skateramp coping and surfacing

my brother and I decided to build a ramp to occupy us throughout this pandemic, weve managed to source all the wood to build the structure which weve begun. we are just not sure what to use as a surface layer, whether its masonite or ply or hardboard, im sure many people have had this issue. skate lite Is just too expensive as the ramp is 16x30 feet, but we do want to do it properly but also affordably. the ramp will be outside in Cornwall where we get significant amount of rain and also plenty of sunshine, we are going to get a tarp to cover it swell. any help would be much appreciated. and for the coping we have got some scaffolding in the garden which is just under 2inch in diameter, have people used this before? does it work okay? most places seem to recommend 2"3/8 steel pipe , I have e found a place that I can get two lengths of 16 foot black steel 2"3/8 for under £80. this seems like a no brainer but im not sure how well black steel will hold up, has anyone used it before or do you have to use galvanised. thanks Hal

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Disclaimer: I don’t know what I’m talking about.

I think regular scaffolding pipe would be fine/black steel. I wouldn’t bother with galvanized as I would assume that either the zinc being softer than trucks would make grinding problematic or it would just grind through to the steel anyway pretty quick.

yeah galvanised makes it worse if anything. You have to grind through it to the steel. Scaffold will be fine

+1 on scaffolding

There is no way in hell hardboard would work for top sheet, would snap as soon as you try to bend it. Masonite will be amazing the first handful of times you skate it. Depending on what weather you get it will turn into either ice rink because wax will start building up if it’s hot, a dust bowl if it’s warm or a sponge if it gets rained on, ever.

So use marine ply for top sheet. All sheets if possible. transitions can be made out of pretty much anything as long as it’s solid.

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Scaffolding poles 100%

GBH Ramps Knicked all our coping from the building site across the road

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It also turns into a soggy mess once it gets wet. Avoid.

Post progress pictures please. :+1:

2x6mm hardboard layers and then a layer of 6mm marine birch ply.

For the coping, you want to get the 3-4mm thick. I think there are versions thicker than this, but it is overkill.
As mentioned before - do not get the galvanised stuff.

Can you guys weld? One of the biggest issues I’ve seen in back garden ramps is shit coping.
If you can weld, the get some flat steel plates (about 100mm x 30mm) and weld them onto the coping about every 4ft starting 2ft in. Drill 3 holes in each of these plates and use that to attach it to the ramp.

Get the coping on before the final layer of surface.

A good trick for setting the coping is to pack on top of one another an offcut of 6mm ply and an offcut of 3mm hardboard and use that to get your coping set to the correct depth.

The 6mm brings you up to your final surface height and the 3mm gives you a level to be flush with to make sure the coping is set evenly across the ramp.

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