> When you can, please let us know more details about the construction.
Ah....the gory details. Design criteria was: 1) low maintenance 2) easily removed and relocated (if we move) I initially decided on a modified PETS base with 10' minimum radii. The 8' aluminum box sections are supported by galv. pipe fastened to a flange and screwed to a free standing pier block. I used 1.25" diam. risers and a short piece of 1" at the top for vertical adjustment. The 1" slides inside the larger 1.25 which is tapped for a set screw. I originally intended to fasten 1.5 x 1.5 x .125 aluminum angle to the frame sections, about an inch and a half from the outside edge. One track rail would be supported by the outside box member and the other (inside rail) supported by this new piece of angle. The track ties would be fastened to the all aluminum base....thus no paint, no delamination, no maintenance. I purchased the angle and had the appropriate radii bent for the corners. Looked great. Really thought I had built a better mouse trap. One BIG problem I didn't anticipate. Rolling the angle into a radius put a wow into it. In other words, it was no longer plumb along its length which meant I would be shimming the center of the span by over a 1/4 inch unless I wanted a roller coaster railroad. (The Cricket would have been fine but the rod drivers wouldn't think this very cool.) After rolling, it was springy as heck so the only way to straighten it would be annealing and pressing. Should have had it built to spec originally rather than modifying it after the fact. That is plainly obvious now. Being tired of building and really wanting to operate, I decided to cut my losses rather than mess with it any further. Therefore, a 1/2" ply deck now resides on top, with two coats of a green Polyurethane non-slip "paint." Initially, it is a waterproof barrier with amazing adhesion, strength and supposedly UV resistant, designed for stadiums, pool areas, factory floors, etc. We'll see how long it holds up. Hopefully I've got a couple of years to think on it before the ply starts to pop apart. I'm still after zero maintenance. Maybe next time I'll hit the mark. I like the idea of half inch Trex and have also been thinking about poured light weight concrete next time around. Jon
