[FR4life.]

So like the title says, Im trying to build a miniramp. For those of you who have miniramps and similar wooden bicycle playgrounds at home, where did you get all of your wood from? I have built quarter-pipes before and have a decent amount of experience with woodwork, but the real problem for me would be getting all the wood, as the ramp I am planning to construct would require alot... Buying it all from home depot or a lumber yard would be way out of my price range. Maybe get in contact with contractors and see if they have any extra/scrap wood they don't need? I'm looking to build a ramp similar to this one:

I've roughly estimated that a ramp of those dimensions would cost well over $400 in wood if I were to purchase from a hardware store or lumber yard.. I know I have seen at least a few people on here with fun looking ramps at their house, how did you guys go about building them? Any advice/suggestions are appriciated.

 

[cmc]

So like the title says, Im trying to build a miniramp. For those of you who have miniramps and similar wooden bicycle playgrounds at home, where did you get all of your wood from? I have built quarter-pipes before and have a decent amount of experience with woodwork, but the real problem for me would be getting all the wood, as the ramp I am planning to construct would require alot... Buying it all from home depot or a lumber yard would be way out of my price range. Maybe get in contact with contractors and see if they have any extra/scrap wood they don't need? I'm looking to build a ramp similar to this one:

I've roughly estimated that a ramp of those dimensions would cost well over $400 in wood if I were to purchase from a hardware store or lumber yard.. I know I have seen at least a few people on here with fun looking ramps at their house, how did you guys go about building them? Any advice/suggestions are appriciated.

i'm pretty sure it would be way more than $400. a friend of mine built a 16' wide 5ft tall regular mini (no spine) and he said it cost him close to $2000.

4x8 sheets of ply are like $15-$30 depending on thickness and quality. you'd probably need 20 sheets just to do one surface layer. then a second layer is another 20. (all good ramps have two layers of surface ply).

check out some of the ramp projects in the forums on http://rampplans.org/


as for how do you get cheap wood..... construction sites throw away a lot of wood, so check the dumpsters. sometimes they will throw away sheets of ply just for having staples in them . . . or anything that is cut smaller than 4X8.

 

[FR4life.]

Did your friend use skatelite? I know that stuff costs a ton. I guess I'll go check some dumpsters.

 

[mr.c]

i work construction and i know that the work site at the end of the day has more wood that gets trashed than anything, we huck plywood if it has a ****ed up corner or if there is a nail in it. bosses orders. they throw away wood like its free, hop in your car and go to a housing development and grab some scrap lumber from all the job sites and you will probably have almost all you need

 

[newrider3]

Definitely. I've built many different projects for nothing more than the cost of screws because they throw out so much lumber.

 

[t1maglio]

If you can't find scrap be prepared to drop at least $1200, maybe more. I'm looking to build a setup in my back yard as well and thats the reality of it. Skatelite goes for over $100 a sheet, so if you really want a nice setup be prepared to drop a ton.

 

[grom-dom]

true that. build dirt jumps man.

as far as getting wood goes, friend and i almost got arrested getting wood from a construction site. no bueno. good luck if you do

 

[newrider3]

Sucks for you, I've been waist deep in a trashcan many times when someone who works on the site just drives by and waves.

 

[FR4life.]

true that. build dirt jumps man.

as far as getting wood goes, friend and i almost got arrested getting wood from a construction site. no bueno. good luck if you do

I would love to build dirt jumps at my house, but lack of space has kept that only a dream. The only thing I could build would be a ramp, and that unfortunately would take up the majority of my yard.. I'll see If I can get some wood from construction sites.. Maybe ask some workers if they have leftover or fvcked up wood? I think the plywood would be the easy part, the 2x4s are what I would need the most of and they would end up costing a small fortune.

 

[jellybeans]

haha, you could build your ramp out of dirt
i've heard good things about using wood as coping.

 

[FR4life.]

haha, you could build your ramp out of dirt
i've heard good things about using wood as coping.

I'd also have to haul in dirt for anything I would build with dirt. The dirt in my yard is of terrible quality, and bringing in dirt would mean tearing out a section of fence to dump it. Waaaay too much effort..:huh:

 

[jellybeans]

I'd also have to haul in dirt for anything I would build with dirt. The dirt in my yard is of terrible quality, and bringing in dirt would mean tearing out a section of fence to dump it. Waaaay too much effort..:huh:

i just was just saying because dirts alot cheaper than wood

 

[stinky6]

the ramp in this video was built from almost 100% scrap. http://www.pinkbike.com/video/7463/

The guy that built it is a carpenter and he didn't use big sheets of ply wood, just lots of little pieces, especially in the corners. The ramp feels a little weird in places, but its super fun. Good luck.

 

[BlackAthlete]

Or vick fresh wood from construction sites. Nothing like being chased by the pigs to wake your ass up.

 

[FR4life.]

Or vick fresh wood from construction sites. Nothing like being chased by the pigs to wake your ass up.

Done it before and got enough wood to build a ladder course in my friends backyard, had a few close calls with pigs but luckily never got wrapped. Can't exactly carry it all by hand, and its a bit harder to evade police while trying to load wood into your homies pickup...