Floor In Head Needs Replacing

[lbertran]

Hi, all-
Shower stall leaks that were finally corrected this summer have resulted in a soft, delaminating teak and holly sole in the head of our 35-3. The damaged area extends to just inside the head door and the edge of the shower sump. I need to remove the damaged flooring and replace with something MUCH more waterproof. I've requested a sample of the Plasteak synthetic teak and holly flooring to see if that will work in this application. I'd love to get feedback from folks who have removed the flooring in the head as to what to expect. I obviously will need to cut a very straight seam at the edge of the damaged area, since that's all I want to replace right now. I was planning on using a sabre saw to make that cut. Any and all advice is welcome.

 

[treilley]

Laura, I just replaced all the teak and holly sole in my boat. Here is what I would do.

- Remove all the trim pieces from around the sole in the head.
- Put down some masking tape under the head door in line with the door. Use enough tape(width) to protect the good part of the sole(outside the head) from the sabre saw.
- Score a line on the masking tape along the inside of the head door.
- Make the cut with a sabre saw and a good straight edge(screw down a guide on the head sole with the offset of the sabre saw. I do not believe there are any support grids under there until you reach the ends of the cut so be carefull. You will know when you get to one.
- Use a good, sharp chisle to finish the ends of the cut as the saw will only go so close. A good japanese saw works well too.
- Remove all the screws holding the sole down(they are under the trim)
- Remove the old sole and clean the pan.
- Put the new sole down. I would not worry about using the original screw holes in the pan. I used a dab of sealant on each hole and then put the sole down and drilled new holes using a countersink bit for a #10 screw.
- Clean up the trim and reattach.
- Get a piece of teak batten approx. 3/8 x 1 7/8 and lay it down directly under the head door to cover the seam.

 

[Loren Beach]

A Search Reveals...

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=1526&referrerid=28

One of the largest threads on this site, containing a *lot* of info and pics to help you contemplate your sole...
As to limiting the scope of work to just the head area, you still might want to contact Geoff for any suggestions.

Best,
Loren

 

[Chris Miller]

has anyone retrofitted a pan that would drain into the shower sump?
this is going to be a project on Sequoia as well and I've been trying to figure out a way to tap into the shower sump system so that you could just rinse the head down.
Keep us informed how it goes
Chris

 

[Sean Engle]

Hey Laura -

Please take lots of photos on this also - it would make a great project page (as it's a very common problem)...

Good luck - I'm sure it will turn out great!

//sse

 

[rwthomas1]

There is a tool called a Fein Multimaster. With the correct blades it can actually make square plunge cuts with a little care. It is likely the easiest and best tool to use at the end of the sabre saw cuts. I use on almost every day. Very handy but not cheap. RT

 

[lbertran]

Thanks, All

Tim R's recommendations are great, thanks. Loren, I have read that thread many times and you're right, it's an amazing collection of information. However, it doesn't directly address my concern with what to expect with the flooring in the head and, particularly, the proximity to the shower sump. I was hoping someone with a 35-3 who'd done this might have some advice. I certainly will take photos and post the project once I'm done. I have yet to post the photos and narrative for my anchor pan reinforcing project which I completed this past Spring.

 

[treilley]

Here is a photo of the Triaxel grid under the sole Laura. It is a fairly high quality photo so you should be able to zoom in to the head area. If not, email me and I will send it to you directly.

 

[Cory B]

Epoxy Repair?

Laura,

We refinished the sole of our 35-3 this last spring. A good argument could have been made to replace it, but we thought *most* of ours was salvageable with some very careful stripping and sanding. The worst part we found was rot in the head most likely due to the shower. I think it was mostly the veneer lifting off the ply. What I ended up doing was drilling a bunch of shallow 3/8" holes in the squishy area, and injecting epoxy everywhere (I'm pretty confident the epoxy didn't drip through to areas it wasn't supposed to go). I then put in teak plugs to cover the drill holes. A few days later I gave it light sanding and varnished.

I know it doesn't look as good as new wood would look, but it was a whole lot quicker and cheaper, and looked far better and stronger than it was before.


- Cory

 

[Steve]

lbertran -Where was the stall leaking?

Where was your stall leaking? We filled the pan-to-wall joint with sealant and wrap a full size shower curtain around as far as it will go, seems to keep the water off the wall and out of the starboard joint. Of course a bath mat goes down to help with wet feet etc... when one gets out.

Steve e35-3 #159

 

[u079721]

Laura,

I have used Plasteak for a couple of projects, and at least the stuff I used was pretty slippery and wouldn't be too safe. But I love the idea of how servicable it would be in that application. On the other hand, some of the wood-filled plastic wood being made for outdoor decks right now is quite non-skid, so there might be a low maintainance plastic wood product that would work.

But I wonder whether the best option might be just to put down fresh marine grade ply and glass it over, and then add gel coat and non-skid just as if you were repairing a portion of soft deck that had gotten spongy. The ideal would be to use Chris' idea of actually adding a sump for that area, but if that is too much trouble it would be almost as good to just have a raised edge that would keep drips from running into the cabin. I sure wouldn't suggest this for the entire cabin sole, but for just the head it would look fine.

 

[lbertran]

Great Help And Ideas

Hi Everyone!

I've gotten some great guidance from this thread. Thanks, Tim R for the very helpful photo. And Steve Christensen, thanks for the interesting suggestion about doing gelcoat and non skid in the head. I'm seriously considering that especially after the post about Plasteak flooring being slippery.

To answer the question about the source of the leak, the shower head developed a pretty serious drip that I eventually corrected by replacing the shower head and the washers in the valve unit. The drip was constant if the fresh water pump was turned on and it dripped down to the shower seat and then down the side of the shower next to the sink vanity. I had thought the water was simply going down to the pan and shower sump, but instead it was subtly working its way under the teak and holly sole.

Thanks to all of you for giving my problem such careful thought.

 

[tenders]

Which Plasteak is slippery? I think there are two basic products, a clothlike substrate with a heavy plastic coating that comes in 6' widths, and a solid plastic modular system.

The first seems quite expensive for what it is.

 

[treilley]

I just thought of a cool solution for this. How about a removable teak grating. Clean up the bilge area real nice and paint it. There are supports around the whole head area except under the door which could easily be fabricated.

 

[lbertran]

Hey, Tim

...I had just been thinking the same thing! This past weekend, I took a good look at the rotted area and wondered about a teak grate since I hate to rebuild that area of the floor only to have water get under it again, eventually. I'm not going to do this project until we haul out for the winter since I don't want to lose any sailing time right now. But when I start to tear up the floor, I'm going to see about doing the grate. Thanks!

 

[Chris Miller]

Grating...

All, that's a great idea!! That would provide for my wish of being able to rinse down the whole area with the shower and not get the floor wet. It would just go into the bilge. That might be the best solution even if one were to tap into the shower sump system underneath it.
This site rocks.
Chris

 

[treilley]

Not sure what you mean by tap into the shower sump Chris. On my 35, the shower sump runs into the area under the head floor anyhow which is isolated from the rest of the bilge.