At the end of my pond there is a small brick-built enclosure which houses a
filter and air pump. I need to make a new lid for it because the current one
(about 7 years old) is past its best. When new, it looked like:
http://www.mills37.plus.com/Pond.JPG

The max dimension are 1400 x 900, and it is rounded at one end and cut off
at an angle at the other end. It's currently made out of a piece of board
[1] which is covered by roofing felt - which is folded under and stapled on
the underside. The board is getting to be decidedly soggy, and needs to be
replaced.

Any suggestions as to what to use as a replacement. It needs to be heavy
enough not to blow away, but light enough for me to lift off. It needs to be
able to survive the weather. I've got some more roofing felt with which I
can cover it if necessary, but the current one seems to get wet on the
*underside* for some reason which I can't fathom. SWMBO suggested using a
slab of marble(!) but that's likely to be (a) expensive, (b) difficult to
cut to shape and (c) too heavy to lift.

Any (sensible!) alternative suggestions?

TIA.



[1] There's probably a proper name for it, but it's the sort of board often
used for shed roofs - a bit like chipboard, but made from wood shavings
rather than chips
--
Cheers,
Roger
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On 4 Sep, 15:23, "Roger Mills" wrote:
At the end of my pond there is a small brick-built enclosure which houses a
filter and air pump. I need to make a new lid for it

I'd use Viroc Versapanel, which is some sort of cement-based MDF and
works great for fascia boards and the like. It takes paint (cement
tolerant paints) but lasts well without it. It's about as stong as MDF
- I wouldn't walk on it, but thick slabs of it would probably be OK.
Drills easily but doesn't take screwthreads.

Wickes have their own version, and there's Aquapanel too which costs
more but is available in small pieces.

On Fri, 4 Sep 2009 15:23:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

At the end of my pond there is a small brick-built enclosure which houses a
filter and air pump. I need to make a new lid for it because the current one
(about 7 years old) is past its best. When new, it looked like:
http://www.mills37.plus.com/Pond.JPG

The max dimension are 1400 x 900, and it is rounded at one end and cut off
at an angle at the other end. It's currently made out of a piece of board
[1] which is covered by roofing felt - which is folded under and stapled on
the underside. The board is getting to be decidedly soggy, and needs to be
replaced.

Any suggestions as to what to use as a replacement.

How about a self-built GRP lid? I was thinking of something similar to the
protective coatings offered as a 'cure-all' treatment for flat roofing.

If you can find a resin supplier near you, they would probably be able to
help with suggestions about suitable materials. (Somewhat messy memories
from quite a few years back of making a GRP kayak for son when he was in
the Sea Scouts!)

Also has the advantage that you can add pigments to the resin to get a
suitable colour for the garden.

If you've any nearby, it's also worth trying any boat builders in the area
to source materials, given that you're not going to need a lot.

It needs to be heavy
enough not to blow away, but light enough for me to lift off. It needs to be
able to survive the weather. I've got some more roofing felt with which I
can cover it if necessary, but the current one seems to get wet on the
*underside* for some reason which I can't fathom.

Condensation?

--
The Wanderer

Life is a catastrophic success.

On Fri, 4 Sep 2009 15:23:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

[1] which is covered by roofing felt - which is folded under and stapled
on the underside.

That might be a mistake water on the top will run around and make
it's way onto the board. It would be better to fix the felt with
fixings into the board edge and left the felt hang down an inch or
so.

The board is getting to be decidedly soggy, and needs to be replaced.

Does the board rest on top of the bricks all the way round? Is there
any decent ventilation of the enclosed space. I suspect condensation.
Lift the board 1/4" or so above the bricks to allow air to circulate
and dry any condensation. With a decent hanging lip of felt nothing
significant will blow in.

The board you have is Oriented Starnd Board (OSB) it's not overly
waterproof. I'd go for 18mm WBP (Water and Boil Proof) ply. Nice bit
of weight and won't object to a getting wet.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Dingley wrote:

On 4 Sep, 15:23, "Roger Mills" wrote:
At the end of my pond there is a small brick-built enclosure which
houses a filter and air pump. I need to make a new lid for it

I'd use Viroc Versapanel, which is some sort of cement-based MDF and
works great for fascia boards and the like. It takes paint (cement
tolerant paints) but lasts well without it. It's about as stong as MDF
- I wouldn't walk on it, but thick slabs of it would probably be OK.
Drills easily but doesn't take screwthreads.

