Feasible as composite sheet to rest on compact earth & support parked pickup motorised vehicle ?

[Our Man in the Tropics]

Dear Fellow Thaivisa.com Posters,

 

I would be grateful for all yer constructive relevant input to the following proposal ;

 

"System of "cheap type" 25mm thick Plywood Sheets [ perhaps costing some THB 500 in main hardware chain stores ] that are then covered in "rubbery" Mastic [ for elastic response, & ease of removal -- if wanted later -- by solvent & scraper ], & then butted edge-to-edge according to area to be covered, & then surfaced with suitable floor tiles, is "feasible" option as top floor supporting the comings & goins of a pickup truck motorized vehicle ?

 

 

Thanking yee all, in advance, for yer most helpful kind relevant replies.

 

Regards,

 

Our Man in the Tropics

 

[VocalNeal]

Might be easier if you described your problem rather than asking for opinions on your solution?

[Our Man in the Tropics]

Hi VocalNeal,

 

That approach which u propose is very worthy in itself often ;

 

However :

 

1_

the main problem, or rather the main challenge, is already implicit in what I wrote,

viz.

support the comings, & goings, of a pickup motorized vehicle ultimately supported on hard earth ground

 

2_

the proposal's problem, or rather the proposal's challenge, is whether ipso-facto it is feasible to be successful

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

 

Worthy as ur proposed approach to arriving at feasible solution is in many situations,- I am confident that u would accede to Henry Ford's statement ;

 

"If I had performed Market Research,- the market would have only informed me to get a faster horse."

[ or words similar ]

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

By the way,- I should have mentioned that the sheet of plywood is meant to be completely covered in rubbery-mastic for more than 1 reason,

incl.

prevent the sheet from decay by microbes

prevent the sheet from decay by pests

Edited May 13, 2020 by Our Man in the Tropics

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

"System of "cheap type" 25mm thick Plywood Sheets [ perhaps costing some THB 500 in main hardware chain stores ] that are then covered in "rubbery" Mastic [ for elastic response, & ease of removal -- if wanted later -- by solvent & scraper ], & then butted edge-to-edge according to area to be covered, & then surfaced with suitable floor tiles, is "feasible" option as top floor supporting the comings & goins of a pickup truck motorized vehicle ?

The local termites will be extremely happy. You will very shortly have crazy paving as the substrate flexes and many tiles break.

 

so if feeding local wildlife and breaking tiles is something you consider feasible then yes ???? 

 

PS The only  prevention  against termite attack is wood treatment, mastic does nothing.

Edited May 13, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[cornishcarlos]

Why don't you just do it and then report back with the outcome, as Henry Ford would have done.

Otherwise you'll just be told to use concrete !!

[bankruatsteve]

I doubt you would get more than 1 coming-and-going before breaking tile on plywood.

 

[Kwasaki]

OP I have no idea what you propose, pix diagram something. Anyone. 

[Our Man in the Tropics]

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The local termites will be extremely happy. You will very shortly have crazy paving as the substrate flexes and many tiles break.

 

so if feeding local wildlife and breaking tiles is something you consider feasible then yes ???? 

 

PS The only  prevention  against termite attack is wood treatment, mastic does nothing.

Well, sometimewoodworker, ur answer is very convincing ;

 

Is / Are there some good & cheap & relatively safe effective wood-treatment that will result in a durable substrate ?

e.g.s

1_

wood product substrate pre-treated by its manufacturer ?

2_

wood product substrate post-treated by customer

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Perhaps,- I should consider the option of using "hot-dipped galvanized checkered-plate of 10 mm thickness" ?

Would this be a hazard for lightening strikes or mains electricity shorting ?

Should it be earthed to a properly buried copper rod ?

 

 

Addendum ;

Think of this floor as a moveable floor as would suit a Falang who may have to relocate with this floor transported by truck & re-laid & added to according to new location.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Our Man in the Tropics

[VocalNeal]

3 hours ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

1_

the main problem, or rather the main challenge, is already implicit in what I wrote,

viz.

support the comings, & goings, of a pickup motorized vehicle ultimately supported on hard earth ground

If the ground is hard compacted earth why will it not support a pickup? 

 

So do you wish to stop the pickup leaving tire tracks or do you wish to stop alighting passengers from getting said earth on their shoes or...do you not want to lie one bare earth while changing the oil or...

 

Put plywood on bare earth if you wish but there maybe (sic) a better way. 

[bankruatsteve]

Plywood on the ground, in the weather, is not going to last long no matter what you do to it.  And gluing tile to it will break the first time you put the pickup on top of it.  Get enough bricks to handle the area of your PU and then throw them in the back when you move.

