DIY greenland style wax for waterproofing stuff

[mrcharly]

I've only just twigged that you are talking about tropical regions.

Just say no. the cotton fabric will rot out very quickly and I think your coconut leaf thatching would last as long.

Look at what the locals use. I suspect if I were you I'd check that the plastic tarp was waterproof then cover it with coconut or palm thatching, partly to make it look nicer, but also to protect the plastic from UV.

 

[Boucaneer]

Ok, thanks.

And how about canvas, any ideas how that would last?

Thanks again.


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[mrcharly]

I googled on canvas bimini (a sunshade on yachts). People reckon they last a couple of years in the tropics.

 

[johntarmac]

Sorry I didn't mean to come across as an expert on this

It's just in my experience UV will destroy just about anything that you don't want it to. In the UK sun a cheap motorcycle cover will last 2 years and an expensive one about 5 or 6. I can't imagine wax and bedsheets would be impervious.

I've worked on roofs in Australia about the same distance from the Equator as Kerala and the temperatures were blistering. I just can't see wax staying put, especially on the surface of the fabric.
Trying to apply melted wax to a roof I can picture a big blob of set wax the size of a football on the end of your stick and none on the roof itself.

In Indonesia some people had wooden shingles on their more substantial beech huts but they had 'proper' bamboo battening on decent timbers to take them. Others that were less substantial went with the coconut thatching.
I imagine putting chicken wire over the coconut thatch as they do with thatched roofs in the UK would help it's longevity and is probably the path I would explore.

As I said I'm not an expert, just trying to think of the practicalities.

 

[Boucaneer]

Thanks, yeah, the wooden branch roof frame on the roof isn't very substantial.

I may have to put the effort in and add more framing and level it out a little, it's like the little crooked house that Jack built at the moment, and then put some wooden shingles on.

I though a canvas/cotton tarp on top of the plastic tarp would be a quick fix but with the energy it would take to reframe it I may as well add real shingles instead.

Good to hear about the wax proofing recipe, I forgot about it, I saw a good video with a crazy Russian hacker guy do his cotton shoes with a candle.

It sparked up an idea in my head.

Cheers all.

Alex.





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