1st post, looking for advice

[earle]

Originally Posted by smokeonthewater

I've put a bit of thought into this lately since I'm gonna have to do it soon.... Damn cool of you to come along and test all this out for me :-P

Happy to oblige. Appreciate the advice, just hope I don't have to report back on the resin in the armpit thing.

[scook]

Smoke's advice is better than mine - do what he says. My only caution is that if you do have a low spot (puddle) in the existing deck, be sure to take it out with your repair. Great idea drilling some holes to relieve the surplus goop and check that you're tight up under the existing deck.

[earle]

Originally Posted by scook

Smoke's advice is better than mine - do what he says. My only caution is that if you do have a low spot (puddle) in the existing deck, be sure to take it out with your repair. Great idea drilling some holes to relieve the surplus goop and check that you're tight up under the existing deck.

Okay gent's. Went to the big town yesterday and got all the stuff I need and am going to start cutting and dry fitting plywood today. One final question occurred to me, and you guy's probably know the answer.
The main sheet of plywood is pie shaped, about 70" x 40" at centre line. Is it realistic to try and cover the piece with thickened epoxy and still have time to fit it in place? The resin/hardener is Mas and the clerk told me I'll have about 30min. working time. Does that sound about right? I'm just wondering because I don't know how long to allow for spreading the stuff out? Don't want to run out of time before the wood is up and wedged into place. Thanks for any thots or tips.
Earl

[scook]

This isn't my area of expertise but a couple of thoughts come to mind. I've spread some floor covering adhesive and some thinset mortar with a notched trowel (like Smoke suggested) - it goes plenty fast, just be SURE you have enough mixed up to do the whole job. I can't imagine it taking you 5 minutes to do the spread. You might put some duct tape over the under side of the holes you've drilled in the plywood so you don't have to be careful about working around them spreading the resin and so it's not dropping in your armpits while you're initially getting it in place.

[smokeonthewater]

EDIT:
Nevermind the dumbass attack I previously posted here.....
:-/

[SkunkBoat]

MAS makes epoxy right? So you're using epoxy -thats good. When you glass the skin onto the piece you'll get a sense of the gel time. It won't change by adding filler. However, my experience is that afternoon gel times are much faster. I was starting my work in the morning at 70-75 degrees and by afternoon it was 85+.
Make a test batch of adhesive so you can guage the time and how much you need for the whole job. Its going to be a lot for a piece that size. You might want to mix multiple containers because larger batches get hot and kick faster.
But you will be pouring the whole batch onto the piece and spreading it quickly so that may not be such an issue.

I still suggest using a few well placed screws from the top to help hold the piece in place. Pre-drill the top skin and the screw will pull up the working piece. The holes for letting some squeeze out is an excellent idea. Just be careful because you are under it!!

Hmmmm? 70" x 40" is pretty big to hang upside down... I would think about cutting in 2 or 3 pieces. Smaller piece in the hard to reach area and gain experience with the process...

[smokeonthewater]

WHOOPS!

Yeah... I saw MAS and my peabrain registered MEK...

Yeah MAS makes epoxy DOH!

Keep in mind that the 30 minutes includes mixing time and it takes longer to mix in the thickener than just the epoxy... It will also vary with temperature... Warmer is faster.... It will kick faster in the mixing pot and take a bit longer once spread...

Make sure you prep the underside of the deck... Rough sanded and clean.

[earle]

Thanks guy's. Just my luck. Rained all day today. Gotta work tomorrow, and weather forecast say's rain thru the weekend. Sunday I leave for Florida for a week, so it looks like my repair job may come to a grinding halt for a bit. Why is weather report always rite when the forecast is lousy?