Day Two! Construction Resumes.

[Goldenarcher1328]

Well, its the second day of construction.
The name of the day is frustration.

Doubt anyone will get that reference.

I have a problem. I need ideas on waterproofing ideas. I'm working on one right now, sealing the wood, tiling over it, and silicone sealing the seams.

Hmm Any ideas? I would love to finish this within the night.

Interesting though, Sweeney, our male chameleon is displaying interesting colors, instead of his typical seafoam green with yellow and orange stripes, he was blue this morning with a brilliant orange striping Any ideas why this may be?

 

[stephen gedman]

try sealing the wood with yacht varnish my mate uses it for sealing all wood and says its cheap and great stuff.

 

[EvilLost]

I use US Composites 635 Epoxy; comes to ~$100 for a gallon shipped to CA (from FL).

@stephen_gedman: where would you get yacht varnish cheap? I called a few marine supply stores and they all quoted me $150-200/gallon

1 gallon covers ~250 SQ FT I believe.


I personally used a coat of "weatherproofing" stain (rated for blizzards)
On top of that (inside only) I put a coat of brown DRYLOK.

In my current build, on top of that I put 6mm black plastic.


On the floor I have epoxy under the drain. I am debating if its necessary to epoxy the "maintenance" area where the pump/reservoir sit.


IN HINDSIGHT, I would epoxy everything as I was building it for safety. I already regret not doing so as I know the 6mm plastic is worthless, and I don't trust DRYLOK to hold up for more than a year or two tops.


EDIT: Oh I know frustration.....at least you have a garage to work with...try building this thing ALONE in your living room!

EDIT2: its nice to have someone to share the pain with on these boards

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

EDIT: Oh I know frustration.....at least you have a garage to work with...try building this thing ALONE in your living room!

EDIT2: its nice to have someone to share the pain with on these boards

I'm building it in my bed room with maybe 1 foot on either side to walk on! haha.

I'm going to use Flex-Seal as seen on TV haha. coating the entire bottom after i finish screwing everything in.

On the down side... I have to remove all my reptiles from the room... Two of which live in a 400lb tank..... So they are safely tucked away in their burrows with an industrial fan keeping the fumes blowing out the window and out of their enclosure.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

Round 1 is over.

Round 1 comes to a close as i finish the first layer of waterproofing on the frame!!! Excitment! 3 more to go. Then Flex sealing the bottom trough where the soil will be.

 

[EvilLost]

I would be very carefl what product you use for sealing.

Many products do not cure to be nontoxic...I don't know what that product you mentioned was, but not all are made equal.

 

[Goldenarcher1328]

I am being very cautious with how this goes on, The final result will be up and running at the very least 2 months for observation of any negative side effects.