Picture Idea

For Those of Us Who Would Rather
Look at Pictures Instead of Read the Articles

by Sam Brock

We just moved into our new office, and one of the exciting additions is a room devoted to planning and development. Of course, when we were finished with the building, we didn’t have as much money as we would like to furnish it. A few ideas saved a pile of cash. (The letters correspond to the pictures. Click to see pictures.)

A. We used Loctite Stik ‘n Seal to glue magnets to many items. We tried several types of glue, but this is the one that worked the best. Make sure you let it set for twenty-four hours.

B. We cut 4” tiles in half and quarters and 12” tiles down to 8” x 2”. White board markers erase off of ceramic tile like a high quality white board.

C. Magnets (model #ND021 from magnets4less.com) are strong (pull force=5.3 lbs) and cheap ($.14 each in quantities of 100 or more).

D. We glued magnets to wooden buttons, metal bolts, and nuts, etc., to create our own “metal thumb tack.”

E. For the metal border, we went to a metal fabrication place (like where they make duct work) and asked them to cut sheets of galvanized metal. A 4’ x 10’ sheet of galvanized metal cost just $46; we had the border made 16-inches wide. For the trim, we used baseboard and attached it with liquid nails and a few screws on the edge. The border covered up the screws giving us about 14 inches of space to work with. The black dividers are a piece of black granite cut into strips with magnets on them.

F. A magnetic white board is the most expensive thing in the room. This 4’ x 8’ board (from dryeraseboard.com) was $412 but is the high quality ceramic which will not ghost your markers over time.

G. Printing 11” x 17” calendars allowed us to put 24 months on a 4’ x 10’ sheet of metal. The dividers are 1-inch wide pieces of wood with magnets attached, and the titles are made with a piece of tile.

H. Lists with easy priority adjustments—”Buy and Build” means we need money and labor to do this. “Buy” means we just need money. “Next 100 days” has been a helpful list to prioritize the important things. The small numbered tiles allow us to move around the priorities.

I. Any idea what this is? It is our little code for “nail the details.” Get it? A giant nail atop a D with a coyote tail attached.