“a company involved in its last renovation more than 15 years ago was approached with an opportunity to do this remodel as well. But the company said no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Specifically, it balked at two requirements \u2013 the Trump administration wanted it done by July 4, and the pool bottom had to be blue, according to two employees with the New Jersey-based Sika Corporation, which provided the concrete construction and sealing products for a 2010 renovation project to the Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the two employees, who spoke to CNN on the condition they not be identified, both demands made the job “unfeasible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was initially estimated to cost $1.8 million, but the price tag is now up to $14.7 million<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sika declined the proposal after a routine assessment of feasibility and risk, the employees said. One of the Sika specialists assumed that was because Sika’s solution was complicated and lengthy, not fitting the contractor’s tight timeline of just a few months turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a journalist and former Republican communications strategist, Eddie Wood, who owns Atlantic Industrial Coatings, said it was the government that decided to use a type of plastic-like coating called polyurea and contract Rhino Linings to provide those materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the Rhino 406 Primer, one Sika employee said that epoxy, which is a popular coating for garage floors, is rigid, and would not be a good solution for flexing joints like the ones in the Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last time Sika worked on the reflecting pool was in 2012, when President Barack Obama’s administration spent $34 million on an 18-month renovation of the pool which was meant to address ongoing issues with algae blooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, shortly after that renovation was completed, the pool again became a murky, smelly mess. That apparent failure to adequately address the issues with the pool became political fodder for Trump when he ordered his own renovation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n