I'd build it out of corian or similar. Cuts and machines like wood,
same tools, glues with epoxy.
If you are commited to the ply, remember to use stainless fasteners if
any, waterproof glue. I'd give it at least 3 coats of polyurethane,
more if possible. Then I still would not consider it waterproof. May
still hold up for a few years...
This IS going IN the shower, right?
Matt,
> I'm looking to replace a shelf that came with our tub/shower unit. I
> plan to build the shelf out of some scraps of marine plywood that I
> have lying around, and finish it with BLO. Should I add any other
> finish?
I recently built some shelves for our master bath shower. I used a piece of
Redwood 2x10 that I recycled from a 13 year old deck joist. I ran the board
through my planer, removing the surface weathering, until it was about 1"
thick. Then I made a circle cutting jig to cut a half circle out of the
2x8. I screwed a block of wood to one edge and drilled my pivot point right
at the edge. Once I had a half circle, I used my router to put a 3/8"
roundover on the upper and lower edges. Then I cut it in half on my table
saw to end up with two 1/4 circle shelves.
After a good sanding, I applied three coats of a spar urethane. If it's
good enough for boats, it's good enough for my shelves. :) I covered both
sides and all four edges, totally encapsulating the wood shelves.
I used simple 1" metal "L" brackets to support my shelves from underneath
(with stainless steel screws). You cannot see the brackets at all unless
you bend down and look up. :) The thickness of the brackets also space the
shelf about 1/8" away from the walls, so any water that ends up on the
shelf can easily drain down behind the shelf.
Overall, the shelves turned out nice and look fantastic. Our shower is
rather large (6'x6') and the shelves mount in the corner. They get very
little water exposure, but I think they would hold up well even with
constant exposure. The redwood survived fine after 13 years outdoors (with
no finish). With a good spar finish I'm hoping it'll last many, many years
in our shower. If not, it's a fairly simple matter to make new ones... :)
Anthony
On 27 Jan 2005 09:44:08 -0800, "MattB"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm looking to replace a shelf that came with our tub/shower unit. I
>plan to build the shelf out of some scraps of marine plywood that I
>have lying around, and finish it with BLO. Should I add any other
>finish? Thanks.
You might use the epoxy finishes used on watercraft. Avoid metal
fasteners.
"MattB" writes:
>I'm looking to replace a shelf that came with our tub/shower unit. I
>plan to build the shelf out of some scraps of marine plywood that I
>have lying around, and finish it with BLO. Should I add any other
>finish?
If you expect it to survive, use the marine ply as a core.
Cover with a layer of 10 Oz fiberglass cloth and epoxy.
Paint with a good enamel afterwards.
When the house comes down, that shelf will still be there.<G>
HTH
Lew
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "MattB" writes:
>
> >I'm looking to replace a shelf that came with our tub/shower unit. I
> >plan to build the shelf out of some scraps of marine plywood that I
> >have lying around, and finish it with BLO. Should I add any other
> >finish?
> If you expect it to survive, use the marine ply as a core.
>
> Cover with a layer of 10 Oz fiberglass cloth and epoxy.
>
Oh man Lew - you're cruel.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]