Filling in the Gaps!

[Big_Deck]

Hi,

I probably should have undertaken a smaller project for my first time scroll saw experience, but I am not afraid of big projects. The deck that this is going to attach to is 1,940 + 32 sf.

The project and the question:

Start with a ½" 4 X 8' sheet of plywood. I am ½" drilling drainage holes every 4" along the deck board edges.

Then I took a line drawing of a turtle image to Office Depot and asked them to blow it up so that it approximately 28w x 24h.

Then I cut out the 31 pieces of the 'puzzle' from 5/4 (1") decking board that I sealed. The 10 letters (which I admit need work) are from the same material.

Now I am taking decking board and bringing them visually close to the turtle form, leaving a gap. There are also gaps between most of the puzzle pieces, though I can not get at the appropriate angle to show the gaps.

I am going to seal all the surrounding boards with a deck sealer that I really like.

I have sealed underneath all the pieces and letters with a dark brown acrylic paint - thinking that I would use a clear resin based material to fill in the gaps, after applying an acrylic seal around each of the characters. But now that I am getting into it the cost is going to be way too high to use that type material. Best I can tell I will need several gallons (or close to 100 lbs.) of material.

I have been thinking that possibly I can take my grand daughters sandbox band and fill in the gaps if I can find something that will be liquid enough to flow and get everything bonded.

This area will be a very low traffic walkway and will be submitted to freeze/thaw cycles as well as rain, snow, sleet, etc. in a plant zone 5.

Anyone have an ideas for an economical method?



Brian

[wood-n-things]

What an amazing Idea you have going on there...Keep us posted as to the progress. Doing great so far.

I saw an epoxy based sand filler used on DIY the other day. That might be what you want. It fills in the gaps and sheds water or any other liquid. They were using it on a garage floor to place cobblestones. I don't know the name of the program...sorry.

They mixed it up in a 5 gallon bucket and skreed it on. I would be sure and seal the surrounding wood really well first.

[KtownScroller]

Hi Brian - What a cool idea! When I started reading your post I thought you were lost, but after seeing the project I think you are in the right spot. The turtle is really, really nice. You are to be commended on such an inventive idea.

[Jan]

You might want to visit a stained glass shop. There are several brands of filler material for mosaics that would work very well with wood. They are primarily sand with an epoxy or poly base. Comes in white and tan if I recall correctly. If it is only available in white, there are dyes for coloring it.

Great project!

Jan

[Haggard3230]

That is a cool idea and will be a neat looking job when done.

[JohnB]

G'day Brian,
Excellent idea and looks to be worth the effort.
What immediately came to mind was a grout product, that can be troweled on.

[Scrolling Days]

Hi, Brian. I love the idea, and the turtle looks fantastic!

I'm thinking that paver sand would be best. Maybe smell pebbles if you can get them tiny enough, but those would be prone to come out and scratch the surface when stepped on.

By the way, will this just lay on the ground and "float" on it's plywood base? You mention ice and snow, so you will get a lot of ground heaving and movement over time. A pain with where I live is that I have to dig 3-4 feet down to get past the frostline if I want to keep something from moving.

[Arcy]

Hi BD, welcome to the board.

You'll never succeed at what you don't try. Looks like you're succeeding That's a great idea and should really kick the deck up a notch (although it sounds like it's already up there).

--Rob

[Ramjet]

How about cement ?

Roger

[lucky788scroller]

Well, I think its a neat idea. As for freeze/thaw cycles, it may be a disaster in the making.I am not sure how much that would effect it if the whole thing was completely sealed in your casting resin.Yes, it will be very pricy to fill that with epoxy resins for sure. If thats what you use, you could start by forming it up around the thing, and get some clear, or even colored marbles, or some of those fancy glass beads like these Glass Gems (Standard) from Wholesalers USA to put it prior to the resin to fill some of the area. A couple colors mixed and sunk under the resin would really add depth to the piece, and I think would look awesome. Please do post more pictures on this as you progress, Id like to see your completed deck!