Wickes have their own version, and there's Aquapanel too which costs
more but is available in small pieces.

[I'm back on the case, having been away for a few days]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've not come across Versapanel, but it sounds
like it might do the job. Are BMs such as Jewsons and TP likely to stock it?

I'm also considering making a small lean-to tool shed, because none of the
plastic affairs stocked by the 'sheds' is quite the right size/shape. If I
make a wooden frame, would Versapanel be a suitable material with which to
clad it?
--
Cheers,
Roger
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Fri, 4 Sep 2009 15:23:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

[1] which is covered by roofing felt - which is folded under and
stapled on the underside.

That might be a mistake water on the top will run around and make
it's way onto the board. It would be better to fix the felt with
fixings into the board edge and left the felt hang down an inch or
so.

I'm more inclined to think that it's condensation. Loose bits of felt
hanging down would make the board very difficult to move without damaging
the felt.

The board is getting to be decidedly soggy, and needs to be replaced.

Does the board rest on top of the bricks all the way round? Is there
any decent ventilation of the enclosed space. I suspect condensation.

It rests on bricks most of the way round but there are gaps on the pond side
for pipes etc. to pass through, so there's *some* ventillation.

Lift the board 1/4" or so above the bricks to allow air to circulate
and dry any condensation. With a decent hanging lip of felt nothing
significant will blow in.

Lifting it may be an idea, but - as above - I don't like the idea of hanging
felt.

The board you have is Oriented Starnd Board (OSB) it's not overly
waterproof.

Thanks - I wondered what it was called


I'd go for 18mm WBP (Water and Boil Proof) ply. Nice bit
of weight and won't object to a getting wet.

That sounds possible. Where would I get that?
--
Cheers,
Roger
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On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:06:44 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

I'm more inclined to think that it's condensation. Loose bits of felt
hanging down would make the board very difficult to move without
damaging the felt.

True enough but how often does it need to be moved?

It rests on bricks most of the way round but there are gaps on the pond
side for pipes etc. to pass through, so there's *some* ventillation.

Through ventilation or just small gaps around the pipes? I doubt the
latter would do the job of shifting condensation as there isn't going
to be a through flow of air.
I'd go for 18mm WBP (Water and Boil Proof) ply. Nice bit of weight
and
won't object to a getting wet.

That sounds possible. Where would I get that?

Any decent builders/timber merchant. I'd be a bit wary of the DIY
sheds unless the sheets are marked as WBP or similar spec. Just plain
unmarked sheets could be anything.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:06:44 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

Loose bits of felt
hanging down would make the board very difficult to move without
damaging the felt.

True enough but how often does it need to be moved?

Several times a year, in order to clean the filter and/or replace it with a
by-pass pipe in the winter to keep the water feature going.

I'd go for 18mm WBP (Water and Boil Proof) ply. Nice bit of weight
and won't object to a getting wet.

That sounds possible. Where would I get that?

Any decent builders/timber merchant.

Thanks - I guessed as much. I've rung a couple today - and they're talking
about £25-ish +VAT for an 8 x 4 sheet of 18mm WPB. Does that sound about
right?

[I haven't yet found any local stockists of Versapanel - which someone else
suggested.]
--
Cheers,
Roger
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On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:51:36 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:06:44 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

Loose bits of felt
hanging down would make the board very difficult to move without
damaging the felt.

True enough but how often does it need to be moved?

Several times a year, in order to clean the filter and/or replace it with a
by-pass pipe in the winter to keep the water feature going.

I'd go for 18mm WBP (Water and Boil Proof) ply. Nice bit of weight
and won't object to a getting wet.

That sounds possible. Where would I get that?

Any decent builders/timber merchant.

Thanks - I guessed as much. I've rung a couple today - and they're talking
about £25-ish +VAT for an 8 x 4 sheet of 18mm WPB. Does that sound about
right?

That's about the same as I paid in Wickes last year.

--
Peter.
The head of a pin will hold more angels if
it's been flattened with an angel-grinder.