New Project - Input Please

[Mojo]

I get myself into the damndest things. I sometimes feel like Russ ( Stitcherguy ) who never turns down a project and claims to be able to sew anything and everything.

My number one son ( actually he is my only son ) called me to say " Dad, I have a sewing challenge for you. He didn't say what it was just said he would e-mail me the details.

This is what he sent me: ( BTW, check out the price of this mat.....YIKES )

http://www.goestores.com/storename/detailking/dept/184118/ItemDetail-7170441.aspx

And like the senile father I am I said " Sure, no worries I can do that for you son ". I never thought of just where the hell I am going to lay out a 20 x 10 piece of fabric ( my driveway ).
I am sure it will cost a fortune to ship to Michigan.

The plan is to sew pockets around the entire perimeter and then he can insert kids swimming noodles into the pockets whenever he wants to use it. I am going to use 138 poly with Tuffstuff and use the ultra sticky two sided tape from Walmart on the center seam. I am also going to see if I can come up with some type of way to either glue or sew ( or both ) a garden hose drain into one corner that he can attach a hose to.

My questions are: What type of glue/cement to use with the Tuffstuff ? Will the regular seam tape work on the side stitching/pockets ?

As a side note, my son said : " Ya know Dad this could be another product you could offer. I am sure there are some hefty margins in these mats ". My comment to him was " Son, I have enough frigging headaches dealing with OCD bus/coach owners. I do not need to add more headaches to my list dealing with OCD car detailers and classic car owners ".  :)

So do you think this plan will work ? Hints ? Suggestions ?

Here is one a guy made with a simple tarp and swim noodles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3DCzy-Rngo

Chris

[scottymc]

never seen one before, what's the point?

[Grebo]

Wow thats a great idea for boat yards, we have tight regulations on pollution & waste run off. Imagine sitting a boat on one for scrape down, anti fouling etc..... Hire it out on a daily! basis...per boat, or sell them to the yard...Hmm.

Suzi

[Mojo]

Scotty:

He is going to be using it inside his barn/storage building during the winter time for washing his vehicles. He doesn't want water running all over the floor where it can get into things stored inside. He also doesn't want to just push the water out the door where it will freeze and turn to ice.

Some communities in the USA have regulations on washing cars and the subsequent run off of soap phosphates. Some local or State governments want it captured and the water recycled. CA has some goofy laws as do other areas of the USA so these mats are used.

Chris

[Allan]

Chris

We use a similar unit for the containment of oil spills on the boats
We park the fuel truck in one when refuelling the barges
I will try find a picture tonight when i get home

Allan

[sofadoc]

Does this mean that the EPA will eventually shut down all the youth fundraiser car washes that don't have a containment mat?

[scottymc]

Makes sense .....sorta

[Mike]

Around here they ebcorace you to park you car on the lawn to wash your cAr.
Mot my idea to drive on my lawn. Funny  lose to me here there is a diy  carwash direcetly on a saltwater.canal.
I wonxer how they got that passed.

[byhammerandhand]

Does this mean that the EPA will eventually shut down all the youth fundraiser car washes that don't have a containment mat?

Reminds me of:
I took some friends out to dinner last week, and I noticed a spoon in the shirt pocket of our waiter as he handed us the menus. It seemed a little odd, but I dismissed it as a random thing. Until our busboy came with water & tableware; he, too, sported a spoon in his breast-pocket. I looked around the room and all the waiters, waitresses, busboys, etc. had spoons in their pockets.

When our waiter returned to take our order, I just had to ask, "Why the spoons?"

"Well," he explained, "our parent company recently hired some Andersen Consulting efficiency experts to review all our procedures and after months of statistical analyses, they concluded that our patrons drop spoons on the floor 73% more often than any other utensil at a frequency of 3 spoons per hour per workstation. By preparing all our workers for this contingency in advance, we can cut our trips to the kitchen down and save time...nearly 1.5 extra man hours per shift."

Just as he concluded, a "ch-ching" came from the table behind him, and he quickly replaced a fallen spoon with the one from his pocket. "I'll grab another spoon the next time I'm in the kitchen instead of making a special trip," he proudly explained.

I was impressed. "Thanks. I had to ask." "No problem," he answered, then he continued to take our orders. As the members of my dinner party took their turns, my eyes darted back & forth from each person ordering and my menu. That's when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a thin, black thread protruding from our waiter's fly. Again, I dismissed it; yet I had to scan the room and, sure enough, there were other waiters & busboys with strings hanging out there were other waiters & busboys with strings hanging out of their trousers.

My curiosity overrode discretion at this point, so before he could leave I had to ask. "Excuse me, but...uh...why, or what...about that string?" "Oh, yeah," he began in a quieter tone. "Not many people are that observant. That same efficiency group found we could save time in the Men's room, too." "How's that?" .. "You see, by tying a string to the end of our, eh, selves, we can pull it out at the urinals literally hands-free and thereby eliminate the need to wash our hands, cutting time spent in the restroom by over 93%!"

"Oh, that makes sense," I said, but then thinking thru the process, I asked, "Hey, wait-a-minute. If the string helps you pull it out, how do you get it back in?"

"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the other guys; but I use my spoon.

[MinUph]

That was good hammer! laughed my ass off at the end.

[JDUpholstery]

I think I would use a truck lumber tarp material over a boat cover material for that application...the lumber tarp stuff can hold up to the driving on it a lot better

[kodydog]

"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the other guys; but I use my spoon.

LMAO and today's not even Friday. What was the name of that restaurant?

[Mojo]

I think I would use a truck lumber tarp material over a boat cover material for that application...the lumber tarp stuff can hold up to the driving on it a lot better

Tuffstuff is pretty heavy. Actually Miami told me they do sell it to some companies that use it as a cover for semi flat beds. I have used it in the past to make 5th front enclosures and have had great luck with it.

I am going to be using it on my canopy which covers the boat kinda like a mini garage made of galvanized poles.

Chris

[Allan]

Chris

Check this site out under portable bunding solutions

www.spillstation.com.au

Allan

[Mojo]

Very cool. Thanks for that link mate.

Chris