Our EZDome coverall is up! You may have noticed the green, domed structure from William Street. The structure will make it possible for the REAL Deal to accept and safely store more renovation materials, keeping more of these useful materials from the landfill. We will be able to say “yes” to more furniture donations, too, as they can be protected from the weather until they can be displayed inside. The inside of the covering is white, so it is nice and bright inside. It also became a cooler workspace for volunteers on those very hot days these past few weeks. There is a lot to be done inside yet, as we are expecting a major donation of industrial shelving to organize materials, and we will need to make some accommodations to the “floor” of the structure to avoid pooling during heavy rains. Ends to the structure are not in the plans for this year, but may be if funds allow.

Our thanks to Parks Canada, RVCA and the Town of Smiths Falls for ensuring there were no unnecessary delays in the approval process and Shawn Merriman and Sue Brandum for making all the arrangements. Our amazing volunteers spent many hours earlier in the summer clearing out and rearranging the backyard to accommodate the structure, and assisted with the installation. McNamee Concrete generously donated the concrete blocks that form the base.  Thanks to Malloch construction for their site preparation assistance, and Rideau Home Hardware for the loan of a forklift and driver.   Bruce Wright of MegaDome made a generous contribution to reduce the total cost to REAL. We also thank our loyal supporter Tom Foulkes for kickstarting the process with his generous donation.

The dome is part of the REAL Deal’s three part expansion plan, which included extending our hours and hiring a manager to oversee the renovation materials aspect of REAL Deal operations. See  some photos of the dome installation.