Anyone ever repaired a rotted tiki with concrete?

I've got a badly rotted out wood tiki.

On the bottom, half of the base is totally gone, and is removed about 4-6" up the back, and an additional 4-6 inches is gone boring down into the center of the tiki.

I've got him upside down in a storage room right now, drying out in air conditioning.

It's a really large chunk thats gone, and it can't stand on its bottom anymore.

Filling this thing with good wood filler would be really expensive.

I'm thinking of just pouring concrete in there and then kinda forming my own back/bottom out of concrete.

Has anyone ever tried filling a tiki with concrete before?

Does concrete expand as it dries? (will it cause an issue being poured down into the center)

Will the concrete just seperate from the wood?

I suppose I could also use adhesive expansion foam, but this is going to be the base, and it will need it to be stable and support the tiki's weight - as well as keep it from rotting out further.

I can post some pics later- just wondering what your suggestions would be with the back half of the base having totally rotted out 5-6" up

[ Edited by: fatuhiva 2011-09-16 09:01 ]

[ Edited by: fatuhiva 2011-09-16 09:02 ]

I would not go concrete. Concrete is very moist and holds and moves water. It would lead to more rot.

If wood filler is too expensive, I'd think bondo next. But check and see if there are large amounts of wood filler that are cheaper than you expect. Mainly because it will expand and contract like the rest of the wood and not tend to damage it that way.

I would also get a few bottles of MinWax Wood Hardener to coat it all where you are going to fill it. Brush it on heavy and let it soak in and shore up the wood you have. It'll bond better and last better. Although that stuff is not cheap either really.

The Mai-Kai repaired the base of some of their old carvings with concrete and I think it did more harm than good over time.

How about fiberglass? Boats and Corvettes seem to like wood and fiberglass. I admit the wood in a Vette is balsa but it's still wood.

If the wood that is left is in good shape, maybe you can shape another piece of wood to mostly fill the cavity. Screw/dowel and/or glue the new piece into the cavity then fill the remaining space with wood filler or Bondo?

hala kahiki tried to repair their outside tiki with concrete that was rotted hollow on the inside.... didn't go so well. I forgot what they used. I'll find out this weekend.

In the Northwest on totems they carve a wood plug to fit in the hole or void. With it upside down you can line it with plastic to make a mold of the void shape using whatever means you like ( paper mache, foam, plaster, etc.) After you remove the casting, carve the shape out of like wood. Dampen inside of tiki and the new plug, coat well with urathane glue and insert plug. Tape, band, or wire whatever means to be able to clamp it, when dry you should be good to go.

Like what MadDogMike said...I was typing and did not see his post...that's the way to go...Good Luck !!

[ Edited by: hottiki 2011-09-16 12:10 ]

This thread of bananabobs talks about what he did with a rotted out tiki.

Bear

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'll probably skip the concrete route.

I took a good look at it today, I need to fill a void that is about 1-2 milk jugs worth of space.

I'm think I might go look at dense expansion foams.. something that dries hard and could possibly support some weight.

Let the tiki dry completely, apply a few bottle of wood hardener, then insert expansion foam.

Overfill the void with that, then carve/sand it back a bit, and apply bondo-like filler over that as the outside coat.. texture, etc.

Followed by an acrylic paint job to match the color, then varnish the whole thing.

This tiki was around my pool and I would tap the base regularly to see how it was holding up- but my mistake was, I never got into the planter area to check the back of it. I noticed a vine growing up the back the other day, so I went back there to remove it, and when I did, it pulled a huge chunk off the bottom.

I had thought I was keeping this tiki dry by adding 2" rubber feet to the bottom and setting him on a concrete slab, but what was rotting it was rain water seeping down to the bottom from the top/sides.

I had applied a layer of bondo-like material to the bottom a few years ago, and I think that served as a "dish" to hold this rainwater in the bottom.

Eventually all outside tikis end up having big rot problems.. it may be time to retire this one to the indoors, I dont know.

I expect the expansion foam would eventually disintegrate as well, but its not to hard to carve out and reapply...