2001 Monolith build
- Thread starter alan molstad
- Start date
alan molstad
Active Member
when I flipped the monolith over to sand and prime the other side, I did not really get it to land as I wanted.
So it was not level at all.
But to do the epoxy tomorrow i will need the face that is up to be nice and level for the epoxy to flow correctly.
and so that was the project for today....
it actually took me a few attempts to get everything to be level in all directions.
But Im now ready for the epoxy.
There is a nasty issue in the next 24 hours with rain and wind...but we shall see if its goin g to be enough to snow this down?
So it was not level at all.
But to do the epoxy tomorrow i will need the face that is up to be nice and level for the epoxy to flow correctly.
and so that was the project for today....
it actually took me a few attempts to get everything to be level in all directions.
But Im now ready for the epoxy.
There is a nasty issue in the next 24 hours with rain and wind...but we shall see if its goin g to be enough to snow this down?
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alan molstad
Active Member
the weather is going to be an issue.
The forecast is not giving me much hope for 2 days in a row without rain...and I kinda need a good 2 days .
They are now saying I will be dealing with wind gusts over 45mph tomorrow, so that is kinda high and likely to be blowing lots of junk in the air that i dont want to fall onto my fresh epoxy
The forecast is not giving me much hope for 2 days in a row without rain...and I kinda need a good 2 days .
They are now saying I will be dealing with wind gusts over 45mph tomorrow, so that is kinda high and likely to be blowing lots of junk in the air that i dont want to fall onto my fresh epoxy
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alan molstad
Active Member
I have never done epoxy before, so this is be fun/interesting to learn how to do.
The epoxy step is the last thing I will do before I set the monolith down into the trench and cement in place.
I can guess that when its time to stand it up that once again the weather and the wind are going to be the big issue.
I do not want to try to stand this thing up and get it to stand still in the face of a 40+ mph
wind gust.
The epoxy step is the last thing I will do before I set the monolith down into the trench and cement in place.
I can guess that when its time to stand it up that once again the weather and the wind are going to be the big issue.
I do not want to try to stand this thing up and get it to stand still in the face of a 40+ mph
wind gust.
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joberg
Legendary Member
Epoxy is not complicated...just wear a mask! And the wind will be a factor, not only during the lifting/standing of the structure, but also making sure it will be static and not moving during the drying period of the concrete
alan molstad
Active Member
The wind in North Dakota is almost every day...Epoxy is not complicated...just wear a mask! And the wind will be a factor, not only during the lifting/standing of the structure, but also making sure it will be static and not moving during the drying period of the concrete
and when it is calm it most of the time means that a bigger storm is on the way the next day.
So the wind is going to be a issue for me to pick the right day to do things from now on.
Right now its Tuesday the 23rd of April, and its just after 8:00 in the morning, and as I look outside the window I can see the trees bending in the wind.
I hear its only going to get stronger in the afternoon.
But the epoxy is due to arrive via UPS this morning (with luck), and tomorrow they say the temps will hit near or above 70 with no chance of rain until Friday. (again with luck)
So I just got to try to make use of that warmer temperature and lack of rain by getting the epoxy on the first side finished.
The moment the epoxy arrives, I plan to make a decision to crack the epoxy kit open and start mixing or not.
If I do put the epoxy on today, then with the lack of rain in for forecast until Thursday night /Friday i would not have to cover the monolith in a tarp the first night.
I have this bad feeling that if I put epoxy on the monolith and then cover it up at night with a tarp that the tarp with get stuck to the monolith and Im back to sanding again...
we shall see how this goes....
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alan molstad
Active Member
The idea to use some epoxy was just my own.
The black epoxy will not be the final coating as I plan to paint the whole monolith black after its cemented into position later.
I wanted the ability to update the look of the monolith in the future by painting with a flesh coat of black paint.
I also wanted the ability to perhaps have a guest artist come and paint something interesting onto the face of the monolith in the future .
The outdoor epoxy will have a black color to it to hide scratches in the future.
I wanted to coat the monolith in a layer of epoxy to have it stand up better to the weather over the years.
Right now Im still thinking that I want to try to paint stars onto the face of the monolith.
I still like the idea that people will see it, and that some people in the future that "get it" will say "My God, it's full of stars!"
The black epoxy will not be the final coating as I plan to paint the whole monolith black after its cemented into position later.
I wanted the ability to update the look of the monolith in the future by painting with a flesh coat of black paint.
I also wanted the ability to perhaps have a guest artist come and paint something interesting onto the face of the monolith in the future .
The outdoor epoxy will have a black color to it to hide scratches in the future.
I wanted to coat the monolith in a layer of epoxy to have it stand up better to the weather over the years.
Right now Im still thinking that I want to try to paint stars onto the face of the monolith.
I still like the idea that people will see it, and that some people in the future that "get it" will say "My God, it's full of stars!"
alan molstad
Active Member
and.......it's raining!
so, that ends that idea.
Winds will pick up later to day to gusts around 40mph.
and the warmer day forecast for tomorrow now comes with additional chance of more rain.
So....Im screwed.
Going to be into next week before I can get two nice days in a row.
so, that ends that idea.
