Unpacking & Preparing your Assembly Area (Part 1 of 7)

Updated

Clear a 10 ft x 10 ft (3 m x 3 m) space, empty your Tank and sort every Flex Acre part before you build.

After you have confirmed your room against Flex Acre Site Requirements & Specs and counted your shipment against Flex Acre Parts List & Shipment Check, you can prepare the floor. Nothing bolts together in Part 1. The work here is clearing the space, emptying your Tank, and sorting every part where you can reach it, so the 6 articles that follow never stop to hunt for a piece.

Step 1: Clear your Assembly Area

  1. Clear a 10 ft x 10 ft (3 m x 3 m) space on the floor.
  2. Remove all tripping hazards from that space.
  3. Relocate any item in the area that can be moved, such as lamps.
  4. Mark any item that cannot be moved so you can work around it, including ceiling fixtures, sprinkler heads and windows.

Treat 10 ft x 10 ft as your minimum, not as a surplus. Your finished Flex Acre stands 9.5 ft long by 3 ft wide by 9.5 ft tall, and Part 2 has you tilt your Base Frame onto its side lengthwise and build it out on the floor before you walk it upright. A frame lying that way reaches close to 9.5 ft in both directions, which leaves about 6 inches of margin inside a 10 ft x 10 ft space. Keep the whole area clear for the whole build, not for Part 1 alone.

Step 2: Unpack your Flex Acre

NOTE: Do not begin unpacking until your assembly area is clear and marked.

  1. Remove all items from the Tank.
  2. Discard any loose garbage and recycling.
  3. Set the Tank to the side, out of the way of your assembly area.

Your Tank arrives with parts packed inside it, which makes it the first thing you empty. It is also one of the last things you install, as it does not go into your Base Frame until Part 4. Set it somewhere it will not be underfoot while you build your frame and hang your doors.

Step 3: Sort your Parts

  1. Sort the unpacked items by part on the floor next to your assembly area.
  2. Leave all hardware packed as-is.
  3. Check each sorted pile against the parts list in Flex Acre Parts List & Shipment Check as you go.

Sorting by part is what pays you back over the rest of the build. Part 2 calls for your 4 Skid Plates and your Magnet and Bumper Hardware by name, Part 3 calls for 4 Door Hinge Posts and 16 Light Arms, and Part 4 calls for 16 Root Chambers and 128 Panels. A pile that is already grouped answers each of those in seconds. Count against the parts list itself, as an emptied Tank is not proof that the whole shipment arrived.

If a part is missing or damaged, stop before you assemble anything and follow the steps in Flex Acre Parts List & Shipment Check.

Leave every hardware set sealed until the step that names it. The sets are packed by job, and a bag poured out early is slow to sort back into the right piles.

Your assembly area is clear and your parts are sorted. Well done!

Next: Building your Rolling Frame (Part 2 of 7)