Ice house question

[Scott K]

I am doing some maint. to my ice house, it is in need of new skids. I would like to put a frame under it with drop down wheels, but I will need to wait to do that later money not here for that now!

Anyhow my question is I have some pine untreated 6x6 that are very solid wood, and want to know what I can treat them with to make them last longer. I know I should just go get some treated lumber, but these I already have and they wont cost me anything.

[only ice]

What could it hurt? You might have to replace them in about 5 years. Thats no big deal.Go for it!!!

[JigginIsLife]

ya If the drop down trailer frame is what you want and you dont have the money for it, use the lumber now and in 3-5 years i would immagine that you would be ready to switch that wood out for that trailer. i would immagine though that you could paint them and that would help a bit expecially along the sides and top of the board, maybe not on the bottom where the skids take the beating from the ice. anyways thats what i would do.

[Scott K]

I was hoping to find something to put on them to make them last, even when I have the spare money to put the frame and wheels on it, it needs something solid to bolt it to, and I was hoping to use the skids. I thought painting them, but that wouldnt stay on the bottoms, I thought like a deck stain or deck treatment of some type, but I didnt know if there was something better that would stay on the bottom better and soak into the wood.

[anyfishwilldo]

I would think something like Thompsons water seal might help. It seems to work quite well on my deck.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Have them rhino-lined?

[federline]

I would think something like Thompsons water seal might help. It seems to work quite well on my deck.

Second the Thompsons. Stain, or even paint, will soak in, but won't repel water and ice near as good. And while coating it might be good, even better would be to let them soak in it until permeated, if you can rig up a bath of some sort. The best plus is water repelling also mean less ice sticking, too, when you are ready to move it.

[JigginIsLife]

i dont think that rhino linning would work as well as a paint or stain. isnt rhino linning ment to adhere to metal not wood.?? i guess that would be a question that i would call and ask the manufacturer.

[Scott K]

I have one more question, while I am replacing the skids, I want to put new insulation on the floor because it just has fiberglass with tar paper on it and some is hanging down. I was thinking the spray foam type insulation, is this a good option for the floor? If so where does one get a big enough container of it to do the floor of the fish house? I know you can buy large quantities of it for interior house walls and rent a sprayer, but all I need is enough to do the floor. What are my options other then buying the home spray foam in a can, or renting a huge sprayer and buying the stuff in bulk in which I wont need much?

[Jeremy airjer W]

You can spray that stuff on just about anything. At one point Cornwell was spraying MDF with it and using it for tool box toppers. It worked very well!!

[sparkydm]

If you are on a budget, spray foam may not be the answer. I was going to spray foam my new 6x8 but decided not to for cost reasons. 1" rigid foam board(pink) is less than 10 bucks a sheet. You could lay that out on your floor and then put plywood over that. Check your local lumber yards for damaged materials to get the cost down further. If your not worried about the cost, look online for spray foam kits. They come in different quantities. They sell them according to the number of board feet you need. 12"x12"x1" = 1 board foot. To answer your question, yes it is a good option for your floor. Probably the best option if you leave cost out of the equation. Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.