Interior teak decking

[mbird]

The carpet in Serenity has been minging since I bought her, and no amount of hoovering or vaxing has altered that fact. After much head scratching, we decided to order some interior decking from Permateek at the same time as the exterior. The interior stuff is basically delivered in 1m long strips so is a total DIY job, not supplied in panels like the exterior stuff.

As it turned out, Permateek couldn't supply it after all, so we were looking at purchasing the Tek Dek version, which had been quoted at £180 +vat and delivery for 3 sq m from MC Products.

Then I had a brain wave!

I went into our local flooring supplier in Caister to see what they could offer as an alternative. I found some thin vinyl laminate, in 1m long strips. that can be bought with feature strips which is made by a company called Karndean from their Knight Tile range. It's suitable for kitchens and bathrooms (therefore ok in damp environments), so we decided to plump for it, as it was only £22 per sq m so less than half the price. Only time will tell if we have a bargain, though from what I hear about the interior decking from the various suppliers, it sounds like a very similar product. The one downside is that the laminate is supplied in 4" wide planks. To get that marine feel, I have cut each of them in half length-ways to give 2" wide planks. They cut easily though, by scoring with a sharp knife and then bending back on itself.

We also had to make all new floor hatches as the old carpet was stuck fast to them!

It's very much a work in progress at the moment, but it'll be interesting to see how this product performs, just incase anyone else is looking for a cheaper alternative to the standard products.

[Guest]

That looks very tidy...

It looks as though you're left gaps for caulking ?

If so, are you going to use sikaflex and mask the normal way for teak ?

I'd be very interested in seeing the final finished result, it sounds a great way of getting the "tek dek" appearance at a reasonable cost.

As it's plastic, and suitable for bathrooms, it could be OK for outside (cockpit etc) as well.

What wood pattern is it ?

[mbird]

Hi Strowy,

The "caulking" is actually 5mm wide beige plastic strips from the same supplier. They offer various widths and colours of the feature strips, so I plumped for something that looked fairly traditional.

The sample swatches I borrowed had about 20 different wood finishes available. We went for "laurel" due to the slightly orange colour contrasting nicely with the interior furnishings.

[Guest]

That looks lovely. I need to do the cockpit in Cattleya as the current floor is lifting and looks untidy. I was going to order Holly and teak flooring from Hawke House marine, but that looks a lot cheaper.

[Guest]

The "caulking" is actually 5mm wide beige plastic strips from the same supplier. They offer various widths and colours of the feature strips, so I plumped for something that looked fairly traditional.

That would save a great deal of complication (and potential mess !).

As it's strips of plastic with no "tongue and groove" or interlocking action, did you find it difficult to not get any raised edges between the joins ?

I guess it's very similar to plastic floor tiles, tightly butting together ?

[RedRover]

Looks great Mark,very profesional.. Thanks for the antifouling,i owe you one..

[Guest]

Looks very smart certainly Karndean is a top quality product. I ripped the carpets out of Crackerjack today. We have yards of crown ash so any more wood is perhaps to much. So looks like it carpets again for us.

[Happy Jax 3]

That looks cracking Mark, just goes to show the premium we pay for marine products.

Very professional looking job too!!

[G&A]

Hi Mark-great job, looking really good!!

In a house i renovated i used Karndean to cover a hand build unit for the bathroom basin-clearly a wet area, it did the trick with no problems. Theres a huge range they offer, as do Amtico and a few other companies. For those who like a funky touch, Dalsouple rubber might be an interesting option. (did i really say that?)

Good thinking Batman!!

[mbird]

As it's strips of plastic with no "tongue and groove" or interlocking action, did you find it difficult to not get any raised edges between the joins ?

I guess it's very similar to plastic floor tiles, tightly butting together ?

Obviously I've only done a couple of small, albeit complicated areas so far, and even though the old steps still had bits of carpet glue etc on them, there aren't really and obvious raised bits. The plastic strips are radiused on all corners so I guess this effectively masks any minor differences in height, and rolling them down hard helps them keep the correct level. There are a couple of areas where knife slippage has left a very slight gap, but I am thinking of doing some minor spot-caulking with wood filler or similar just to hide those up.

