Replacing teak rib

[alt]

I have some delamination on one of the teak ribs that is easy to access. I was planning on epoxying it, but when I went to it today the teak was getting quite soft, so going to replace the rib. I am looking for a local supplier, but if anyone knows where I can buy teak online please do let me know.

Is it a case of:
1) Get one of those vibrating multi-tools and cut out the caulking, and go underneath the teak to loosen it
2) Clean out any caulking
3) Get new piece of teak cut to measure/shape
4) Caulk underneath to give adhesion
5) Let 4) settle
6) Fill the gaps with black caulking and smooth
7) Sand the whole lot (whole platform is being sanded)

Any advise much appreciated

 

[burgundyben]

Teak shouldn't be rotting.

Try KJ Howells.

When you re-caulk, wait at least 1 week before trimming off excess and sanding.

 

[jfm]

When you say "rib", you are talking about a deck plank, right? If it is standard 6mm teak glued on, it cannot be delaminating because teak has no laminations, and as BB says teak doesn't really rot. If it is a 2mm teak strip glued onto a plywood backing, then the ply could be delaminating, but there isn't enough info in the question to conclude that. If it is a 6mm thick plank glued onto GRP then your method 1-6 is perfect except in #1 the Fein tool wont go underneath the teak but that wont matter as you can chisel the teak out (or rout it out).

Plenty of deck plank suppliers but Howells are good and easy to deal with. you might find that the Fein tool to scoop the old caulk out is actually more expensive than the new teak plank and the new caulk! As for new caulk, sika 290iDC is probably the easiest available product and works fine. I'd avoid Saba caulk. TDS440 is brilliant but tends to have too large a min order qty for this sort of job. You are supposed to use bond breaker tape at the bottom of the caulk groove, before squirting in the new caulk, but if you are replacing just a single plank you could cut this corner and will likely get away with it.

 

[Nick_H]

4) Caulk underneath to give adhesion

Normally you'd use a different adhesive for bedding the plank, Sika 298 is the most widely available. Caulk may work, but I'd sooner use the proper stuff.

When you caulk afterwards there's two ways of doing it. Either way use masking tape on the wood each side, and squirt the caulk in so it's proud of the surface. You can then either try and scrape off the excess caulk in one consistent motion and hope to get a good finish, or leave it to dry for a week or two and then remove it with a sharp chisel or razor blade. I found the second method much easier.

 

[rlw]

Hi Alt,

I hope it is massive teak but it sounds a lot like the teak on my T40. If it is teak veneer on plywood as jmf suggest I will only get worse.
I thought I had stains but it was the plywood showing through. I bit the bullet and replaced the whole lot. If you do need to remove it a router is a good tool de get the bulk out.

Rob

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Hi Alt,

I hope it is massive teak but it sounds a lot like the teak on my T40. If it is teak veneer on plywood as jmf suggest I will only get worse.
I thought I had stains but it was the plywood showing through. I bit the bullet and replaced the whole lot. If you do need to remove it a router is a good tool de get the bulk out.

Rob

My T40 was the same - teak veneer. We used chisels and wedges to get it off.

 

[alt]

Update for those of you who are interested.

I decided to tackle this once and for all today. This is what I started with:

Here you can see the de-lamination:

So, out with the multi-tool and cut away the affected area

This was as easy as I imagined (great tool) and soon was left with this:

I'm not sure what I have, but it's definitely laminated. I didn't think to take a pic of the but I took out, will do later so people may be able to give an opinion as to what I have. As it's laminated, I may have asked a local guy for the wrong item, but we haven't committed to anything yet, so hopefully i'll be able to get the correct item.

While I was at it, I decided to sand a sample area, as it's long due.. proud caulking, rough teak etc..
I started with 80 and finished with 180. I was happy with the results but it was very slow because of the proud caulk. So, tomorrow I will level the caulking off with 40 and then work up to 80 and then 180.

Here is what I started with:

And here is the finished result on a sample area

Safe to say it was well worth it!

 

[Nick_H]

In the second picture it looks like you have thin teak, maybe 1-2mm, on top of plywood. You'll need to be very careful if you're going to sand this, and you may shorten it's life by leaving the teak too thin. As discussed on another thread I'd remove the proud caulking with a very sharp chisel first, then see how it looks. Even if you do decide to sand it, removing the caulking first will save you time, and you'll probably end up removing less teak, which can only be a good thing when you don't have much of it.

 

[Portofino]

TBH Alt that does not look like Teak from Burma .Not sure what it is exactly ?
Grain seems to run the wrong way in the removed piece ?

 

[alt]

I will take a pic of the removed piece later.

There are several layers in the lamination, not just 2... hopefully the pic later will help!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I will take a pic of the removed piece later.

There are several layers in the lamination, not just 2... hopefully the pic later will help!

Hmm. Once the laminated stuff has got the wet inside it, it's just a matter of time. How about just replacing the lot with flexiteek or equiv?

 

[alt]

Hmm. Once the laminated stuff has got the wet inside it, it's just a matter of time. How about just replacing the lot with flexiteek or equiv?

The piece I cut out apeared to be the only piece affected? I will try this solution for this season and next winter if it appears the platform is showing signs of delamination, i'll be going with your suggestion

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

The piece I cut out apeared to be the only piece affected?

