Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[iceman]

Spray foam is your friend. There's lots of different kinds, just read the label or post here or there's lots of handyman/homeowner resources including numerous forums out there.

To answer your question no you shouldn't need anything special where a mantle and drywall meet, the drywall has paper backing and it's not burning, right?

[Dantheman]

Foil tape.

FIFY

[zion zig zag]

Spray foam is your friend.

Just be careful and be cognizant of how much it expands, a little dab will do you.

[Supermoon]

Just be careful and be cognizant of how much it expands, a little dab will do you.

This for sure. It will easily expand to 4 or 5 times it's initial volume. I made a real mess sealing up my new front door not realizing this.

[Jacques Sheer-Rocko]

Be sure to use “low pressure” foam for jambs and reveals:
http://greatstuff.dow.com/product/window-and-door.htm

[iceman]

Yeah there's low-expansion and high-expansion foams, ask somebody before you use it if you're unsure.

[Nobody Famous]

How do you cut this rubber mat?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pro...bber-stall-mat

One mat is 3/4 in, thick, and 4 ft x 6 ft. I'm putting these on top of a waterproof membrane on a rubberized roof deck, deck measures 11 ft x 7 ft. I need to cut these like floor tiles with a perfectly straight and symmetrical line where the four mats meet and who knows how straight and true, or not, near the edges of the wall. I also want a beveled edge on the four sides, to make clean up leaves of and debris. The bottom on the mats have a large raised coin pattern (think 50 cent pieces) to allow water to flow.

My only idea are these cutters: http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-9-37.../dp/B007KHDUTE. Making a perfectly straight and true line for 6 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 20 feet seems tedious and not guaranteed.

Bar buddies suggested a circular saw. Not so sure about that approach either, I suspect the even a beefy saw will stall out when the blade hits the rubber. And not sure what is the right blade without experimenting.

There's got to be a way to do it, pros install rubber mats 2-1/2 in thick and somehow make clean and straight cuts.

[::: :::]

First google vid hit was basically a straight edge and a sharp utility knife using multiple strokes

The bevel part...no idea

[Nobody Famous]

First google vid hit was basically a straight edge and a sharp utility knife using multiple strokes

The bevel part...no idea

Thanks. I'm past the 'use a utility knife' answer as seen on you tubes. Why? The depth of cut is barely 3/4 inch, more like 5/8 when held at an angle to the material, and yes you do have to make multiple strokes to cut through. The chances of getting each repeat stroke perfectly aligned is near zero in that thick, resistant rubber, making the edges uneven and rough, i.e., cheap and amateurish looking.

I've practiced on an old rug with a 1/4 in. shredded rubber layer, a utility knife can barely cut through that cleanly.

[::: :::]

I also saw going slow with an 80T blade on a 12” chop saw, but it reportedly beat up the blade

Maybe run em on the table saw sandwiched between sacrificial plywood? That might get a clean bevel too?

[BigDaddy]

Yeah there's low-expansion and high-expansion foams, ask somebody before you use it if you're unsure.

The cans are pretty well labeled now:

[savemeasammy]

How do you cut this rubber mat?

I’ve never cut something like this, but first you should use some sort of straight edge. A utility knife will probably be slow going, but would give you a (relatively) clean cut. A multi-master with a half-round blade might also work (but it would probably melt the rubber a bit as you go).

[Jacques Sheer-Rocko]

You’ve already said no to it, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easily stall mats cut with a good utility knife. Mine might even be one inch thick... Clean and quiet, also. I put a piece of stripping or 2 x 4 under the mat under the line to be cut and it helped a bunch. I didn’t check out tool to which you linked, but I think a circular saw would be a particularly messy and stinky way to make an uneven cut.

[iceman]

NF, there's Laser cutting services all over the place, at least there are around here, they should be able to do exactly what you want as clean as you could hope, bevel included. The question is can you afford it and there's only one way to find out.

[wooley12]

How do you cut this rubber mat?

.

I've cut rubber with an electric carving knife and a jig saw depending on the density of the rubber. IME, I'd figure 10 minutes of actual cutting time and 10 hours of measuring/remeasuring and positioning the straight edge and setting up the cuts. Getting it straight is one thing, keeping it square is another. I like the idea of putting thin ply on top and bottom creating a rubber mat sandwich.

[Nobody Famous]

You’ve already said no to it, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easily stall mats cut with a good utility knife. Mine might even be one inch thick... Clean and quiet, also. I put a piece of stripping or 2 x 4 under the mat under the line to be cut and it helped a bunch. I didn’t check out tool to which you linked, but I think a circular saw would be a particularly messy and stinky way to make an uneven cut.