Thanks for the kind comments guys, I'll post more picks as work progresses.

[mbird]

Progress report:

I took the floor hatches home in order to deck them in some comfort/ They were a bit fiddly, but I think the "picture frame" effect really works, and I'm quite please with how they have turned out. I haven't yet cut the decking over the hinge recesses, as I ran out of time yesterday morning after doing the latches.

I now need to order some more of the feature "caulking" strips, as I've used up the 25m I bought!

[Guest]

Hi Mark

man that stuff realy does look rather good

Jonny

[Guest]

Superb Mark....

The mitred framing really enhances it.

[Guest]

Hi Strowy,

The "caulking" is actually 5mm wide beige plastic strips from the same supplier. They offer various widths and colours of the feature strips, so I plumped for something that looked fairly traditional.

The sample swatches I borrowed had about 20 different wood finishes available. We went for "laurel" due to the slightly orange colour contrasting nicely with the interior furnishings.

I can't see Laurel on their website. I'm very interested in using this product for the cockpit on my boat. Did you look at Golden Teak?

How do you glue the strips down?

[mbird]

I can't see Laurel on their website. I'm very interested in using this product for the cockpit on my boat. Did you look at Golden Teak?

How do you glue the strips down?

I got the impression that Laurel is no longer in their standard range, and there are probably just a few boxes of old stock left over. I got it from Ideal Flooring in Caister, but I think they may also have another shop in Acle? I didn't see the Golden Teak, as again, I think the sample swatches I had were probably from an old range.

As for the glue, it comes in 5 litre tubs and you spread it on with a notched trowel (2mm gaps) a bit like when doing tiling. You let it dry to a dry-tack state, which takes up to about 2 hours, and then lay the stuff onto it. It's pressure sensitive, so the more pressure you can apply with a roller, the better the bond. They do also do an epoxy glue too, which I wonder if it might be more suitable in a cockpit area? Also, if you are considering the cockpit, it might also be worth checking how stable the colour is under UV exposure. Obviously I am doing the interior below decks, but the cockpit would be subject to much more sunlight, and it's bea shame if it faded after a year!

I will have loads of the pressure-sensitive glue left when I am finished, so if you do go down that route, let me know, and it's yours!

[GrantS]

Thats really impressive and you have fitted out to a professional standard.

No point in spending silly amounts of money on Tek Dek etc when you can get a result like that.

Thanks for sharing that one.

Nice one.

[mbird]

And here is the finished article. Just got to sort the vertical surfaces now, but the main floor area is all finished, and I'm pretty pleased with how it has come out!

[Loops]

Looks great Mark Did you manage to finish the back of the boat ????

[goodall_m1]

And here is the finished article. Just got to sort the vertical surfaces now, but the main floor area is all finished, and I'm pretty pleased with how it has come out!

Looks very good.

Remember to do a similar set of photos after it has been used for a year or so, so that we can see how it takes use!

[mbird]

Looks great Mark Did you manage to finish the back of the boat ????

Certainly did Lou! We finally finished just after 7 yesterday evening. Funny how things got easier without a heckling audience

Still has the masking tape on at the moment, but this is what it now looks like.....

[diesel falcon]

Looks good, did you get the nosings with the kit or were they part of the original finish??

[Guest]

Looks very good but is it possible to paint it so that it can match the hull colour?

[Pinochio]

superb job Mark I think I'l do mine

[mbird]

Looks good, did you get the nosings with the kit or were they part of the original finish??

I formed the nosing myself from some 4" wide planks of the flooring by warming them up with a hot-air gun. Burned my fingers i nthe process too!

[Springsong]

Hi Mark

I was so impressed with what you have done that I am seriously considering it for our cockpit, not in the same colours but something more magogany coloured with black strips. I have got the brochure and have found Kerrys in North Walsham stock it, I have always found them to be very helpful. When I was leaving I ran into their carpet fitter who I know and he told me about the epoxy adhesive so I suspect that is the way we will go, they also told me it needs to be on a 6mm ply substrate.(Or it could have been 5mm).

Thanks for the tip.