Well - fair enough. On my T40, the mould (and delamination) had crept under the veneer without me particularly realising it - and when we took it up, the whole sheet quite quickly and easily came away.

(PS my viewpoint is slightly coloured in that I'm keen to learn about flexiteek and so I want someone to start a thread on that! )

 

[Nick_H]

(PS my viewpoint is slightly coloured in that I'm keen to learn about flexiteek and so I want someone to start a thread on that! )

Jimmy, I've had Flexiteek fitted on the sportboat (it's on my drive if you're Lymington way at any stage. I'd even put the kettle on). It's mighty impressive looks wise, you have to get down on your hands and knees to tell that it's not real teak. It does get hotter, which is potentially a big issue in the med, although I remember reading that Dek-king have launched a new product which is supposed to get no hotter than real teak.

 

[alt]

Well - fair enough. On my T40, the mould (and delamination) had crept under the veneer without me particularly realising it - and when we took it up, the whole sheet quite quickly and easily came away.

(PS my viewpoint is slightly coloured in that I'm keen to learn about flexiteek and so I want someone to start a thread on that! )

Sneaky bar steward!

I see where you're coming from alright. As I said, i'll try this method first and see how things go. I'm not going to dig the whole thing up until I see de-lamination or obvious bubbles. It'd be a big project! Are you replacing your new platform with teak?

 

[jfm]

Alt you definitely have teak veneer on a plywood backing. The giveaway is that the grain runs the wrong way on the margin boards. The veneer is likely about 1mm thick - remember it is made by winding a teak log through a massive pencil sharpener and the shavings =the veneer

You won't be able to buy a piece of teak that long with the grain going that way. So you should imho:
1. use multiple pieces and keep the grain the wrong way, but you'll have joints,
2. rip out the full length of that margin board and fit teak with grain going the "right" way,
3. Buy sheet of teak veneered ply and cut a piece to replace what you've chopped out, or
4. Replace whole lot!

Sanding should be ok - 1mm is actually plenty to go at. Best to remove the proud caulk first with very sharp chisel - eg one of those gizmos that converts Stanley knife blade into a chisel

 

[alt]

Hi jfm. After I got home and looked at it again, you're correct... teak veneer on plywood. You can see the layer of teak on top (about 1mm) and then the plywood underneath... and here was me thinking I had a teak platform!

I have one of my guys on it, he's going to go to his chippy tomorrow to get some advise. What I am going to try to do first is source teak veneered ply and cut out a piece - that would be an easy option!

Failing that, I will do your option 2, rip out the full length of that piece and fit teak.

If my local guy fails to source 'teak veneered ply' - have you any idea where if it's possible to buy a small quantity online? Or even full teak, and i'll just rip out that margin, as you say.

I'm at a loss here as timber certainly isin't my thing!

Thanks for the help

 

[jfm]

As I say, as soon as you see the "wrong" grain direction in the margin boards you know it is veneered ply. They take an 8x4 sheet, then cnc rout the grooves for the caulk, squirt the caulk in, sand, and then you have a fake deck panel!

You could prob buy teak veneered ply from Robbens in full or half sheet. If you want a full depth teak margin plank then kj Howells will make it and are happy with small quantity work. The latter is much better. Only reason I can see to use former is to maintain the " wrong" grain direction, for consistency not correctness!

 

[alt]

As I say, as soon as you see the "wrong" grain direction in the margin boards you know it is veneered ply. They take an 8x4 sheet, then cnc rout the grooves for the caulk, squirt the caulk in, sand, and then you have a fake deck panel!

You could prob buy teak veneered ply from Robbens in full or half sheet. If you want a full depth teak margin plank then kj Howells will make it and are happy with small quantity work. The latter is much better. Only reason I can see to use former is to maintain the " wrong" grain direction, for consistency not correctness!

That makes sense, as when I was cutting with the multi-tool I was a little bemused when I saw sawdust popping up... it was supposed to be just caulk! But that makes sense now... it was all one sheet!

Anyhow, friend is sorting me out with some proper teak so should be all good - will update with pics as I go on.


On another note - I'm in limbo atm... weather is still a little too cold/manky to start cleaning/sealing the canopy and compound/polish the hull. There's no real jobs we can do until the weather improves. All servicing is done (new belts are even on the pullies, just need to be torqued up before going back in the water) and SWMBO spent 6 hours cleaning the cabin on the weekend.

I do have to fit a new gulper pump for the shower.. I guess that could be tomorrow's job.

 

[alt]

Hopefully a replacement teak replacement plank will arrive next week. In the mean time, any hatches that could be removed from the platform, I took them off and started sanding.

Thanks for the tip re. using blade to 'plane' the caulking; worked a treat.

Here was a section before any action taken... this is how the rest of the platform currently looks:

After a sanding. Note that it appears much more grey in the picture, was using camera phone

After 2 part cleaner... I used the cleaner as there are some ridges still in the timber. I'd have had to sand a LOT to get it completely smooth. Personally, I like it, gives the natural feel. It's still wet here. It brightens up quite a bit when it dries.

I don't think i'm going to treat it with anything, just clean it with 2 part again throughout the season