What are the alternatives for gluing timber flooring to fibreglass?

[Russ42]

What are the alternatives for gluing timber flooring to fibreglass? I am looking at using epoxy as it adheres well to fibreglass but am up for alternatives. I am a bit sceptical as I think epoxy may not cope well with movement.

[EricL]

Hello @Russ42

Thanks for sharing your question about gluing timber to fibreglass. Your suspicion is correct, although epoxy is a very good adhesive it 

dries hard as a rock and does not allow for flexibility or movement. Since timber is a natural product it will expand and contract due to changes in temperature. This movement will dislodge it from the epoxy adhesive and will cause it to come off. 

Would it be possible for you to post a photo of your project? Is the wood for seating or for cover over the fibreglass? This will give our members a better idea of what you're working on. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed. Generally, the type of adhesive you're looking for is a silicone adhesive with maximum flexibility. 

Let me call on our experienced members @TedBear and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.

Any other information you can share about your project would be very much appreciated.

We look forward to seeing the photos of your project.

Eric

[Russ42]

Thanks for your reply, Eric. The job is at someone else's house so will be a few days to get a photo. He has a much bigger problem to solve now: he had a lift put in for his wife as she is having her knees done. The retaining wall he put in leaks ground water so he must somehow excavate the backfill from behind the wall and some of the rock under the house, and paint a membrane on the wall. Will get back with  a photo. I don't think there is anything else he can do about the membrane. 

[MitchellMc]

Thanks for the additional information, @Russ42.

The leaking retaining wall doesn't sound great, but I'm sure our knowledgeable members will be able to provide some helpful assistance with that too. Perhaps start a new discussion about it when you have more details.

We'll be looking forward to hearing more about the glueing of timber flooring to the fibreglass situation.

Mitchell

[Russ42]

He is going to just use the epoxy. The main objection to using that from the Selleys people was the same as mine in that epoxy will not work with timber which expands and contracts with humidity. However the timber floor is just 1 meter square so the amount of movement is minimal. I will do another discussion about that but I think he needs a few backpackers to help him (we are both in our 70's and way over doing that sort of thing).