The Best Laid Plans Of Mice and Men

My 4 water feature tanks. 3 meter is length and of varying height, minimum 100 kilos each seen here before they are powder coated/painted jet black.

No plan is fool-proof and no one can be completely prepared for the future, so the saying goes and quite right too. An other adrenaline charged day in the run up to 'Show Time'. I received photos from my supplier in Manchester who is making my steel water features. The finished product should be sleek black monoliths of water, slicing through what is essentially a pleasant enough, though completely wacky bucolic scene. However on closer inspection I noticed the steel tanks were not made entirely as I had envisaged, a small seemingly insignificant detail, but one that could be the first of many to cost me the elusive gold medal and title of Young Designer of the Year. 

In technical speak, the box section edges, that have been welded to provide support for the steel and prevent bowing under the weight of the water, were placed on the very rim of the tanks and stitch welded. This is something I had specified, however it was supposed to be a structural detail and not visible to the eye, placed somewhere mid way up the tank. In the end due to risks of warping the metal this was changed. The end result is a bulky rim, with discontinuous welding, creating a gap between the box section and the edge of the tank sides. This gap is a glaring fault visible to any discerning eye.

Here if you look (very ) closely you can see the (small)  damning detail and gap between the edges.. small details are so important in this type of exhibit and exactly what the judges pick up on... Precisely why it's such a nightmare for the designer...

Unfortunately with managing a project from so far away, it is impossible to inspect every feature before its completion, and it's too late to rectify this problem as the tanks have already been sent off to be powder coated black. However after a pleasant chat with the steel fabricator we concluded it my be possible to fill the gap with a black poly-filler and then use the touch up paint to merge the two shades of black. I'm sure this is the first of many such 'glitches' and the art is to deal with them as they happen and to 'wing it' on-site. 

A show garden can be planned to the very last detail, but in the end one is entirely reliant on exterior factors, such as unpredictable events, man, and the 4 elements. Only three days to go now, and the adrenaline is relentless in it's onslaught! Roll on Monday!!!