What’s the length of that bad boy?
From hotpoint to door?
1 Like
Hi mate - Its 18ft 6” long and 8ft wide. Has 7ft of flat, 18” tall with 6ft transition. I ‘think’ the platforms are, or near, to 2ft each.
1 Like
Ah cheers man, I’m way out with my 13ft wide garden.
Coping looks great. Good job not using something new.
Things I learned after dinner…
Bad news - Because of the shallowness of the ramp and the way I’ve attached the top strut and front platform strut cutting down the excess at the right level so it was snug to the coping was part blackmagic part guesstimate. I couldn’t use a saw at that angle so the power saw with only the first inch of the blade attacking (or that’d hit the strut too) became a wild ride. H&S at its finest. And then I found I didn’t cut quite enough so out came the smallest looking wood plane in history. With Dead Kennedy’s in the background a quickly realised I don’t like planing. At all.
Good news is I’m happy with the end result (even though it’s just the under sheet) and now I know how much I need to cut off the other before I lay it.
Now should I lay the top sheet 90 degrees or, as I’ve don’t before, just lay the top sheet same but start at the opposite end so it doesn’t have the same join point on the flat.
I’ve not had a problem with how I’ve laid it before but wondered if this would be better? My concern is being able to get enough weight on it to bend it on the translation. Thoughts greatly appreciated!!!
It’s always good to never have matching joins on different layers.
Ideally what you’ve got there, l’d have cut half of the bottom sheets in half and start with the half sheet then full sheet then half sheet. E.g 8x2ft the 8x4ft then 8x2ft.
And as you’ve already said lay the top full sheets at the opposite off set to the first layer so the flat of the ramp doesn’t have the same joins.
And as for weighing down the wood, Always good to have a mate standing on it. Preferably a rotund mate.
Aha… yes I see what you mean. Clearly would’ve been better to stagger it. I don’t really want to take up what I’ve done as I’m pretty pleased with how it’s gone down but will give it some thought. 
1 Like
Well I overlapped the middle sheets but went with the seam down the middle of the length. Quite surprised that, with a bit of fettling, I got a really good fix. The one thing I’ve noticed though is that the sheet wood is attempting f to ‘straighten out’ the transition; it’s lifting at the point the ramp transition sides meet the flat section as the wood tries to flatten itself out. I figured it’s probably just whilst the wood takes to the shape and will relax once we start getting some runs on it. But it’s minor and I think I had the same on the garden ramp to begin with.
Cutting down trees tomorrow so probably look to fix the other two sheets, fix the coping and fit the platforms Sunday / beginning of next week.
3 Likes
Is that mirror from a pub?
Looks like you’ve captured a robed ghostie in the reflection.
When my Nan died my dad said it’d nice if I had something to remember them by. I said I’d take the house which was like a gothic mansion but had to settle for that mirror. It’s convex, more than likely a fake and all round creepy odd. Just like my grandparents. It’s got a winged eagle at the top that some say looks a bit ‘German’ but apparently this sort of crap was all the rage in their day. I fell over it whilst clearing out the loft and figured I might upcycle it by turning the eagle in to the Powell logo (winged ripper). I got a clock too.
1 Like
Riding surface down and regardless of not fixing the coping or platforms figured I had to ‘test’ the physics. Obviously couldn’t build up a head a speed (if that’s at all possible on such a small ramp) but it held the pump really well and was having to watch myself or I was destined for my nutsack to meet coping. It’s really quiet too! So now it’s all about setting and fixing the coping, attaching the platforms and taking down the shelf. Super pleased with it - I can honestly say if you have a garage, and was thinking about doing the same, these dimensions work.
4 Likes
Please can we swap houses
Done! Finished!! Finito!!! The ramp is out the garden and in the garage!!! Only had a quick roll about as it was kid bath time and I didn’t have pads on. At 46 pads are a must as I promised my wife and the cardiology people I’d take good care of my pacemaker / ICD. So tomorrow me and my lad plan on having a pre-work / homeschool skate, lunch skate and before tea skate. Possibly an after tea early evening before bath skate too. The coping is good, easy 50/50 stalls even with 50mm wheels, and it has plenty of speed in it. More than enough to get some grinds going and I found it great just carving about. Reminded me of 1 to 2ft waves at woolacombe which was exactly the feeling I wanted. So build over and now time to enjoy! Pictures and footage to follow as well and I’ll post up the plans, dimensions, materials and costs for those interested.
