| Author | Message | ||
     Lazeyjack (Lazeyjack) Member Username: Lazeyjack Post Number: 29 Registered: 04-2012 |
hear you Brendon, trouble is there is no timber here suitable. We are now all supermarket style, where you buy ten nails in a plastic sealed packet Best timber(lumber) I have seen is in Germany, beams from the rack 15m long 12 deep 6 wide, mouth watering stuff, lot of timber building in Germany frame wise, laminated huge beams nice, does not sweat drip, like steel does so I reckon your thick wide deck boards are readily available there too | ||
| Branden_wilson (Branden_wilson) Senior Member Username: Branden_wilson Post Number: 114 Registered: 03-2008 |
i appreciate your wisdom in regard to lumber and certainly would love to hear more about yacht building. but as far as roof decking, there are more variables to consider than just longevity. solid wood is proven to hold fastners better which is of top concern. also solid boards will have more gaps to allow the roof to "breathe" better. this doesn't apply to most modern american homes as they are designed to not breathe the same way but with a proper roof on a proper home breathing is important. i've been amazed by how well marine grade plywood holds up in marine conditions though. but for a roof deck, nothing beats solid hard wood. most of the time in the US there is a local sawmill or even a farmer nearby who does a bit of logging who will happily provide rough sawn solid hardwood for close to the same price as plywood. i preffer to hand nail the decking so this takes a bit more labor but when one really looks at pneumatic nailing, the quality of the connected fastners is never as good as hand nails and hammers always ensure proper nail placement. there is even a wide range of difference in quality among hand nails these days. slate roofs aren't broke so they don't need fixing. and the level of wisdom, understanding and integrity in this world among other things has significantly decreased and is still rapidly decreasing therefore we really have nothing to offer as far as "improvements" these days. compromises yes but improvements, not even close. thanks much though for your insight and unique perspective. it's obvious your intentions are good. all the best. REAL SLATER | ||
| Lazeyjack (Lazeyjack) Junior Member Username: Lazeyjack Post Number: 11 Registered: 04-2012 |
I am totally unqualified to talk slate but very well qualified to talk metal timber and ply, being a long time yacht builder I have read a lot abt misgivings pertaining to ply Seeing as oak heart and any other heart is long gone and most places do not have the abundance of conifer, spruce, firs that you in USA and Germany and Scandinavia have So we have no choice but ply the more veneers that make up ply the better Mr Jenkins mentioned people care not what they stick under the slate, they are not going to be there to pick up the result of a poor job Here is what I would do Roll on two coats of epoxy resin, lightly sanded between coats Or go the marine paint way Roll on something like Devoe number one, do not spray because the first coat will just sit on top then as soon as you can get on the roof hit it with a 6 passes of two pack epoxy, your marine paint guy will tell you what, The aim is film thickness You should aim total 200microns dft (dry film thickness, you can buy a comb which you stick into the wet paint as you go which reads the wet film thickness. Do this with an airless of a quality air gun lo pressure high volume(less overspray) and you are looking for a nozzle and aircap which will leave a 12 inch wide pattern which like slating you overlap You will thin the paint some 30-% don't worry this just lets it break up You should then have a deck that will last same as your slate, you could paint the undersides of the deck before it goes up, or even both sides fasten it down with ss square drive screws But I would never consider putting down unpainted ply |
