Trump order to paint border wall black could drive up cost $500 million or more
Source: Washington Post
President Trump is once more pushing to have his border wall painted black, a design change that is projected to add at least $500 million in costs, according to government contracting estimates obtained by The Washington Post.
The presidents determination to have the steel bollards coated in black has fluctuated during the past several years, and military commanders and border officials believed as recently as last fall that they had finally talked him out of it. They consider the black paint unnecessary, costly and a significant long-term maintenance burden, and they left it out of the original U.S. Customs and Border Protection design specifications.
Trump has not let go of the idea, insisting that the dark color will enhance its forbidding appearance and leave the steel too hot to touch during summer months. During a border wall meeting at the White House last month amid the coronavirus pandemic, the president told Jared Kushner and aides to move forward with the paint job and to seek out cost estimates, according to four administration officials with knowledge of the meeting.
POTUS has changed his mind and now wants the fence painted. We are modifying contracts to add, said one official involved in the construction effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being fired.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-border-wall-black-paint/2020/05/06/dbda8ae4-8eff-11ea-8df0-ee33c3f5b0d6_story.html
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Warpy
(111,397 posts)with decorative marble over the posts.
That ugly black scar on our southern border is the perfect monument to that man.
Mopar151
(10,004 posts)Because a little "junkyard physics" observation will show that rusty metal stays far cooler than shiny chrome, in direct sunlight. The limiting factor is how much heat the surface will radiate (over 24 hours), vs. how much heat is absorbed from the hours of direct sunlight!
Time for some guerrilla "Mythbusters"!
Warpy
(111,397 posts)sort of like that parabolic building in London that tended to fry people on the sidewalk on sunny days. I'm surprised he didn't think of that one.
In the meantime, sections have already been taken out with battery operated Sawzalls. Wait until they discover what a little liquid nitrogen can do!
Mopar151
(10,004 posts)cut level to the ground, a post left, or re-affixed, for standard 5' chain link, or to mark the remaining foundation. Site left "broom clean" at completion, fade the US Gov't 15% of the proceeds back, just so's we can keep track of the whole deal.
Bengus81
(6,936 posts)Happy now?
Miguelito Loveless
(4,475 posts)Build a coal-fired plant to electrify it at 1000 amps and 10,000 volts.
Lulu KC
(2,575 posts)^^^^ and as I typed this reply title in, it autofilled. Of course.
hatrack
(59,594 posts)Oh, I forgot, we don't need Orcs, we have ICE.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,027 posts)it. It would save the taxpayers $$ and it would be easy for consumers to see clearly which companies to boycott.
Win Win.
alp227
(32,068 posts)(sorry)
genxlib
(5,546 posts)And yeah it will be hot...in the middle of the afternoon. But what about dawn or the middle of the night?
Few hundred million here, a few hundred million there. Pretty soon you are talking about real money.
Mopar151
(10,004 posts)Rust stays cooler than chrome, in the junkyard. Easiest way to get him off this (I've worked for idiots before...) is to tell him that a test of the paint systems is needed to pick the "best" one,
Make sure the test is done on the real "Trumpwall" segments, in place, in large, squarish sections, sufficently spaced to avoid thermal conductivity issues. Then summon the whole rotten RW Media out for an "EMBED" with the industrial media blasting / bridge painting crews doing the prep work. Make sure the shitflakes have NO PPE, and put 'em next to the guys in the moonsuits. 50 miles out of town, with no shower or clean clothes.
TXPaganBanker
(210 posts)n/t
Bengus81
(6,936 posts)Which that fat POS hasn't done ONE day of in his fucked up life.............
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Mopar151
(10,004 posts)Junkyard physics....
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,375 posts)Those car seats got very hot in the sun.
dalton99a
(81,656 posts)Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)That would be a large contract. You know theres a crony nearby.
TimeToGo
(1,366 posts)Bayard
(22,184 posts)He must have a buddy in the paint business, or at least someone willing to shovel over a kickback.
Lulu KC
(2,575 posts)pandr32
(11,635 posts)notdarkyet
(2,226 posts)Believe is his goal. He wants to break us and is doing his damnest.
not fooled
(5,803 posts)on full display.
tanyev
(42,642 posts)LiberalArkie
(15,730 posts)Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)benld74
(9,911 posts)Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)If the house was on fire, first thing I would do is start looking at paint chips and think about what color to paint it.
machoneman
(4,016 posts)upon removal will reveal the words "TRUMP'S WALL" in 6' tall letters.
Just watch.................................
Canoe52
(2,949 posts)winstars
(4,220 posts)BlueIdaho
(13,582 posts)Wondering about what color to paint an imaginary wall isnt one of them.
Submariner
(12,512 posts)the steel can be better used elsewhere.
Totally Tunsie
(10,885 posts)"Mr. trump, We tear down your wall!"
Mendocino
(7,517 posts)The New River Gorge Bridge was designed using US Corten Steel. It rusts but once, then stops corroding. It is not necessary ever to paint it. Most bridges like the Golden Gate or Mackinac are always in the state of being painted indefinitely. I don't know what kind of steel is being used in the wall, but I bet its from the Kushner Steel Works with Paints By Ivanka.
[link:
LiberalArkie
(15,730 posts)Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericized trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance after several years' exposure to weather.
nilesobek
(1,423 posts)marble falls
(57,398 posts)with tons of kick back bucks for all the non participants.
robbob
(3,539 posts)Hes out of his mind.
Historic NY
(37,457 posts)What the hell makes him think that they going to climb the fence in 100+ degree weather. A couple of years and it will be rusty.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)On the south side.
gab13by13
(21,451 posts)why does everyone continue to call a fence a wall?
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Probably not as bad as Stephen Miller though.
jmowreader
(50,569 posts)After Joe wins the election, we tear out all this steel Trump had erected, and build a new ship for the Navy out of it.
It will be named the USNS Donald J. Trump.
It will be a garbage scow.
It will be commanded by a Petty Officer Second Class (the same rank as an Army sergeant).
And it will be crewed by inmates from the Norfolk Naval Station brig.
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,600 posts)Even though the law prevents a president from ordering a new paint scheme until his second term, we know how effective laws have been at keeping Fat Donnie from doing whatever the hell he wants.
On a practical matter, how many N95 masks could the VA obtain for $500 million?
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,375 posts)... what if they made the crossing at dawn, dusk, or night? Maybe the wall wouldn't be so hot.
Think they thought of that?