LAFAYETTE, La. — The CajunDome was built in 1985 and it's 165 feet in height, but how do you clean the top of the Cajundome? In the year 2022, they are using drones.
“I actually had a vision that I was cleaning a building with a drone,” recalls Jordy Marks, owner of L.A. Drone Services. That statement would prove to be prophetic.
However, back when the Cajundome was built some 37 years ago, Marks—an Arnaudville native and United States Navy veteran—was only a year old, and so that vision hadn’t really popped up. And back then, how did you actually clean the top of the Dome? That, says Cajundome Director Pam DeVille, took a lot of risk. “You had men that were tethered to the top of the roof going down and actually scrubbing it. There aren’t many people who would consider that a long-term job.” So, bring on the drones? DeVille laughs. “Yes, sir! Bring on the drones!”
Enter Jordy Marks, who came in from the oilfield and for the last couple months has owned L.A. Drone Services. Just a few months ago, Marks received a $49,500 contract to work his magic on Acadiana’s premiere event facility. “He’s gonna clean the Cajundome with drones, and water shoots out of it,” says his unofficial marketing director (and seven-year old daughter) Bree. Marks then took it a step further. “We already sprayed the top area, and now we’re going to start on this side with the drone.”
And what will they use? “It’s an environmentally-safe cleaner, and it will eat away the grime and organic matter on that roof, so when they go over it with the drone and a low-pressure wash it’ll just sheet away all of that,” explains Charles Monteiro of GAF Chemicals.
I asked Marks, who had gone up to the top of the facility, what he thought of the top of Dome’s condition. “It’s got a lot of roll grime on it, so it’s pretty black up there,” he says. “But after we finish it, in two days, it’ll be white, white, white.”
Marks will use two drones and the cleaning won’t take long. “Man, we can knock this out in two days.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