Winds will pick up later to day to gusts around 40mph.
and the warmer day forecast for tomorrow now comes with additional chance of more rain.
So....Im screwed.
Going to be into next week before I can get two nice days in a row.
Lightning
Master Member
my suggestion would be to paint the stars in black, but in a different sheen than the base black. that way you will only see them when the light hits it just right.
alan molstad
Active Member
the sun is out,,,not a cloud in the sky at 12:00
Im going for it!
1st coat of epoxy is on the first side..
Now I just have to keep the cats from jumping on top of it for......10 hours.....
Im going for it!
1st coat of epoxy is on the first side..
Now I just have to keep the cats from jumping on top of it for......10 hours.....
alan molstad
Active Member
I went out to the monolith and i gave it a test 'pat" to check on it.
That epoxy gets as hard as a rock!
i will sand it a bit in the morning and then mix up a final top coat and call it good.
There was an issue that I noticed as I worked it this morning.
This epoxy is "Self-Leveling" and although I did work on getting the monolith as flat as i could get it, i always knew there was a lot of warped wood going on to the main section of 4X8 sheeting I was using, so there was a bit of a epoxy "pooling" effect.
But i will sand things tomorrow and add the 2nd top coat, and in the end Im painting the whole thing anyway, so it should be ok...
That epoxy gets as hard as a rock!
i will sand it a bit in the morning and then mix up a final top coat and call it good.
There was an issue that I noticed as I worked it this morning.
This epoxy is "Self-Leveling" and although I did work on getting the monolith as flat as i could get it, i always knew there was a lot of warped wood going on to the main section of 4X8 sheeting I was using, so there was a bit of a epoxy "pooling" effect.
But i will sand things tomorrow and add the 2nd top coat, and in the end Im painting the whole thing anyway, so it should be ok...
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alan molstad
Active Member
and......I was hitting the sanding hard this morning..
alan molstad
Active Member
The last coat of epoxy for the 1st side is on and.....its "good enough"
I checked it about an hours ago and it was already hard.
and there were couple beetle bugs that had landed on the epoxy that before I paint I will have to deal with, but,,,Im glad to get the first side ready to install.
I checked it about an hours ago and it was already hard.
and there were couple beetle bugs that had landed on the epoxy that before I paint I will have to deal with, but,,,Im glad to get the first side ready to install.
I remember the beetles in my friend's home auto paint job. "It's full of bugs" doesn't hold the same awe.
alan molstad
Active Member
it rained all today, so I never had a chance to do much on this project.
However around 6:00 this evening I noticed a break in the rain, so my wife and I ran out to the site and were able to flip the monolith over so that I can epoxy the other side some time this week.
It turned out to be way more easy to flip the monolith with her help....(a farm girl)
However around 6:00 this evening I noticed a break in the rain, so my wife and I ran out to the site and were able to flip the monolith over so that I can epoxy the other side some time this week.
It turned out to be way more easy to flip the monolith with her help....(a farm girl)
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You picked well. She not only doesn't mind posing for your online thread but helps with the project. She's a keeper.
alan molstad
Active Member
tomorrow is the 28th of April 2024
The forecast is for rain in the early afternoon.
This would make putting on the first coat of epoxy a risk.
I plan to wake up early and if its not raining then I want to get the monolith nice and level and have it all ready to epoxy if the weather permits.
It would be great to finish the epoxy part of this project because once that is done I can then start to inch the whole monolith over to the trench I dug and start making plans for dropping it into position.
Getting the needed bags of cement is going to run me some money, and because I only have a very small car I think it will work out to making 10 trips into town before I have enough.
But Im starting to see the end of this project now....
Im actually starting to think about how to do the landscaping ....
The forecast is for rain in the early afternoon.
This would make putting on the first coat of epoxy a risk.
I plan to wake up early and if its not raining then I want to get the monolith nice and level and have it all ready to epoxy if the weather permits.
It would be great to finish the epoxy part of this project because once that is done I can then start to inch the whole monolith over to the trench I dug and start making plans for dropping it into position.
Getting the needed bags of cement is going to run me some money, and because I only have a very small car I think it will work out to making 10 trips into town before I have enough.
But Im starting to see the end of this project now....
Im actually starting to think about how to do the landscaping ....
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alan molstad
Active Member
They say its going to start raining today and go on for the next 48 hours!
This is not good news for me getting more work done on this project.
However it was not raining at the moment so I ran out and went right to work getting the monolith level so that when I do the epoxy coat the epoxy will flow evenly.
This is not good news for me getting more work done on this project.
However it was not raining at the moment so I ran out and went right to work getting the monolith level so that when I do the epoxy coat the epoxy will flow evenly.
alan molstad
Active Member
when I started this project the long-range forecast was predicting a drought.
They based this on the fact that we had almost no snow here during this last winter.
But they were wrong!
The rain has just not taken a break this whole month of April.
It has been like working under a lawn sprinkler.
They based this on the fact that we had almost no snow here during this last winter.
But they were wrong!
The rain has just not taken a break this whole month of April.
It has been like working under a lawn sprinkler.
