Feb. 22
February 5, 2007
Bernice Hughes
February 7, 2007
Homer McGee exchanged his plumber tools for building toolsnfloat-building tools, that is.
The retired professional plumber and current owner of Houma Float Rentals, McGee said building floats is a hobby, a way for him to pass the time instead of watching television all day.
The former Mississippi resident got into building and remodeling floats in 1983, when he was the den chairperson for the Krewe of Terreanians in Houma. He was the den chairperson for 17 years and a club member for 27 years.
“I started building and patching on floats. Then, I started remodeling and making the floats I bought from other clubs bigger,” he said.
For many years, he owned and operated Houma Plumbing and Heating. Building floats was his side-gig. He sold the plumbing business, when his float rental business took off.
McGee also got out of carnival club in 1992, because his business was starting to take up most of his free time.
McGee owns 22 floats, which he rents out. He transports the floats by truck to various places in the Bayou Region. McGee’s longest float transport is in Lafayette, which takes him about five hours each way.
According to McGee, he only builds floats for Terrebonne Parish clubs but he rents out floats to Carnival clubs in Lockport and Lafayette.
The floats are built out of iron and wood, and have deck floors that are 2 feet by 12 feet. He said he builds the in-and-out bumps to form the shape of the float. He places a cloth material over the bumps and then adds a couple coats of paint and along with the detail work.
This year McGee built two floats and remodeled more than five floats for the Carnival season. He starts building the floats around September. He said it’s so hot in his building in the summertime that he has to wait until the weather is a little cooler to work.
McGee does 90 percent of the building and remodeling. He builds float for the female Carnival club the Krewe of Hyacinthians and the Krewe of Terreanians in Houma.
The size of the float determines how long the remodel will take. A simple float, for instance, takes about six weeks to build. “It all depends on how much time I can put in it at one time,” he said.
According to McGee, he makes all different types of floats that are different sizes and shapes. For example, he builds floats that are between 20 feet and 36 feet long as well as doubled-decker floats.
When asked about how he builds the extravagant floats with the headpieces atop, McGee said he orders them from Lewis Massett and Company in New Orleans. “I rent all the head pieces and props from Massett in New Orleans. I used to build them, but I started to run out of storage room. Once you have used the headpieces you are finished with them. At one time, I had about 80 and I didn’t have anywhere to put them. I sold them to Massett in New Orleans; he has big warehouses where he stores them,” he said.
When asked about the color scheme of the floats, McGee said, “There isn’t a certain color that is popular. If I had to choose one it would be the majestic color, a kind of pinkish-red color, or an assortment of the real bright colors.”
McGee said the royalty floats, which are floats that stay the same every year, are colored with red and purple marble.
If someone wanted to get into the float-making or float rental business, McGee said they would have to know a lot about Mardi Gras and have carpentry skills for the business to be a success. He said the person(s) would have to have more than 10 to 20 years of experience.
“This skill is not something you learn overnight. I have a son who has been with me for probably 20 years and he still wouldn’t be able to carry the business alone,” he said.
McGee said it also takes a lot of money. He said it costs nearly $15,000 to $20,000 to buy a float or to build it from scratch. Potential float-makers and owners would have to start by learning from other float-builders, just like McGee did more than 40 years ago.
The builder said the rental part of the business is not that difficult if the floats have already been built. “They would have to know how to patch the floats when they come back damaged. They would also have to know how to touch-up the paint work,” he said.
Staff photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN • Tri-Parish Times * Float-maker Homer McGee’s work will be seen rolling down Main Street in Houma, and as far away as Lafayette this Mardi Gras season. With 22 floats in his den, the former plumber has no plans to retire anytime soon. Mardi Gras season in the Tri-parishes officially gets under way Friday night with the Krewe of Hercules.