13 Likes
We’ve been skating everyday since the top sheets been put on! My lad is on the cusp of dropping in unaided and his transition from scooter to board is almost complete.
Super happy with it but…
Coping. What’s everyone’s opinion? I have it so you have to lift front wheels over / back wheels as, if you don’t you get a solid clunk and a dead stop. Although ok with that my lad, on dropping on, will inevitably hit it as speed and most likely end up in a heap. Part of me thinks I should leave it is as and learn to skate with it. The other part of me is thinking about moving it ‘back’ so there is less of a lip but it retains the height. This way it’s be smoother to roll ‘up and over’ but still require you to lift up to clear it on the way down. (That makes sense?!).
Anyway - coping thought would be appreciated!
1 Like
Hi, this has been a great blog, especially as I’m in the middle of a micro ramp build (2ft x 4ft x 16ft) in the garden. I’m using 2layers of 9mm Birch Ply for the surface. My question is, has anyone primed their surface ply with PVA before staining, and if so does it affect the riding surface? (Also top tip for the cut edges of ply, such as transitions, after sealing with primer and paint, run a bead of silicon and smooth across with a putty knife and let dry. Forms a great weatherproof barrier!)
1 Like
PVA as a surface primer is really best for Plaster, brick , concrete etc . When you put it on wood it will sit on it acting like a layer of plastic, so when you go to stain it the stain will not pass through to the wood.
Plus pva is water based so will eventually soften up in the damp -turn from clear to milky.
You can get waterproof pva but again it will soften up as a primer when exposed to the elements.
The only pva you should be using on timber is wood pva for joinery .
Stain should be good enough straight on your sheeting
1 Like
Cheers thanks for the info about the pva. 
Morning All.
So we’ve been riding the ramp during the high winds, the rain, at night (well I have whilst my lads been sleeping) before work, lunchtimes between meetings and the dreaded homeschooling, after tea before kid bath time and, well, whenever else we feel like it. For us it’s ticked all the boxes.
Coping wise I fettled a bit ‘but’ decided I liked it. Not a feeling I’m used to if I’m being honest; always feel it isn’t right or I’ve done something incorrect that the skate gods would frown upon. Truth is, like riding slushy small waves at Woolacombe, sometimes it can be way more fun than the big stuff. And this little ramp with some tunes going and a backdrop of soft spring meadow scent from the clothes conditioner emanating from the tumble dryer (last week was atlantic spray which was much more to my liking) whilst the weather did its absolute worst was simply perfect. Found myself looking out the back window chuckling to myself as part of my neighbours fence let go; just re-enforced that the idea of sticking a ramp in the garage was one of my best.
I was riding on Bones 100’s V4 53mm wheels which were good but switched these out for some old school Powell Rat Bones. I went for the 90a version so pretty soft. Obviously larger in diameter than the Bones and these seem to compliment the ramp like ‘hand in glove’. They are incredibly quiet, will slide a bit but nice and grippy and with the birch surface super smooth. I can’t honestly see me bolting on any other wheels for now (unless I can source some Hawk T-Bones as I quite like the idea of these as I used to have these on my very first ‘proper’ board. In pink obviously.)
The coping was pretty rusty so I cleaned it up as best I could (don’t have a grinder) and then applied a small amount of wax after which I went on a grinding session in an attempt to bed it in. By all accounts I was pretty impressed with the outcome. It’s now nice and grindable. I’ve gently sanded the surface where little bits of wax came off so the boards doesn’t slip out as well.
I’m as stiff as all hell and need to learn to loosen up, probably lower my stance and just accept I am going to fall at some point. I’m a little nervous currently because the padding I made to cover my pacemaker / ICD isn’t that great but once I got that sorted I’m hoping to commit more and get my confidence back up.
So here’s a short clip of the coping getting worked on; I’ll start putting together the data for the build shortly in case anyone else likes it and is thinking of doing something similar.
Cheers
Ad
5 Likes
Hi All,
Whats the verdict on the Medite Tricoya? I built this ramp in my garden in sunny Bristol at the start of lockdown last year and was brilliant fun for me and the kids. I had a tarp over it for the winter but it is pretty much un-rideable now. I used WBP for the surface which lasted less than a year, I thought about using marine ply but have completely gone off the idea of wood so I started looking at products like EKOply, then found this thread and the Tricoya looks like it could be a winner!?
Ps, here’s a link to my ramp build vid: Backyard Skateramp... Build Time-lapse - YouTube
Cheers Chris
2 Likes