I'm willing to try one more time. I did get really bad results when I tried with a new blade on a small outdoor mat about half as thick.

Iceman: I wonder if that is really how pros do it. I see examples of rubber 'tiles' installed on rooftop decks and on playgrounds, and somewhere the edges of the tiles are cut to fit. Two examples below. I've gotten a sample from one of these guys, and both said cut with a utility knife. They must be using some huge utility knife to cut through 2 1/4" thick rubber.

http://www.greatmats.com/products/decktop.php

http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/int...oof-tiles.html

[Danno]

funny, I just realized that you weren't a participant in the current thread in Tech Talk, but there is one (about looking for a truck bed mat) that discusses the horse stall mat idea, maybe someone in that thread has advice.

[Danno]

I've gotten a sample from one of these guys, and both said cut with a utility knife. They must be using some huge utility knife to cut through 2 1/4" thick rubber.

jumbo utility knife

[RootSkier]

Utility knife is the answer.

Layout is key. What I would probably do is get some wide blue painter's tape, strike a line on that with a pen, and then use a drywall square as a straightedge. The first pass should be light. If you do it right, the blade will easily track the previous cut. If you need to scribe a crooked line, the blue tape is even more key, and the same process applies: start with a light pass and get progressively deeper.

The point of the tape is simply to keep your layout if you move the drywall square.

A couple tips: Put a piece of OSB or plywood under the rubber. Change blades CONSTANTLY. Measure twice.

I don't understand what the bevel is for. It seems like that will encourage debris.

[Supermoon]

what about one of those hydraulic metal shearing machines that have a long blade to cut with?

[BigDaddy]

Follow Rootskier's advice... and get a bunch of these cheap knives because you can extend the blade all the way out if needed



And use this for a square cut:

[Foggy_Goggles]

You should be able to go factory-factory in the field. Then you just have to scribe in the edges. x3 on laying out on painters tape. Make your first cut with a utility knife then finish with a bosch jiggy blade made for...wait for it...rubber! Slow speed. Silicone for lubrication. Like butter. If you really need the bevel...trim router.

[Nobody Famous]

Utility knife is the answer.

Layout is key. What I would probably do is get some wide blue painter's tape, strike a line on that with a pen, and then use a drywall square as a straightedge. The first pass should be light. If you do it right, the blade will easily track the previous cut. If you need to scribe a crooked line, the blue tape is even more key, and the same process applies: start with a light pass and get progressively deeper.

The point of the tape is simply to keep your layout if you move the drywall square.

A couple tips: Put a piece of OSB or plywood under the rubber. Change blades CONSTANTLY. Measure twice.

I don't understand what the bevel is for. It seems like that will encourage debris.

Thanks for these tips. Need to find/borrow a drywall square.

On one side of the roof deck (the 11 ft side) there is a gutter/trough, pitched to make rain water flow out through a hole and into a downspout. The bevel will be to make a clean, angled edge on that one side where the edge of the mat meets the top of the trough . It's for looks and for usage, I've seen the shredded rubber pieces of these mats crumble off at a high-use edge. In my case the bevel will be mostly for looks.

I'm now thinking a jig of some kind do the angled bevel cut might be what I need.

I've got one more question in this. For the expansion and contraction factor, will measuring, cutting and fitting the four mats in cold weather matter vs. doing so in the heat of the summer. The deck membrane gets very hot in the summer, so much that you can't put bare feet or hands on it. It's a typical membrane for a waterproof deck application (GenFlex EPDM membrane), is black in color and all the sunshine it absorbs is morphed into a hugs raise in internal temperature.

[capulin overdrive]

Could try a circular saw with the blade turned backwards.

We cut tin that way, and works great, so might work on rubber?

[Foggy_Goggles]

I've got one more question in this. For the expansion and contraction factor, will measuring, cutting and fitting the four mats in cold weather matter vs. doing so in the heat of the summer. The deck membrane gets very hot in the summer, so much that you can't put bare feet or hands on it. It's a typical membrane for a waterproof deck application (GenFlex EPDM membrane), is black in color and all the sunshine it absorbs is morphed into a hugs raise in internal temperature.

It depends. Is the EPDM glue down or loose lay/mechanical fasten? What is the substrate? Where are the areas that is could expand to?

Safe bet is that you will get expansion/contraction. I wouldn't believe what thermal expansion can do if I hadn't seen it with my own eye. I've seen Trex expand at move 6x6 posts. I've seen an oak floor installed tight bend anchor bolts.