Building Out The BioLab at Mezzacello

Building Out The BioLab at Mezzacello

Oh Look! An unexpected fully built Shed in the Alley!
Removing the 30cm shipping skids
Two of my Middle School Interns getting ready to teach BioTech in Building 4
The Floor, The Drains, The start of the walls
Mr. Spinny the Sample Wall for the BioLab
Mr. Rick helping me measure wall boards
Placing the sinks and the samples fridge for placement
Leftover notes from the Biotech camp on the whiteboard

I have known for a few years now that I wanted to add classroom space to Mezzacello that is capable of access to water and sanitation. Now I have one and it is proving to be a chore! So this post is an update on building out the biolab at Mezzacello.

Early Issues

First, let me start by stating that all of my sheds are Amish-built. Sturdy, great craftsmanship and they will last for decades. The problem is, the Amish and their “English” handlers do not read CAD PDFs.

I sent the Complete plan to their ordering dude and attached the CAD diagram and the Specs as PDFs. They neglected to read them. The result was a fully built 10’x12’x12′ wooden shed delivered through downtown Columbus and dropped in the middle of an alley intersection and NOT built upon the concrete slab I requested in my email.

Problem Number One was how was I going to get this large object through the alley and into my yard? I had to maneuver it down the alley with a pallet jack, rotate it and move around my existing 10’x12′ classroom shed and into the tight space the former 10′ x 12′ greenhouse occupied. Simple, I will have to dismantle everything in my garden.

Once that task was complete, I realized I had to remove the sleds that were BUILT INTO the shed for delivery and raised the shed an additional 18″ above the concrete slab – 6″ is the LIMIT for ADA Compliance. So my neighbors helped me jack the shed up and we carefully removed the sleds cutting bit by bit away.

Now The BuildOut Begins

So now that I had a shed, I needed to start to make itr waterproof, water-tight and add sinks, a kitchen, lab benched, and drains. This was a huge chore that I have largely done myself. Linoleum floors, Waterfroom wrapping, shower tiles, power, water taps, and solar and wind turbine access with a water-tight dedicated power battery pack. It has also been very expensive.

In the end it will have been worth it. I wanted a space dedicated to better understanding the microbiology, soil life, fish ecosystems, and animal health and welfare needs at Mezzacello. Now I will have it, even if it kills me.

Donate to Mezzacello Today

Want to donate to Mezzacello Urban Farm, a 501(C)(3) non-profit urban farm in the heart of downtown Columbus Ohio? Great! Click here. All donations are tax-deductible and 100% of donations fo directly ti infrastructure and programming that expands STEM Career opportunities to urban and marginalized urban students to better understand the intersection between applied STEM and health, accessible, sustainable food.

Donate Here

If you are reading this far, now is the time to know that you can donate to Mezzacello to help me get to that last mile. I have all the equipment, now I just need to finish retrofitting the shed with access to reliable power and fresh water and watcher cachement systems. If you want to help with that, please consider donating here.

I’ll follow up with another post soon. In the meantime, if you need to reach me, I am probably out trying to plumb three sanitation sinks together like a fool and trying to stay cool doing it. Cheers, mates!

This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023