[VocalNeal]

Ah now it has to be transportable in a truck maybe the same pickup to a new location. 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by VocalNeal

[bankruatsteve]

31 minutes ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

Perhaps,- I should consider the option of using "hot-dipped galvanized checkered-plate of 10 mm thickness" ?

Would this be a hazard for lightening strikes or mains electricity shorting ?

Should it be earthed to a properly buried copper rod ?

That would probably do it but you would never be able to lift it out without heavy equipment.  No need to worry about lightning or earthing.

[Our Man in the Tropics]

Further to latest helpful replies, viz. from VocalNeal & Bankruatsteve,- I realise that I need to clarify about the so-called hard-ground surface that I refer to ;

 

compacted earth

visually level

covered by adjoining roofs but open to elements at opposite ends

unattractive

non-uniform surface

soiling as mud when wet ; Yes,- prone to being muddy with water spillages, or heavy rain intrusion

soiling as dust when dry

 

I now convinced that my initial proposal -- even with flexible rubbery mastic bonding suitable ceramic tiling for comings, & goings, of pickup motorized vehicle, is NOT a feasible solution for my problem / challenge

Even if this proposal was optimized for to succeed,- I dare-say that it would prove to be :

difficult for to source satisfactory substrate

expensive on substrate, & tiles

 

And, so, further to this brain-storming session,- I now hope to get yer assistance as to the prices for :

 

10 mm Hot-dipped Galvanised Plate

 

12 mm Hot-dipped Galvanised Plate

 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

10 mm Hot-dipped Galvanised Plate

Probably not easy to find, weight 78.5kg/m² 
if you can you need a crane as it’s going to be about 1.2 tons and that is without the brick/blocks. You then need to find a way of stopping the blocks moving.

 

abandon the idea. Put down shade cloth or blue plastic sheet then a few cubic metres of crushed stone, job done probably costing about 5,000 baht.

we did this as a temporary drive 5 years ago

 

5 years later

 

Does it look beautiful? No.
Is it practical? Absolutely.

Will we ever make it into a conventional drive? Probably no.

We may get round to killing the grass sometime but we don’t notice it .

[northsouthdevide]

I think you're better just dropping the wood idea, as it would be about as useful as a glass hammer. 

If you want to do cheap, just order a truck load of black stone chippings from your local building supplier, and lay it over your hard soil, then you can come and go as much as you want. 

[sometimewoodworker]

7 hours ago, northsouthdevide said:

I think you're better just dropping the wood idea, as it would be about as useful as a glass hammer. 

If you want to do cheap, just order a truck load of black stone chippings from your local building supplier, and lay it over your hard soil, then you can come and go as much as you want. 

If you do that they will disappear within a year or 2, you need something under the stone as I show above.

[Crossy]

12 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

If you do that they will disappear within a year or 2, you need something under the stone as I show above.

 

We just top up with more stone every now and then to fill in the low bits.

[Lacessit]

Unless one can find plywood that has been treated with CCA here ( unlikely ) , that solution is not practical.

Perhaps the OP is overthinking the situation, I've found cement driveways here are very cheap to have done. A few thousand baht.

[cornishcarlos]

Geo fabrics, with stone chippings on top... ??

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

We just top up with more stone every now and then to fill in the low bits.

We found that putting shade cloth or blue sheet under we don’t have to top up, only redistribute each year or so.

[Crossy]

26 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

We found that putting shade cloth or blue sheet under we don’t have to top up, only redistribute each year or so.

 

I agree, but our drive was never really intended to become permanent, it just ended up that way ????

 

In reality I don't think we've actually added more than a load or two of gravel since 2012, it's reached equilibrium with the minimal traffic it sees.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

13 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I agree, but our drive was never really intended to become permanent, it just ended up that way ????

That was exactly the intention with ours but since we had both the shade cloth and blue sheet here our temporary had that under it. 
FWIW the picture above is SWMBO’s new iPhone night mode I think that mode is impressive.

[KMartinHandyman]

Reinventing the wheel should never be abandoned. Post some pictures of the process should you actually do this. 

[bodga]

5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Unless one can find plywood that has been treated with CCA here ( unlikely ) , that solution is not practical.

Perhaps the OP is overthinking the situation, I've found cement driveways here are very cheap to have done. A few thousand baht.

1700  baht a  cube 10cm thick = 10m2 plus 2  men and long board/steel  to level, also some steel  mesh inside ok for  small trucks

[Don Mega]

17 hours ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

 

10 mm Hot-dipped Galvanised Plate

 

 

 

Good luck with that, a few issues though.

