Historic HomeWorks Forum

[johnleeke]

Because success comes from the method, not from the product.

After four decades of repairing buildings with both epoxies and traditional methods, I believe our confusion about wood-epoxy repairs lies in the product-oriented approach provided by the building construction industry. When we think rationally to decide first if our goal is to preserve valuable historic material, or to just make a practical repair; if the repair should last 100 years, or 10 years; if we will use a traditional wood-dutchman repair, or a high-tech wood-epoxy repair; if we will hire an experienced craftsperson, or do it ourselves; and last, if we will use this product or that product; then we have our priorities straight and our repairs will be successful.

[sswiat]

Amen!

Unfortunately, most products are marketed as the "product" being the key to success not the experience of using the product.

[Josiah & Eden]

To revive an older thread.....


What kind of product should I look for? Names of manufacturers? Types of epoxies? Application methods? I have a porch with some decay and it would seem easier to apply some epoxy to salvage the wood than to replace the offending pieces. I'm not the greatest handyman.

[johnleeke]

[Skuce]

An excellent surfboard is not going to make you an awesome surfer.


Kelley Slater can surf better on an upside-down coffee table (there are videos) than most people can surf on high end, performance shortboards.

It's not the product....it's the person using it.

[Paul Marlowe]

I agree appropriate techniques performed by a competent person are key to successful epoxy repairs. This is also true with any other type of repair. That said, there is still reasons to consider which epoxy system might be best for your project. There are many items to consider: previous epoxy experience, size of project, existing weather conditions, volumes needed, schedule vs cure rate, finishes to be used, structural or non-structural, flexible or non-flexible, ability to be tooled, color and technical support provided by the Supplier.

These are many items that you might consider when deciding on which epoxy system might fit your needs. There is a learning curve with all epoxy systems. Some systems can be used to accommodate most of the items listed above. Once you are familiar with how a system works, you will be able to judge its ability to perform the required specifications.

[johnleeke]

Here is a video of some of Paul's epoxy work:



Here's a link to more videos of his work:

http://conservepoxy.com/videos.htm