Filcris (again)

Hal Farsed

Hal Farsed

D.P. Gumby.
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In common with you all, I am becoming more fossilised as each day passes. The thought of a ground level line is becoming a distant dream. So. I have a plan. Filcris posts and wooden everything else (to keep the cost down). Is it OK to use postcrete or somesuch to fix the Filcris post into the ground? Is it OK to screw wood into the Filcris posts? I know these are basic questions but I have no idea about it. Construction would be wooden shoulder bits between Filcris posts and hundreds of wooden cross pieces. No plywood. Is this making any sense? Thanks for any pointers.
 
John

Yes, and yes.

Postcrete is comparatively harmless, it has something in it to prevent shrinkage, and this additive causes a bit of efflorescence, which won't ever show unless you use Postcrete for something else that is visible !! (don't ask me how I know this) :smoke::smoke::smoke:

Filcris is resilient - you can screw anything to it. The manufacturers provide stainless screws with the kits, but stainless steel screws are a bit coarse, and the nature of filcris is that you're better off with a good all purpose non-ferrous or coated twin-screw or posidrive screw (B&Q specials)
 
None of that should cause a problem, except perhaps what screws you use. Obviously steel screws will rust, eventually, away, with the obvious problem. Proper brass screws are expensive, stainless somewhat less so, black japaned screws should outlast bright steel ones. That said, they should still last a few years. Plasterboard screws are supposed not to rust, but I'm not sure how they would penetrate Filcris.
 
If you have a worry about screws you can dunk them to put a little Grease on them prior to screwing in. In practice regarding rust, I have found the Wicks Good screws to be pretty resiliant however the grease method will help. I used the above method on a friends layout with Filcris and no damage occurrd to the Filcris. Plus when lifting the layout from Ground level to 3ft all the screws were easily removable after 4.years in place.

The other option to consider if you have not yet purchased Filcris would be to use Metposts and Postcrete with Wood Posts, providing the Base of the metpost is above the ground level the wood will last many years. It tends to be only Contact with Earth and constant dampness that will trash wood efficiently.
JonD
 
Thanks for the comments folks, all duly noted.

Jon- Ive tried using Metposts before with little success. The apparent correct size allowed some slop with the post and I had to jam thin bits of wood in and screw through to get it to stay still. I've since concreted posts into the ground, and it has gone rotton. This was fine with fenceposts (that I replaced with concrete posts) but I want the railway to last me out without having to do a huge rebuild in five years time so I thought plastic fantastic was the way to go. :)
 
I'm not a lover of elevated lines, as I much prefer the railway to sit in the garden. That said, because of the natural slope of both gardens where I've had a railway, there has always been some natural element of elevation - the current one allows me to kneel and see down to track level - the short filcris section being about 400mm above ground
 
Hal Farsed said:
Thanks for the comments folks, all duly noted.

Jon- Ive tried using Metposts before with little success. The apparent correct size allowed some slop with the post and I had to jam thin bits of wood in and screw through to get it to stay still. I've since concreted posts into the ground, and it has gone rotton. This was fine with fenceposts (that I replaced with concrete posts) but I want the railway to last me out without having to do a huge rebuild in five years time so I thought plastic fantastic was the way to go. :)
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I've used the MetPost variety that has 2 bolts to clamp the post in place. I also used the plastic "packers" beloved of window and door fitters to adjust the wooden post alignment in the MetPost. These packers don't rot, come in varying thicknesses and helped ensure I got the posts as vertical as possible. Main issues I had with this system were banging the posts in - we have very stony ground so this was best done when everything was pretty wet - and making sure the supplied bolts were OK (I spent quite some time at B&Q checking posts, bolts and nuts - the state of some of their stock was dreadful!)
 
I'm not sure if Filcris posts warp - wooden posts certainly do!
 
G-force1 said:
I'm not sure if Filcris posts warp - wooden posts certainly do!
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Hopefully as I've kept mine at around 50 cms in length any warping won't be significant (hopefully......).

Not sure about Filcris posts, but I've been warned time and time again about the R3 profile Filcris track boards I've got that they will expand / contract by as much as 1 cm. due to temperature variations. Could be worth doing a rough and ready test such as cutting a post to the approximate length to be used, laying it out on some cardboard or similar, drawing round it and then measuring any changes in the posts' shape / size for a variety of temp conditions. (I'm currently doing this with one of R3 my boards to get an indication of actual movement caused by temp changes.)
 
Depending on the length of post you require...
Have you considered concrete 'Godfathers'? - The shorter posts sold the reinforce / repair a rotting wooden post.

Not sure how these would compare in price to Filchris??

ScrewFix do a twin-thread 'gold' screw, with a wax on it.. This melts under the friction of being driven, so aiding the insertion of said screws..

I would think you may well shear brass screws, unless you are very careful with pilot-hole sizes??
 
Ralphmp said:
Hopefully as I've kept mine at around 50 cms in length any warping won't be significant (hopefully......).

Not sure about Filcris posts, but I've been warned time and time again about the R3 profile Filcris track boards I've got that they will expand / contract by as much as 1 cm. due to temperature variations. Could be worth doing a rough and ready test such as cutting a post to the approximate length to be used, laying it out on some cardboard or similar, drawing round it and then measuring any changes in the posts' shape / size for a variety of temp conditions. (I'm currently doing this with one of R3 my boards to get an indication of actual movement caused by temp changes.)
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Haven't seen any problem with mine.

It gets bright sun and shade on a good sunny day, starts at R3 one end, then meanders with flexi track - total length just under 30ft. :smoke::smoke:
 
Ralphmp said:
Thanks Rhino - that's good to hear.
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Going back to your original post, one experiment that we were shown at college to demonstrate the coefficient of expansion of plastic, was to take a metre length of plastic gutter with two stop ends, and fill it with boiling water - you could actually see it move :nod::nod::nod:

I suspect that because filcris is recycled material, and is of a mesh-ish nature - think of a plastic version of chipboard let's say - it probably doesn't have the same expansion properties.

I didn't use an R3 kit, I just bought 3 x 3m kits for 45 mm with 450 mm stakes, so had to curve the members to match the track :tmi::tmi:

I think I lied, and the height above ground is only about 300mm

Oh yeah, and I did it all in the pouring rain :devil::devil::devil:
 
I guess I was just lucky (lazy?) - I dropped into the factory on my way to Glendale and they happened to have some R3 shaped pieces around that someone had ordered and never collected!
 
Phil, if you are using Filcris R3 for your curves,rather than Screwing or Nailing Track to the Plastic Board you could use inserts between the sleepers say 1 per two sections that allow the Track to move around as the Filcris expands and contracts. You could 5mm hips which I place routhly in the middle of the Gap, nailed or screwed into the Filcris.
JonD
 
I didn't buy any curved parts, I built it up as a ladder rack, & just used short bits to go round the bends. It worked out a lot cheaper, and I could control the radii. I've had to dismantle my line for a while, otherwise I would post some pictures.
 
Paul M said:
I didn't buy any curved parts, I built it up as a ladder rack, & just used short bits to go round the bends. It worked out a lot cheaper, and I could control the radii. I've had to dismantle my line for a while, otherwise I would post some pictures.
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I seem to remember Filcris show this method on their site as a result of an idea sent in by a user as it solves the problem of expansion and contraction.

There was a photo on their site, but I can't find it now.
 
playmofire said:
I seem to remember Filcris show this method on their site as a result of an idea sent in by a user as it solves the problem of expansion and contraction.

There was a photo on their site, but I can't find it now.
Click to expand...
I just curved the stuff - I'll try and show a piccy when it stops raining :mask::mask::mask:
 
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