best option for flooring

[CaptOchs]

Re: best option for flooring

I've had good luck with plywood and fiberglass. I restored a couple of boats with bad floors. First you cut the plywood to shape. If possible take the plywood almost right to the edge. Secondly, to make it last you'll want to paint it. I used Oil-Based paint and the water just repels right off it. Do at least three coats of paint. If you plan on putting carpet over the top of it just buy what my dad refers to as "Opps paint." It's the paint a customer returns because it didn't come out the right color. Nothing wrong with it. Usually you can get a gallon for $3. Hey, almost cheaper than gas! If you cover it with carpet you really don't care what color it is. Screw it down in a couple of spots and you're ready to glass. Using fiberglass isn't too hard. Buy some fiberglass cloth to cover up your seams. Cut the cloth to shape before you mix the fiberglass. Get some hospital gloves and double them up. Mix a small amount of fiberglass at a time. It dries up quick and you don't want to have a pan of dried up fiberglass. It's expensive. You might be tempted to buy cheap carpet but don't. If it doesn't have a good backing it might stretch out and look awful in a couple of years. On a rainy day you might want to check out this site before you start: http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/boatbuilder/index.htm

 

[redfury]

Re: best option for flooring

in regards to the bottom of the flooring, the only way it's going to last is if it is sealed. Green treating only goes so far, and since the chemical is forced into the wood with pressure, water can work its way into the wood too. You will want to seal the bottom of the floor before you install it. One way to go would be to buy some CPES ( Clear penetrating epoxy sealer ) that they sell at rotdoctor.com and coat the floor.

The problem with floors rotting is that no matter what you do, there will always be an amount of water under your floors ( Unless you completely fill the underside with foam ) and that water will start to vaporize and rise. Of course, it's going to hit the bottom side of the floor, condense and then soak in. The heat trapped underneath the floor facilitates this, and is a catalyst to the floor rot to begin once the wood has been saturated enough with water.

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: best option for flooring

in regards to the bottom of the flooring, the only way it's going to last is if it is sealed. Green treating only goes so far, and since the chemical is forced into the wood with pressure, water can work its way into the wood too. You will want to seal the bottom of the floor before you install it. One way to go would be to buy some CPES ( Clear penetrating epoxy sealer ) that they sell at rotdoctor.com and coat the floor.

The problem with floors rotting is that no matter what you do, there will always be an amount of water under your floors ( Unless you completely fill the underside with foam ) and that water will start to vaporize and rise. Of course, it's going to hit the bottom side of the floor, condense and then soak in. The heat trapped underneath the floor facilitates this, and is a catalyst to the floor rot to begin once the wood has been saturated enough with water.

Even foam allows water to be under the floor. Foam just soaks water. had a stamas that had over 100 pounds of water in the foam.

 

[das fisch]

Re: best option for flooring

has anyone installed some floor ventilation ports to get some air circulation thru there. was thinking a few pvc vent pipes coming up to just beneath the top edges of the upper deck? a few turn downs on the top to prevent errant water from entering.

 

[redfury]

Re: best option for flooring

I had thought about creating some kind of underfloor venting system when I do my floor...the problem is where to put the vents at, and how do you keep stuff from falling in them?

I suppose you could fashion it in a way that would
A. put a grill on it to prevent debris from clogging it up...
B. create the vents in a fashion that puts the opening away from the center of the interior to prevent anything from being kicked in them accidentally.
C. install them above the floor line so that water doesn't automatically go down them if that is a concern depending on hull configuration.
D. Power vent the floor...which would be the least feasible option unless the fan(s) were on an automatic timer to prevent battery drain.

I had thought about installing pvc in the floor to act in the same way as the drain used around basement foundations to pull water away from the house.

Essentially, PVC pipe with holes drilled along the bottom. Any area that gets wetness, the pipe will carry it down towards the rear bilge via gravity and act as a channel for the water to run in without debris causing blockages.

 

[escapade]

Re: best option for flooring

i'm gonna seal the wood with a water sealent, that is used mainly for fences, then i'm going to spray rock guard on the bottom that is normally used on cars underbody, and well we will see how long it lasts

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: best option for flooring

definitly let us know, because i think that fence treatment is alot less then the epoxy or resins that are used now.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: best option for flooring

Won't the fence treatment sealer evaporate over time nd then allow water to be absorbed? Kinda like waxing your car, it don,t last a really long time.

"dry-rot" is a fungus and supposedly treated plywood is inpregnated with fungucides.

CCA-treated Southern Pine rejects destructive marine fungi and borers - the chemical treatment makes the wood an undesirable food source for these organisms.

This website shows the best plywood to use in boat building.
http://www.glen-l.com/wood-plywood/boatbuilding-plywood.html

 

[escapade]

Re: best option for flooring

thats is why i'm going with rock guard on top of the water sealent

 

[Zetman]

Re: best option for flooring

Hey look at this................
2 lb. per square foot. About 1/2 the weight of wood and much stronger!

Extruded aluminum decking. Can place on up to 24" centered supports.
2 lb. per square foot. About 1/2 the weight of wood and much stronger.
No Splinters, Rot, or Rust
? COOL-Will not Burn your Feet
? Installs Faster than Wood
? Protects Deck Framing
? Fireproof - Value of "0"
? High Strength to Weight
? Safe & Non-Toxic

http://www.lockdry.com/

Plant is in Cullman, Alabama

Jeeperman,
I sent for some free samples of thei stuff..looks promising! Zet

 

[salty87]

Re: best option for flooring

anyone gotten a price on that aluminum^?

 

[jeeperman]

Re: best option for flooring

Yea I filled out the sample request too and recieved a brochure but no sample.
The pricing is:
Orders less than 4000 lin. ft = $3.50 per foot ($7 per sq. ft)
$3.35 per foot for 4001 to 10000 feet. ($6.70 per sq ft)

It is an aluminum extrusion 1" tall by 6" wide and up to 32 feet long.

The pieces interlock to for a waterproof to what is below it covering like a roof.

Tested to 240lb loading with supports on 36" centers.

So a typical 8ft x 24ft pontoon would run you $1344.
I suppose if you were gonna keep the boat a long time, you should never have to redo the floor again. Should not even have to repaint it.

 

[OMCboater]

Re: best option for flooring

thats is why i'm going with rock guard on top of the water sealent

I understand what you are wanting to do but aren't those water sealant (like Thompsons?) oil based? I doubt that the rockguard would stick to wood treated with that.

 

[escapade]

Re: best option for flooring

thats a good point? maybe skip the water sealent? or because plywood would soak it in really bad, one coat then rock guard? guess i'll find out the hard way,

water sealent if oil based, a primer? to let the rock guard adhear?

 

[Medic2556]

Re: best option for flooring

When I built an outdoor shed, it told me to apply roofing cement to the base to waterproof it. What are anyone's thought on using that underneath?

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: best option for flooring

how heavy is it? that is the only thing i see wrong, unless it doesnt have some give.

 

[Medic2556]

Re: best option for flooring

I bought it, but never did it. You have to spread it out with a scraper, so I guess you could put it on as thin or thick as you want. I don't know how heavy it dries.