First time builders - building a "woodie"

[swoody126]

edge grain is the Achilles Heel of wood

for plywood it is more so

many(incl commercial manufacturers) simply use some kind if metal trim over edges and corners to hide them

the edges need to be encapsulated

epoxy is good

epoxy and fiberglass is much better(PMF is very good if you intend to paint)

once sealed w/ pox n glass use the finish of choice as long as it is UV inhibiting

epoxy and UV are not friends and the UV will degrade the pox in short order if not coated over(i learned/verified the hard way)

it is also believed/they say/i've heard(not proven to me yet) that OZONE has an adverse effect on epoxy so all epoxied surfaces will be better off when coated over w/ an exterior finish(paint or varnish)

my words are the results of many years of boatbuilding where i've bought a/o used epoxy from many sources

for your needs(and the needs of even the vast majority of boatbuilders) there is little need to buy the "high priced spread"

my favorite source for epoxy and fiberglass related products is DUCKWORKS BBS(boatbuilder supply)

https://www.duckworks.com

those guys began as home boatbuilders and have used/proven the products they sell on their own boats(many of which have been put thru the ACID TESTS w/o failure/issues)

if you do decde to use epoxy BUY THE PUMPS for measuring as they are by far the quickest method and offer the most consistent mixtures

when using epoxy wear NITRILE gloves(the blue ones) because the tan ones can melt due to the chemistry/solvents

i get my nitrile gloves from HF for $6/100 and frequently get 2-4 wearings from each glove b4 they tear or i get a hole poked in them

btw, nitrile gloves are great for greasing bearings too since they don't melt when exposed to petroleum products

sw

[nicoleandkyle]

Thank you so much for the input! We have decided that we will not be using epoxy, but we are going to pre-finish our cedar boards with varnish front and backside of each one. I also think we are going to use Through The Roof on the edges of the floor (same stuff we used on the underside of the floor). We will have to re-varnish every year as suggested above, but it will just have to be part of our Spring routine.

We got our walls up last night so here's some pics of that!

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[greygoos]

Have been following your build, it looks great. There is a build on here done by Woodbutcher, who is not a butcher at all! I think he commented on your build. Look up his posts, he has done a few woodies and on one he used untinted paint which dries clear.

[kristaology]

Beautiful woodwork!

I'm curious, it looks like your walls are sitting on top of the floor. How did you secure them down? I'm following the same build plan and need ideas that don't involve throwing a dowel rod on my floor.

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[nicoleandkyle]

Beautiful woodwork!

I'm curious, it looks like your walls are sitting on top of the floor. How did you secure them down? I'm following the same build plan and need ideas that don't involve throwing a dowel rod on my floor.

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Hi Kristaology,

We drilled pocket holes all along the bottom of the outside wall frames. If you look closely in the first picture along the side you can see the pocket holes. We used 2" long pocket screws and adjusted the pocket jig to where there would still be enough meat on the wall frame. We put a screw at least every 6". Then when we put our cedar on the side, the bottom plank will also be screwed into the side of the floor frame every 6" again. I drew a picture of it before we did it to get my partner and myself on the same page.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,
Nicole

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[nevadatear]

We epoxied over fiberglass, then varnish ver that. But that was plywood. Fiberglas clth maynot work well on your tongue in groove. Could wrao the edges with thegrlass cloth to better hold the epoxy.

[kristaology]

@nicoleandkyle

That's pretty much how I was thinking of attaching my walls, except from the inside. How does it feel structurally when the spars are in place?

My dad is convinced it won't be as strong as a 2x2 screwed to the floor on the inside. Probably not, but I have less than 48" of sleep space to work with and I don't want to jeopardize that with boards on my floor.

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[greygoos]

You could use pocket screws and angle to attach. Put in the pocket screws and then screw in a piece of angle to the floor and the wall. You will never see or notice it after the mattress is down. Compromise for you and your Dad.

[tony.latham]

That's pretty much how I was thinking of attaching my walls, except from the inside. How does it feel structurally when the spars are in place?

I've done it both ways.



On this current build, I'm doing it from the inside since the exterior will be glassed and then covered with Monstaliner.



I use PL Premium adhesive on this joint.



I'll butt screw from the side and then add the pocket screws. Part of the structural strength is from the roof/ceiling joint at the front and the rear bulkhead that gets screwed to the floor.



Rock solid.



Tony

[nicoleandkyle]

That's pretty much how I was thinking of attaching my walls, except from the inside. How does it feel structurally when the spars are in place?

I've done it both ways.



On this current build, I'm doing it from the inside since the exterior will be glassed and then covered with Monstaliner.



I use PL Premium adhesive on this joint.



I'll butt screw from the side and then add the pocket screws. Part of the structural strength is from the roof/ceiling joint at the front and the rear bulkhead that gets screwed to the floor.



Rock solid.



Tony

Thank you so much for showing both ways! Very helpful pics!

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[campbellinaz]

Keep in mind that using sheet goods (at least on one side) are key to a sturdy build. Sheeting one side of the framing will create shear strength and prevent “racking”, the same principal in home construction (ask your Dad). I would be very hesitant to use t & g on both sides for this reason. Even the simple old travel trailers used paneling on the inside (creating shear strength) and overlapping metal “bands” that were corrugated (for strength & rigidity) on the outside. Good Luck !


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[nicoleandkyle]

Keep in mind that using sheet goods (at least on one side) are key to a sturdy build. Sheeting one side of the framing will create shear strength and prevent “racking”, the same principal in home construction (ask your Dad). I would be very hesitant to use t & g on both sides for this reason. Even the simple old travel trailers used paneling on the inside (creating shear strength) and overlapping metal “bands” that were corrugated (for strength & rigidity) on the outside. Good Luck !


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Thank you for pointing this out! I've been thinking about it all night and all morning lol. I texted my dad about it and he said that he DOES worry about it! Never mentioned it to me though lol. Here's our conversation in typical dad response format. Ultimately we are just going to roll with our original plan and I'm going to take the "probably" as good enough because we've come too far to change course now. I'll probably call him later today to have a real talk about it, but I think we're going to plow on ahead.

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[nicoleandkyle]

This week we have been pre-finishing our pine boards for the ceiling and the cedar boards for the exterior walls. Hoping to get the exterior walls finished up by this weekend and to start constructing the inside cabinets. Then we will start installing the ceiling! It's coming along I think, but we have a goal to finish by Labor Day weekend. Not sure if that will happen, but we are trying!

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[nicoleandkyle]

Still trying to finish up the walls. Just started storming like crazy out so we had to pack it back into the garage for now. Hoping it clears up soon and we can get back out there! Thought I'd post a small update for now.

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[pchast]

Its coming together nicely.