BEULA - a foam Winter Warrior with aero front

[cpowell243]

Brian,
Here is what I am thinking[img]131887[/img] with the wall attachment. Plan is to bolt and glue.

[cpowell243]

try again[img][/img]

[cpowell243]

And here is my wall idea for creating lateral stability in the box (KC concern).
[img][/img]

and my thought on hoe to do a ceiling with two layers of 3/4" poly:
[img][/img]

[cpowell243]

I should've explained to WW that I checked on aluminum angle and price was $4/ft. Total cost over $150 Seems like wood pieces will do better job of glueing the wall to the floor without using epoxy adhesives. The only piece of the bracket exposed to the elements will be the edge of a 1X2 that will later be covered with canvas. ??

[GPW]

Foam does just fine glued directly to the floor ... The “REINFORCING strips" secure it. Hope nobody’s forgotten about that ....

[Fred Trout]

Very true, GPW. I was pretty impressed how strong the Gorilla glue joint was, so once you get the later shear force protection in place (roof, bulkhead) it's going to take more force than a small accident to break that GG - wall joint. After you wrap the joint with overlapped canvas, Tightbond II, paint, it really isn't going anywhere.

[cpowell243]

So my wood bracket and bolts are overkill that adds weight and a set of hard points to fill and sand on the outside. Just glue to the floor and brace well at the top. Any comments on my pillar/brackets or my ceiling plan? th - cpowell243

[Fred Trout]

Roof construction details really depend on how wide & how you plan to use the teardrop like with or without a roof rack, if you are going to let snow accumulate on it all winter, solar panels, & so on. I wanted to keep my build simple so I am spanning the 53" width with 2 53"x48" 2" foam panels sitting on the walls with a single 1"x2"spar embedded to reinforce the panel joint. No roof rack, garaged during winter, minimal roof load, painted titebond II canvas finish inside and out, so no climbing up there doing jumping jacks

Whatever makes you confident about the requirements is good. I probably will put in 4 small steel flashing hard points under the canvas for a potential future solar panel mounting but those are only about 20 pounds.

[cpowell243]

Thanks Fred - no roof rack or sloar, I'm spanning 74" thus the 2X@ spars. Any reaction to using two layers of 3/4" vs. 1 layer of 1 1/2"? Reason is to create a chase for wiring between the layers, easier bending, and a way to cover the interior pieces with bedsheet before they are installed.
Ch

[KCStudly]

Don't do it. I'm using two layers of 3/4 inch and wish I had gone with 1 layer of 1-1/2.

The 3/4 doesn't bend so easily that you don't have to kerf it, at least not over the tighter radii, and kerfing on a good table saw isn't hardly any trouble anyway. Doing two layers just takes twice as much work.

Re: routing wires between layers. I am doing that right now on my hatch and it would not be that much more work to route wire ways in the 1-1/2 inch and plug them back up with strips fit into the grooves over the wires, or to do it like I did my walls by routing wire ways between foam and wooden skins before assembly, then pulling wires after.

I must admit that I am fairly particular with fitting and attaching the foam, pretty much one piece at a time using the stretcher clamp method and fast kicking PL300, so YMMV on the tedium involved in the two layer process, but if I were to do it again it would be one layer, like I did my walls.

[Fred Trout]

I agree about two layers being more work. Read George's #1 foamie thread ( viewtopic.php?f=55&t=54099&start=345 )to see how to use a soldering iron to cut wiring raceways and KCStudly 's build to see how you can use a router. Don't forget that all the ugly wiring cuts will be covered by canvas & paint or the door framing, etc.

There are lots of better ways. If you plan your wiring right you can use the doorway edges, foam panel joints, backs of cabinets / shelving and so on.

[GPW]

The Foamie Rule is : When in doubt ..... Simplify !!!

[cpowell243]

Got it. Am committed to the two layers for section up to hinge point (40"), but will convert to 1 1/2" for hatch (remaining 8').
Decided to stay with wood bracket at floor-wall connect point. Mechanical in addition to glue will help me sleep at night. Extra time and slightly more weight but...
[img][/img]
and [img][/img]
CP

[KCStudly]

Truth be told, there are no hard and fast rules except to remember to have fun.

Another way to look at it is that if you decide to challenge yourself and do something complicated, for whatever reason, try to do it in the most simplistic way.

[Fred Trout]

Bah, absurd .... do it in the most complicated & slapdash manner guaranteed to cause more work & epic fails - works for me

The worst that can happen is your teardrop implodes at 70 mph and causes entropic death of the universe