So… medite tricoya… looks like we could have a winner here. I just spoke to a local supplier. Here in Somerset they can do me a sheet for £88 including VAT and free delivery; so £440 all in. This is 6mm, does flex / bend so will take the shape, waterproof - it actually repels water, and because of this amongst other reasons has a 50yr guarantee above ground. As it’d be a skin over that which I already got (2 layers of 9mm so 18mm thick already) 6mm will be more than adequate in thickness. They are beginning to use this stuff in areas where concrete or plastic would be the only options so I’ll be definitely giving this a go before my current ramp skin gets too shabby. It can be painted too.
It’s MDF, be interesting to see how it holds up and if it bends okay. Should be okay for skating but I’d be nervous about any bikes on it, could see chunks flying out.
No worries, Bristol supplier can do 6mm sheets for £69 so a bit cheaper again than your quote. I have been talking to a couple of builders who have used the stuff and it sounds like it could be a good product for the job, I have sent off for some samples so will do a few impact tests etc to see how it would hold up, but given our gentle skating and the unlikelihood of any pros visiting I reckon it will work. I will let you know how I get on with any experiments.
We visit the Eden project regularly and this stuff is used in the rain forest biome so definitely good in humid moist conditions.
Well that’s a better price. Can you tell me who the supplier in Bristol is? I’m about 40mins down the road so maybe they’d come my way; depending on what their delivery costs are!
Gave Robbins Timber a call and they’ll deliver to me for free. £350 covers the ramp. So watch this space as I’ll be pulling the trigger soon(ish) and making a purchase. Anyone else thinking of giving it a go the chap said to use stainless steel screws as the chemicals used within the board can ‘eat’ lesser types! You don’t have to worry about treating the edges after cutting either as the ‘fluff’ (fibres) are treated before pressed in to a sheet so it’s water repellent all the way through. Smells of vinegar too…
Amazingly some of the skate community turned up and we got down to the frame by 5.30pm . It can now dry out and have timbers replaced, treated and then hopefully the new ply laid once it’s been delivered.
So rad to have people want to come help in any way. This is going to be finished way quicker than I expected.
Go skateboarding!
Wish I’d seen this thread a year ago. Built a 3ft x 8ft x 20ft mini ramp in the back garden last year. Used mega expensive marine ply, didn’t treat it, got chewed up by the wet 2019 winter. Also covered it with a tarp and found this was a good way to start a mould farm underneath the decks. Officially, it’s for my son, but since he’s only 18months old for now, I’m going to use it instead. I’m 35 and getting back into skating for the first time since I was 15. Found that 3ft was a bit too gnarly (I know…what a puss), so ended up chopping it down to 2ft and re-skinning with new ply this summer (2020 lockdown project), that I then treated with preservative and light satin oil to avoid creating a slippery surface. This is ok (getting a bit bubbly and flakey in parts), but I don’t think it’ll stand up to another winter and I’m constantly worrying about it. Starting to think that Skatelite is the best way to go, but I need 5 sheets, which more than doubles the cost of the ramp. In hindsight, I should have probably just gone down the park more often.
I should say that the 8ft span is right at the limit of needing some sort of brace (or another transition curve) in the middle. I ended up getting some warping in the 2x4s I used for the frame, which created a flat spot on the ramp surface - took loads of aggro to sort that out - now rides well, but was terrible to start with. Ended up going vertical orientation on the ply top sheet because we couldn’t get the 9mm to bend well enough horizontally to create a nice surface.
We didn’t have any plans really just made it up as we went along. Looking back, it was proper solid.
Miss that place. Fuck loads of land. Resident burner car you could rag round the fields and crash into old caravans. Had a projector and sound system near the end too in a room off to the side.
That looks really nice. The coping looks spot on. Mines a bit low so I got to do some tweaking; figured I’d try to add a strip of wood under the coping to lift it but have to be mindful of it not sticking out too far in to the ramp. I’m still planning to go with an additional 6mm medite tricoya riding surface over that which is already there but not until possibly October. The masonry paint is doing well and I’ve only had minor issues during the rainy times. Tarps a weird thing. I put it on during the worst weather but feel like I got to get it off as otherwise it seems to keep the damp in - which is just as bad as it getting rained on! I do find myself covering and uncovering more than I ride some weeks but just accept that’s part and parcel of having my own ramp and it’s hardly a negative for all things considered. I think the reason my ramps layer of osb is doing incredibly well maybe down to being sat on decking. Maybe the extra air that’s getting around it is helping to keep it dry from underneath? The depth of your platforms look to be more useful too; mines 18” and if I can make the space I’d definitely go wider.
Finally finished the ramp at the pioneer skatepark.
So stoked that the local skate community showed up and grabbed a drill, paint brush , hammer and helped get it finished.
3 days it took , pretty good going from a wrecked base and timbers to solid treated ramp that’s now faster because it’s all plywood with the original skatelite and last a lot longer than 2 years
I’m planning on building an indoor mini with a mate, a few gaps in my knowledge has led me to a few questions that I’m hoping some of you may know the answer to!
I’ve used birch ply to make ramps previously which skates really well and seems to last. Is that the way to go or is there something potentially cheaper that would work well
If it was 8ft wide can you get away with having no additional transition panel in the middle for support or could it collapse?
Is softwood plywood ok to use for the side panels / platforms etc? IDK the difference between soft and hardwood
What would be a good radius for a 3ft ramp? To make it not too steep as it’s for kids but also not painfully mellow where you can’t keep speed
