B4DW0LF's TARDIS - Tucson Az

[b4dw0lf]

Well who'd have thought it, I can travel through time and space but god forbid there would be a thunder storm..... Yup my TARDIS leaks a lot.

I spent last week trying to fill the roof gaps but damage has been done.  Using MDF on the roof panels has meant that with the water its bubbles and expanded, fortunately you cant see it when you look at the TARDIS from the ground (but I know its there) I had to repaint the entire roof going pretty think in some areas, on the inside I found a spray rubber (TV Informercials) which I used to cover a lot of underneath of the roof.

Ive not been able to totally test the repair work, and Im now on the otherside of the world so fingers crossed the repair work I did actually holds....

[willfleming]

I used a material called Azek it comes in sheets like plywood and is made out of pvc. and still had a few light leaks so I used the magic spray stuff you see on tv on all the rood seams and BAM no more leaks

[larry cain]

Unfortunately with flat roof designs water leaks are a problem and with the Tardis design most people will use a vinyl filler like a drywall compound to fill the gaps. Then add the MDF and you really compound the problem. All this acts like is a sponge and using the product showed on TV may work my guess is it will shrink in time.
Earlier in Paul's build and your Will's I mentioned a paint product called Petit paint this is a marine paint made for anti-fouling on boat submerged in water. This paint is a bit more costly but will endure any harsh weather you can throw at it.
For me I would have coated the roof with fiberglass mat and the resin, only way to too do this is in 4 stages each roof section and over lap each seam once dried I would have used Duraglass body filler like I am using on my dune buggy to fill in the overlap areas. Sand and paint with your cheaper paints from most home improvement centers. I did fiberglass my Tardis roof only to strengthen the roof because I did not want supports in the way. Only mine was applied to the inside because of the oak finish.
I have a roll of fiberglass and would be happy to cut off a piece for any Tardis builder, just pay for the shipping. The mat I have is the strongest and lays down very flat and is almost invisible with resin. The problem is it does not do square corners they should be round. The blanket mat material is thicker and is more forgiving on corners. Regardless fiberglass mat is always applied in pieces around corners to make the project stronger.
A roof with this fiberglass mat and marine paint will last 10yrs easy and maybe more. Since it is on the roof your skill level is really not important it's really fool proof just a bit more money and time.
FWIW- The roll of mat I have is 5' by 300+ feet,, so I am serious any builder needs some please contact me, a piece to buy to do your roofs are about $20 for this material. I got it free from my buddy, this size roll is over $200 for commercial supplier. Just cover any shipping costs. "FREE"
Larry

[b4dw0lf]

Well so far it appears that the repair work I did has held up.  We had a couple of pretty big storms the past few weeks and the TARDIS seems to have fought them off.

Thanks for all the ideas and such, these maybe something I look into if I need to repair at a later date

[rasilon1]

That excellent to see your Tardis took on mother nature, the refurb must have been a good one well dun

[larry cain]

That's great you you have the leaks fixed, it's probably a bigger problem then you think. I would be surprised if all did not have a leak at one time or another. What I suggested is an extreme fix, but a one time repair. My buddy always kids me about how I over do everything. If 3 screws will hold it I have 5 in it. lol
Welcome home dude, 

[b4dw0lf]

Well it would seem that the repairs have not held out.  Over the past few weeks we had some major storms with more on the way and the roof is now caving in.

I have to go away again for two weeks, when I get back theres gonna have to be a complete roof rebuild.  First error was using MDF wont make that mistake a second time

Ill update everyone once construction starts

[larry cain]

It's a shame your so far away from me Paul it would be fun to straighten this out, same with Will's up in NJ I almost took a road trip lol Just love building stuff.
I will say it again for your outside Tardis if it's not Marine plywood I wood fiberglass mat that bad boy,, it will last forever. You have have the weather that is much warmer then us.
There is a company in Ohio called Fibre Glast they have a great product base, they have some glass resin that works up to 30 mins. The typical 3m stuff from Home depot tends to run hot which dries quicker 10 to 15 minutes. Less hardener will slow it down but then you have a sticky surface for a longer time and that sucks sometimes.
You have my email hit me up if you want free mat I have that whole roll still.
Larry

[b4dw0lf]

Im gonna be using the ply and giving it a good weather proofing seal before I paint it blue.

[larry cain]

The good news is Home depot has stepped up and stocks a decent quality plywood. I just bought a sheet of Oak for a cabinet for my brother in law camper and I was REALLY amazed that every cut I made all the plys were solid and not missing sections. Now this is a $45.99 sheet you would expect that, but in the past you would find an 8 ply  or 6 ply section in a 3/4" piece and in some cases I seen sections missing a foot or more of a roll or ply with a gap. This is a problem when trying to make something nice.
Hope the store you purchase from has a good quality, you just don't know until you cut it. The worst was from a very high end lumber retailer here in Mi called Public Lumber, we bought sheets of Hickory plywood for my buddy's kitchen we made a rip cut down the center and found huge missing areas of ply this product was from "China"
Make sure the lumber is from any place other then China.
Again I was very surprised every cut I made Paul was just solid properly glued plywood on the Oak. I know your not buying Oak,,, Just saying I think Home Depot is making improvements.
I would say to buy Marine grade or the treated ply but the treated ply is not the same quality. All Lumber treated tends to be less then perfect and they treat this to get a better price?? They should use a better lumber, for treated lumber, they just don't. 
Good luck buddy, sure it will be great!!

[b4dw0lf]

Before I begin my rebuild and repairs i decided to have a little fun and play a little dress up:






Also you might be interested to know that Im going to be attending a Doctor Who event in Orlando Florida this November (without the TARDIS) but Im going as a guest and Ill be interviewing Toshiko Sato, very excited!

[b4dw0lf]

Like I mentioned before, there needed to be a few repairs done after sever weather damaged the roof.  And I also needed to  redo the base as initially i hadnt made it strong enough.



The TARDIS Graveyard



Both Base and Roof constructed, Roof already waterproofed and having its first coat of blue.











I used a white acrylic for the widows, its the stuff they use for skylights or strip light covers.  It has a pebble type effect that I think works really well.  Found it at Lowes, in total I used to sheets roughly $9 each.



Next thing I want to do it get the Door Sign made in White acrylic, so it also has that nice glow at night.

I also think I want the TARDIS to look a little beaten up. I saw on here something about a brown wash which I thought I might give a try.

Thats it for now Allons-y!

[geminitimelord]

I am curious, when you say Severe Weather damaged your roof. What exactly happened?

[DoctorWho8]

Well, seeing it's Arizona he's in, I would say heavy rain?
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

[b4dw0lf]

Absolutely, in fact through July/August its Monsoon season.  The biggest issue was however in my first build I had used MDF, now it was completely painted however, the paint would absorb the rain (I used exterior latex paint) which I thought would have been fine. Evidently not, the MDF expanded with the water like a sponge and things just got worse from there.  I had to throw a tarp over the top, the TARDIS just dosnt look right at all with a tarp on top of it: