by KCStudly » Thu Sep 15, 2016 2:01 pm
I would have built 60 wide instead of 64. I don't recall getting the advice not to worry about fitting a true queen size mattress before I had committed to this, but if I went back and looked I'm sure it was probably there.
I probably would have used a whole lot more epoxy from the beginning (like Doug Hodder suggested... when DH suggests something consider it a little harder). I used a lot of polyurethane on the inside wood and it took a lot of work to get the finish I wanted. Now that I have been working with epoxy a lot more, I can see where his advice to use epoxy instead may have been easier (although more expensive, even more so for the special clear hardener).
I originally planned to use PMF (Poor Man's Fiberglass = glue/canvas/paint) for my outer skin, but switched plans part way and am now using epoxy and real FG cloth. To that end I sealed under my floor with TB2. If I had used epoxy I wouldn't have had to sand back the edges where the FG wraps under from the walls, and I probably would take the extra effort to flip the cabin over and glass the whole underside. But now it's not worth stripping all of the TB2 off so the underside will just get painted along with the rest of the cabin.
Once I decided to switch to epoxy/FG I wished I hadn't spent so much time fairing the foam with light weight vinyl spackle; there was a question and advice about future compatibility/adhesion between the epoxy and vinyl that still nags at me a little, and it would have been much easier to give the foam a hard coat of epoxy and then build up with fairing filler and glass from there. Instead I spent a bunch of time chasing the much softer materials trying to get it "right". This was another piece of advice that I considered, but decided to do differently... tho I suppose it may be a case of "the grass is always greener" and hindsight.
I stopped adding up receipts after roughly 125/ct of original budget, but if I had to guess I'd say I have another 15/ct in receipts stashed away to add to that... and we're not done yet. Maybe at the end I will add the rest up. I am skeptical of the real cost of most budget builds and like to say, "the only way to build a TD on a budget is to not keep track".
So for some of my regrets, I have to admit that advice was given early on but I either didn't hear it, or tried to find my own way; whether it was due to fear of using new and different materials and/or techniques, or for perceived budget reasons (I say perceived because sometimes the "more expensive" option ends up being worth it in the end and not that much different in cost). Do overs cost more money than doing it right the first time, so if the difference between getting it right or wrong is using more expensive materials in the first place, then that is the more economical choice.
I am still struggling with this type of decision making process today. The West System says to use epoxy and fairing filler to fill the glass weave, then seal with more epoxy, prime and paint. Another option that has been suggested is to spray HBP (high build primer) and fill the weave that way. I've never done a major paint project like this before where a lot of bodywork is needed, and am less than comfortable with the idea of turning my buddy's loft into a paint booth, or for learning how to make that all work, so I find myself struggling to decide if I am making more work for myself by being stubborn with my less than perfect filler spreading skills and all of the sanding effort that follows. Spraying HBP is the unknown for me, but then again so was laying up FG before. I'm not an expert at that either, by any stretch of the imagination; but I would say that I have miles more experience with it now and am no longer intimidated by it, so... whether or not I got it right, it has been a learning experience that I would not change.
KC
My Build:
The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie
Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"Green Lantern Corpsmen