Galley floor repair

[Wiggo]

The years haven't been kind to the galley floor - water damage and drppoed things have left it stained and dented. It is a standard Sealine affair that looks to be plywood with a super thin teak and holly veneer or maybe just staining under a thick layer of polyurethane varnish. Lifting it to replace would probably involve dismantling half the boat, as it is also on the steps down the galley. Any ideas?

 

[ex-Gladys]

A lot of mass built boat flooring is ply with a laminate coating made to look like holly & teak... I had the "proper" stuff (veneered) when I had my floor renewed, and it stands up pretty well to scuffs and dings. I did stick four coats of varnish over it and have added one every other season since... I'm sure someone will come along with a recommendation. A friend put Tekdek or equivalent down on top of the ply in holly & teak

 

[Wiggo]

Thanks, unfortunately putting another layer on top of the existing floor is not an option. You can see from the photo that there are radiused edges on the steps that are going to be a bugger to deal with...

 

[rogerthebodger]

When I had some damaged laminate in a similar situation I used a router set to the thickness or the new laminate to remove the existing then glued the new laminate onto the base.

I took cut out strips with the router then cleaned up to the edges with a sharp wood chisel

 

[Wiggo]

When I had some damaged laminate in a similar situation I used a router set to the thickness or the new laminate to remove the existing then glued the new laminate onto the base.

I took cut out strips with the router then cleaned up to the edges with a sharp wood chisel

That's a good idea. Unfortunately, as you can see it goes right up to the edges, so my router would never get in there - I'd be left with a 2" (at least) strip round the edges...

 

[prv]

So can you lift up that sole board, or do the stair risers (and the locker fronts?) come down on top of it? If you can lift out the board then it's easy to peel off the old laminate with a heat gun and a scraper, and stick down new with impact adhesive. You apply the laminate slightly oversize, then use a laminate-trimmer (or a full-size router with a roller-guide straight bit) to get a perfect edge. This will neatly handle any curves etc with no effort on your part. But only if the board lifts out as it should.

Pete

 

[Wiggo]

Absolutely nothing lifts out, that's the bloody problem! To get any of it out would involve dismantling the galley, the lower helm, the saloon and the midships cabin...

 

[rogerthebodger]

Using a Dremel with and attachment like this may get closer to the edges and use a sharp chisel for the rest

https://www.google.co.za/search?q=d...rkGxDYnUM:&usg=__21RxvgsZFBkcq5ewSxPqL7cwYDY=

 

[prv]

Absolutely nothing lifts out, that's the bloody problem! To get any of it out would involve dismantling the galley, the lower helm, the saloon and the midships cabin...

You're stuffed then

(My mum and dad's caravan was built like that, whole floor carpeted and then the internal walls and cupboards plonked down on top.)

Pete

 

[Wiggo]

You're stuffed then

(My mum and dad's caravan was built like that, whole floor carpeted and then the internal walls and cupboards plonked down on top.)

Pete

Marvellous!

 

[pcatterall]

Should part of the 'master plan' include making lifting access to the main areas?

 

[Binman]

Could you not, leave a margin all around the floor area, remove the flooring, leaving the margin, lay new floor upto the margin, then over lay a edging strip, the margin need to be no more than 15mm the overlay say 20mm, I know this depends on doors or draws having clearance., the steps do pose a separate approach, but not that many, just go for it.if the nosing goes under the strings, then they could easily be sawn flush to the sides so that they can be removed, or fit new no sings, down the above often over the years. Hope above helps or gives you food for thought.

 

[pcatterall]

"or fit new no sings, down the above often over the years" say again !!

 

[Wiggo]

"or fit new no sings, down the above often over the years" say again !!

Well, I understood it.

Anyway, various challenges. The galley floor is made up of two panels; the main one is about 6' x 3' and the forward, aft and stbd edges all finish under doorframes, a vinyl covered wall panel (glassed in place somehow) and the carpeted risers of the steps up to the saloon. The main panel also has a hatch in the centre to underfloor storage. To the port side is a smaller panel that is angled up slightly (to clear a stringer) that ends under the galley cupboards. I have looked at these many times and can see no way to remove them.

So, there is no obvious way to use a router to strip out the old veneer, as my router couldn't get closer than 2-3" to the edge. The only bit I could tackle is the hatch, as I could take that home and do it on the bench.

There are three steps up to the saloon, and one from the saloon to the cockpit that have the same veneer, but these have curved nosings (three convex, one concave), and the sides and back of the steps end under the walls and galley units.

I like the router idea, but can't see how it could be made to work in practice. I guess it might be possible to remove the veneer with a very sharp chisel, but a) it's a very large area to do that way and b) unless the surface is perfectly level afterwards, new veneer is going to look awful.

Anyone know a chippie on the central South coast who might tackle this?