Wood choice

Well, after wifey doing a header last night while getting out of the spa, I need to make a platform for getting in and out of the spa. Should I use redwood? Treated lumber? If I use redwood, what kind of sealer? Something that won't be slippery when wet. Or should I put a rug on the top? I raised the spa about 8" to mount it on a set of blocks and a treated lumber frame, and now, it is just about 3" higher than our legs are long.

Help me quick. I gotta get this made yesterday. I nearly did a flip the other night. She cut her hand in two places, and got a couple of nice bruises in a couple of other unmentionable areas. Luckily, no ER trip or broken bones, though.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB
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Treated lumber. Indoor-outdoor carpeting on top. No redwood. Heap expensive (unless they mill it nearby), real soft, doesn't take treatments well.

Keep the treated lumber well treated with water sealer. Otherwise it raises really nasty, big, sharp splinters. That's one advantage of redwood. The other advantage of redwood is that you can say you used redwood. It's like paying more than you should for a car.

Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Either will do fine. A good outdoor wood sealer like what is used for boat work will do fine for a paint over the wood and make sure that you do the painting first and then when you do any bolts, you also insure that the holes are painted.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works every time it is tried!

Reply to
Bob May

Hey this is a metalworking NG. Make it out of AL diamond plate with indoor/outdoor carpet for non slip treads.

As its a high priority emergency, you need a new Tig welder and new plasma cutter to do the job right.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

A Thermal Dynamics 380 plasma cutter and a Lincoln Precision 185 TIG are on my event horizon. Maybe this is just the reason I needed.

Thanks!

BTW, since this spa is in the back yard, the wifey wants it made out of wood. It will have a MIGged tubular metal frame. I will, however consider the diamond plate idea for the one in my shop. ;-)

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

You have a spa in your *shop*!?

Wow, sounds like you've been living right.

Pete

Reply to
Pete Bergstrom

You have a spa in your shop?! Now that's a workshop!

I can't keep up.

-- Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love America

Reply to
Bob Chilcoat

Treated for the structure, Ipe for the decking. Super hard, no splinters, wears like iron.

I know Ed recommended indoor/outdoor carpeting, but I don't like it. Breeding ground for mold/mildew, and eventually will be more slippery than bare wood.

Check out the Ipe - really good stuff.

Reply to
Rick Chamberlain

That's something to watch out for, but it depends on the application. I visualized it on top of the wood, with small (3/16") spaces between the planks, and basically out in the open air. If it can't drain, you can have problems. But it's great around the diving area of a pool, for example, if it can drain and breathe.

Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

QUIET! It is classified as an EMERGENCY WATER IMMERSION SYSTEM in my safety equipment inventory, and therefore qualifies as a deduction. (You may want to get one for your shop, now that you know it is deductible.)

Had to pay for the CD music system and flat screen out of my own pocket, though. Darn!

Oh, wait! I could show safety CDs on the flat screen and run the sound through the CD music system. That would allow me to include them in my safety equipment inventory. Eureka! I would just have to make a locking cabinet for the private CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes.

One gets some very creative ideas (including financial) whilst soaking in warm water.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Reply to
Machineman

Red Wood then Cedar. Thompsons is better with hot water. I'm guessing you want the look. Did you know that over 104/5 degrees and or alcohol will kill you? You pass out and drown or get hurt getting out of it. I didn't fix a spa once on purpose cause the guy had a heart condition , it needed a lot of help , but it was better that I didn't. Have at least two thermometers. And sand paper for truck bumpers if your having problems.

Metal grate...

I can set you up with a light that will change colors to the music in your spa. Way Cool. It likes all kinds of music , but Floyd is good.

Lightsickel.com

Reply to
Sunworshiper

How do you keep your tools from rusting? (Straight line - use at your peril.)

-- Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love America

Reply to
Bob Chilcoat

I made a set of big steps on lake Erie out of oak and give them a coat of boiled linseed oil every year. They have turned black but are perfect for

20 years, a 90 year-old painter told me that it would last forever that way. ...or, get wifey a pair of Aquatreads.
Reply to
Tom Gardner

I'll second this- Ipe or Greenheart, no finish. The good boardwalks use it. Wears like metal and doesn't splinter. Don't breathe the sawdust.

Kevin Gallimore

Reply to
axolotl

A good sealer is canning wax melted into mineral sprits. All it will hold as long as a coffee can full stays liquid out in the sun. It has it's own slip resistance once the mineral spirits evaporates. Any rot resistant wood will do, pt decking, ipe, redwood, heart cypress.

Reply to
Beecrofter

After reading some of the other posts, I would wholeheartedly recommend the newer "plasticized" materials they are using for decks. They have a little bit of a rough surface (although not bad) and will not absorb water, do not need staining or any other kind of treatment and you can use it just like wood. It will be permanent with NO maintenance... I would (no pun intended) definitely use it for a project like this in my own place. Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling

Reply to
Grant Erwin

And redwood gets brittle with age

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

jk

Reply to
jk

"Ken Sterling" wrote

I worked the National Association of Home Builders here in Las Vegas a few months ago. One of the exhibits was of this new "wood." I had to lift a deck made of it with my forklift for them to break it into sections. It was all my 3500# capacity fork could do to lift it. I was impressed. I am going to check into it, as in the Las Vegas area, sunlight would be the worst enemy. Not rain or humidity. Kinda pricey, but do it once and forgeddabout it

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

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