so don't feel bad.
Bottom line? Why not spend the money on a proper concrete deck at elevation 24" or 36", put a nice set of stairs, handrail, Hubba, Pier 7 ledge and let the kids skate the elements the way they skate them in the street?
So, by a show of hands? $35,000 for this (including slab)
Or this for about $40,000
A simple Poured in Place concrete Plaza is quiet, cost-effective and will last for many years and is what kids really want to skate. Plazas can be built on any tennis court or parking lot and require only about 2,500 to 4,000 square feet.
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