Join Wood Cyc Ramp to Concrete Floor

Bigboots

Built a wood arc ramp for a photography cyclorama that needs to be secured to concrete floor so I can transition smoothly out with Cement All.

I cut arcs out of 3/4 ply and secured them to the wall studs every 16 inches and used concrete screws to add support along the floor. The arcs are sturdy, but when I secured 1/8 in 4 x 8 sheets of hardboard to the arcs there is some flex to my push at the base transition into the concrete floor. The arcs are to thin at the transition into the floor to screw into. Is there another solution?

I am planning on using Cement All to transition out into the floor from the 1/8 hardboard but I am afraid the flex will create problems/cracks.

Should I use concrete screws or is there an easier way to secure to concrete?

There is also some flex in the hardboard between the 16 inch gaps from arc to arc. Would another layer of hardboard solve this or should I add more arcs?

Best

Bigboots

Chris Johnson

If the 1/8 hardboard is smooth consider contact cement to hold it to the base. You can use an Epoxy type grout to float between the wood and concrete but chances are it will forever be cracking since they are two different substrates.

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Chris

Bigboots

Thanks for the tip Chris. Have you ever used Cement All ? The rep told me it would flex and was just what I needed to transition from wood to cement.

Best

Chris Johnson

I have used it for patching work as well as their grout mix to pack under steel columns.

You have to realize that you are dealing with two completly different substrates, concrete and wood, one is hard and solid, the other is flexible. No matter what you will always have some movement in the wood which can and will create a crack at the seam, hopefully it remains minor and doesn't cause an issue but if the wood flexes too much the cement will chip and need patching.

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Chris