It's been a long time since i posted but here is my DIY decking.

Tammany

Tammany

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Thought I'd show my exterior diy cork decking in pictures. Originally planned on just using textured paint but wanted something different. Visiting a boat show and noticed cork decking on a new boat so did some research and came up with my own version. This is my DIY version of cork roll cut into 3" wide strips with some bigger feature pieces. Glued down with adhesive sealant, sanded, edged & caulked with silicone sealant. Very antislip, cool underfoot in the summer and doesn't degrade with age apart from sun bleaching the colour. As an added benefit it has also added a layer of insulation to the cabin top. The pictures show the various stages of fitting.

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It's been down over a year now with no issues so far and still looks as good as when fitted apart from some expected colour fade.

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Tammany said:
It's been down over a year now with no issues so far and still looks as good as when fitted apart from some expected colour fade.
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Personally I reckon it looks better than when fitted. In the “new” pics it looks a little bit like a coir doormat :D, but in the later ones it looks quite smart :encouragement:

Pete
 
may i ask some questions please?
How do the edges take to impact damage?
Do they tend to crumble away with age?
When you say " adhesive sealant" which one would that be please?
What thickness cork? & what is its backing layer?
Are you happy that the cork will stay adhered to its backing layer or do you remove it when placing the cork so that there is no backing between adhesive & cork?
 
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Daydream believer said:
may i ask some questions please?
How do the edges take to impact damage?
Do they tend to crumble away with age?
When you say " adhesive sealant" which one would that be please?
What thickness cork? & what is its backing layer?
Are you happy that the cork will stay adhered to its backing layer or do you remove it when placing the cork so that there is no backing between adhesive & cork?
Click to expand...

Edges all ok so far but if their are any problems it's easy to remove one strip and replace as scraper is narrow enough to fit. I also rounded off the edges by sanding.
Evostick sticks & seals like sh**t which has since been superceded by dog danglies. PBO tested this and it came up as good as 291 but cheaper. Its used by conservatory installers to glue in windows. I also used it for the boat windows and it's very good stuff.
Cork is 6mm and no backing layer.
Cork doesn't crumble with age. It's been used as flooring in bathrooms etc for decades although has gone out of fashion in homes.
I'm happy it will stay adhered because it's a bugger to get it off again if you change any of it, I found that out lol.
It was glued down on 2part epoxy primer paint so the underneath is very waterproof. The whole exterior of the boat is 2-pack.
 
Cork's extraordinary properties derive from its distinctive cellular structure. A one inch cube of natural cork contains more than 200 million tiny air-filled pockets. Some 50% of cork is captive air, which results in excellent buoyancy, compressibility, elasticity, a high degree of imperviousness to both air and water penetration and low thermal conductivity.
Cork is noted for the following properties:
Lightness & Low Density – The cellular structure of cork makes it very lightweight, resulting in cork's celebrated buoyancy.
Impermeability – Cork is impermeable to both liquids and gases, giving it superior sealing capabilities.
Elasticity – Cork is pliable and rebounds well to original size and shape
Low conductivity – Cork has one of the best insulating values of any natural material, with very low conductivity of heat, sound or vibrations.
Durability – A high friction coefficient means cork will wear and wear.
Fire resistance – Cork has shown a remarkably high tolerance to heat.
 
Tammany said:
Did look into it and it would have been very expensive.
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Looks horrible new, but really nice when weathered. Thanks for info. Would be good for replacing cockpit seating.Might try a bit with black adhesive (I seem to recall it can be purchased in black!!) All I have to do is source the strips . Looking online cost seems higher than your £ 300--00 for a complete boat though. One wonders if you have a connection in the flooring trade!! Particularly looking at the workmanship.
 
Daydream believer said:
Looks horrible new, but really nice when weathered. Thanks for info. Would be good for replacing cockpit seating.Might try a bit with black adhesive (I seem to recall it can be purchased in black!!) All I have to do is source the strips . Looking online cost seems higher than your £ 300--00 for a complete boat though. One wonders if you have a connection in the flooring trade!! Particularly looking at the workmanship.
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Its 2 x 10m rolls of underlay cork at £100 each. The cheaper stuff although if I did it again would use the more expensive version with small particle manufacturing as its less porous.
No connections to any trades apart from electro mechanical. Just an avid diyer/hobbyist/model maker type.
 
Random trivia - the Delta II rocket (used to launch the Mars rovers among other things) has sheets of cork glued to the outside of it for insulation.

Pete
 
Very good final result.
Ca you give any online links to the stuff you used and the stuff you you have preferred to have used?
What was the width of the roll?
 
LoneHort said:
Very good final result.
Ca you give any online links to the stuff you used and the stuff you you have preferred to have used?
What was the width of the roll?
Click to expand...

This is the stuff i would have used but to keep costs down went for cheaper option. It's used on notice boards etc and is very fine grain with no open pores on the surface. Will probably change over to it at some point as do intend on keeping the boat a long long time but no need at the moment. Everybody has seen this cork before, very smooth surface.

https://www.corkstore24.co.uk/shop/23-cork-roll-6mm/
 
They do it with rubber infilled as well. This would be the perfect surface to use for a boat but would look pretty crap i would think. Its great for DIY gaskets though.

Gummikork-ruller.jpg
 
I think that a more dense flooring grade would have been preferable. There is a host of colours available & i am sure a teak effect would be obtainable with research. Considering the work involved, another couple of hundred £'s is nothing in the grand scheme of things. One has to consider the desired life of the finished article
 
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