am about to embark on my first cement project. want to rebuild the trough
drain in front of my garage door (which strangely turned from hard white
concrete to beach sand over the winter). I'm told to use a piece of
"buffalo board" between the garage pad and my new cement to allow the two to
move. is this just standard 1/8" hardboard, or something unique? makes
sense to use, but not sure on the material.

also, how would you guys say to treat the 1x6's I'm going to use for the
form to make them last as long as possible in a wet environment? I've got a
set of heavy steel rails welded together to reinforce the "bridge" over the
trough and will be unable to remove the form once the cement has cured. as
the rails have large tangs to secure them into the cement (and the rails
will be on top of the form).

i thought about using a tar roofing product to completely coat and seal the
form before I set it in place to pour. assume this will keep water off the
wood and allow the wood to last a lot longer. if the wood deteriorates
quickly, I guess its no big deal....just don't wanna deal with a mess later
if I don't have to.

ideas?

b