Seeking advise on building a deadlift platform

[Giri Kotte]

I'm trying to build an SS spec platform, i.e., 3" thick platform made of 3 x .75" plywood sandwiched between two horse trailer mats.

1) Is Moisture Resistant grade plywood adequate or would I need to buy the more expensive Marine grade (which is 50% more expensive)?

2) Would it help with water resistance if I glued all the components with a water resistant glue and pain the sides with water proof paint? Also, what sort of glue and paint is recommended?

[Bryan Dobson]

The water resistance you need is based upon the moisture in your area. You didn’t say where you live and if the garage or space is insulated or not.
I live in nw New Mexico. My garage is insulated and I never get condensation on my concrete so I just used regular exterior plywood.
I have been using it for over 5 years.I was able to disassemble the platform and reassemble it when I moved a year and a half ago. Apparently the wood glue I used to originally assemble it did not hold up since I was able to break it down to individual sheets to move it. Glue eventually will fail, screws will break with hard use. Use more of each than you think you need.

[Giri Kotte]

I plan to use it in my apartment's parking space. It will see some water or at least moisture in the rainy season.
But I didn't realize even industrial adhesives come out easily.
How many screws did you use, what was dia. and length of the screws used and the pattern you drilled them in?

[Bryan Dobson]

Inch and a quarter length brass deck screws that sink below flush.(it’s been so long I no longer have the fastener box.) Can’t remember the diameter. I used 40or 50 you want to screw from the center seams outwards to work any bow out of the plywood laying the criss cross pattern.
You may want to set it on top of some horse stall mat to protect against possible moisture run off if any water could come in. I don’t know how high it is built up against water or if it is like a garage slab and above the driveway.

[Giri Kotte]

Inch and a quarter length brass deck screws that sink below flush.(it’s been so long I no longer have the fastener box.) Can’t remember the diameter. I used 40or 50 you want to screw from the center seams outwards to work any bow out of the plywood laying the criss cross pattern.
You may want to set it on top of some horse stall mat to protect against possible moisture run off if any water could come in. I don’t know how high it is built up against water or if it is like a garage slab and above the driveway.

That's valuable information. One could easily waste money experimenting with plywood. Can you share a picture of your platform, Bryan?

[Bryan Dobson]

That's valuable information. One could easily waste money experimenting with plywood. Can you share a picture of your platform, Bryan?

It is in most of my training log.
Bryan's journal

[Clay Simczyk]

I covered mine entirely with horse mats. I like the extra traction and no need for paint. And instead of gluing, just use a few wide button head screws. You only need a few screws around the edges.

[Giri Kotte]

I covered mine entirely with horse mats. I like the extra traction and no need for paint. And instead of gluing, just use a few wide button head screws. You only need a few screws around the edges.

I plant to sandwich the plywood between the mats, just as it was described in SS book.

It is in most of my training log.
Bryan's journal

I see a whole lot of screws. Am I correct?

[tinglstrength]

This one by Alan looks great:

[AndrewLewis]

Giri,
You're overthinking this. Buy some horse mats and some decently straight 3/4" plywood and attach everything with screws. I wouldn't even bother gluing it. When you start seeing issues, fix them. Eventually, you may want to build a new one based on what you learned, but you should be ok with model 1.0.