 

1. Nice and slippery when wet.

2. Weight, a 2400 x 1200 sheet will weigh 226kg.

3. you will be hard pressed to find a company in Thailand to hot dip gal the plate and not warp it badly... we gave up and send all our hot dip work off shore.

[sirineou]

As a professional with 30 years of experience in the fabrication of concrete forms I have probably used millions of dollars of 5/8s thick plywood. Both BB for one time use and plastic face for Typical. 

WHAT TYPE OF SURFACE will the plywood be laid on?  

regardless of the surface  Using plywood for exterior use , as a driving surface is a terrible idea!!! 

_First you have the termite problem that you might or might not be able to defeat with chemical treatments

_Second, depending on the quality and quantity of the fungicides ( mostly formalgahide) used in the manufacture of plywood,   you have mold and mildew that will start to consume your plywood as soon as it gets wet.

-Then you have delamination. Plywood, as the word implies , is several layers of wood veneer glued together.  It is only a matter of time before the glue starts to fail , as it is attacked by mold. (starting with the edges)

Them you have warping . water infiltration will increase the thickness of the ply by a significant amount. I have seen 5/8s plywood look like 3/4 after getting wet. If the surface is uneven the plywood will conform to the surface and since the tiles are not pliable you can imagine what will happen, 

  All these will happen with the plywood just laying there,

Then start driving a car over it...........

 

[Our Man in the Tropics]

After replying to another thread which I started around same time as this one,- I also was hindered by my computer & / or internet connection from replying earlier to the most recent posts following my mine in this very thread.

 

Anyway,- many thanks for very useful info. & opinions in what is a brain-storming type of thread.

 

CLARIFICATION [ & APOLOGY FOR OMITTING IT IN PROPOSITION FOR USE OF "SHEET" METAL ] ;

 

1_

"Sheet" Metal should be termed as "Plate" Metal in this context ;

Because of the thicknesses considered ;

6 mm or 8 mm or 10 mm

 

2_

Surface of the Plate Metal should be :

 

2_1_

Checkered [ hence "Checkered Plate" ]

 

or

 

2_2_

2_2_1_

Perforated

"Pre"-perforated

or

2_2_2_

"Post"-perforated [ subsequent to purchase as material from metal supplier ] ;

Perforations preferably are "flared-upwards" AND "without" burrs ;

 

or

2_3_

Grating

2_3_1_

"Pre"-formed [ Mesh ] ; 6 mm gauge min.

or

2_3_2_

"Post"-formed

Rod welded together ; 6 mm gauge min. 

 

Re ; 2_2_ & 2_3_ above

Thus,- facilitated are :

anti-slip for user

drainage

However,- this design feature may be a mistake versus safety against snakes ;

"Snake in the Grass" as concern then expanding to "Snake in the Car-Port Decking" ... ????

 

3_

Metallurgical Quality of the material must be :

 

3_1_

"Hot-dipped Galvanised" Steel

or

3_2_

Aluminum

Edited May 18, 2020 by Our Man in the Tropics

[sometimewoodworker]

11 hours ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

CLARIFICATION [ & APOLOGY FOR OMITTING IT IN PROPOSITION FOR USE OF "SHEET" METAL ] ;

The intention of your post above is not at all clear.
 

The consensus is that using metal in the way you suggest with the intention of being able to move it is an expensive poor idea that probably has little chance of working and would probably need heavy machines to place and move.

Edited May 18, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[Our Man in the Tropics]

Hi sometimewoodworker,

 

I would include ur latest post as a quote ;

But,- my computer / internet is again acting-up.

 

I appreciate that which u say ;

Indeed,- I now agree with it except that the following options are worthy of pursuit :

 

1_

"Aluminum Chequered Plate of 6mm or 8 mm or 10 mm :

 

should fulfill :

functionally criterium

1 person man-handling criterium

durability criterium [ some 10 years ]

 

may [ guessing only ] be too expensive for my budget

 

2_

Stainless Steel Checquered Plate of 5 mm ;

 

should fulfill :

functional criterium

1 person man-handling

durability criterium [ some 15 years ]

 

may [ guessing only ] be too expensive for my budget

[Crossy]

You may find this site handy http://www.aalco.co.uk/online-tools/weight-calculator/

 

A 2m x 1m piece of 10mm aluminium will weigh about 55kg.

 

A 2m x 1m piece of 5mm steel will weigh about 80kg.

 

Placing either on your levelled and compacted sand base is not going to be a 1 person task.

 

How are you going to stop the plate tipping when the vehicle is driven over the edge?