Teak deck screw holes

pmagowan

pmagowan

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I have a teak deck (I know, I know!). It is almost needing replacement but I dont have time this year. My problem is that some of the plugs (most of them) have come out of the screw holes. I have tried removing the screws with all kinds of gadgets and even drilling them out....I might as well replace the deck! Is there anything I can put in them to stop them leaking in the mean time? Epoxy? The deck is on a ply base (I know, I know!).

Thanks
 
For a temporary fix that will be easy to remove I would suggest brown Arbosil mastic (can't remember the precise number), you might be surprised how long it will last if the deck is really dry when you apply it. the colour match will be poor particularly when dry. Try a couple of holes first, gun it in above flush and then let it finish shrinking before striking off neatly with a very sharp chisel. You certainly could use epoxy perhaps combined with fine sawdust to colour (you will need quite a lot of sawdust) but this compounds the eventual removal problems.
Go to the Arbo website and trawl through the product list or better still ring them, you should get the stuff through a builders merchant like Corrys but don't let them select the product for you.
 
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Have you considered getting a pack of teak plugs and glueing them in as normal? It takes only seconds to put each one in and then to nip off the top with a chisel when the glue is dry.

Probably quicker than trying to fill the holes with some other material.
 
Thanks guys. The problem with the plugs is the deck is worn and I would need to sink the screws to fit new pugs in. I have got some and have tried filling the deeper holes. I need something that will make the holes watertight but has to stay in a milimeter thickness.
 
pmagowan said:
Thanks guys. The problem with the plugs is the deck is worn and I would need to sink the screws to fit new pugs in. I have got some and have tried filling the deeper holes. I need something that will make the holes watertight but has to stay in a milimeter thickness.
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Your only chance is with a sealer, but really you are onto a hiding to nothing. Best bet is to clean hole thoroughly and use Sikaflex. Unsightly but not much else you can do. Solution is to get it all flat and clean and cover with glass and epoxy -although if water has already got in that may not be best, so real permanent cure is to rip it all off then glass and epoxy!
 
Quandary said:
Tranona
Bet you enjoyed that one?
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Yes, I feel for the OP. Has a lovely boat where deck replacement professionally will be more than the value of the boat. DIY will be long and painful to get it back to looking like the original even if the ply is sound.

But who said old wooden boats made any financial sense - although mine does because of cascover sheathing, covering it up every winter, learning how to use epoxy and never letting anybody else loose on it. 30 years of that regime from a sound base and you have a manageable wooden boat - but no teak deck, only personally laid teak cockpit seats - again always covered up.
 
I dont really see the problem - I have the same problem and my cure will be to remove screws drill out more countersink for screw head replace with slightly shorter screw & replug

sorted
 
Alrob said:
I dont really see the problem - I have the same problem and my cure will be to remove screws drill out more countersink for screw head replace with slightly shorter screw & replug

sorted
Click to expand...

That may well be possible if there is enough depth of teak left to take it. However, it is only putting off the evil day when there is nothing left to countersink into.

This is a fundamentally flawed method of construction. Making a waterproof, monolithic deck and then making literally hundreds of holes to screw on unnecessary wood that adds weight and provides for multiple paths for water to enter the boat's structure. Worse when the additional weight is offset by coring the deck or using a ply substrate.

I can see the marketing bumph about combining traditional skills and looks with modern materials when they shouuld have been saying "watch out that you don't own this boat when the inevitable happens and this deck fails". But of course those responsible would not worry as they got the sale and will be long gone when the failure comes!
 
Alrob said:
I dont really see the problem - I have the same problem and my cure will be to remove screws drill out more countersink for screw head replace with slightly shorter screw & replug

sorted
Click to expand...

That is a confident answer! This was also my intention but the best laid plans... It turns out screws aren't keen to cone out. Tried every method I can think of but to no avail. I just end up making the hole a bigger mess. I shall probably replace the deck in the next 5 years or so. It is holding up ok apart from this. At that time I will replace the ply sub deck, probably glass it in and then replace the teak (I know but I like it and couldn't live with plastic). I shall do it myself so save a few quid and she will be almost like new. What I don't understand about all these people who advocate plastic alternatives is what do you spend your time doing in the winter. I think a boat should keep you busy all year! Wood does that. And once my back improves I will get back to the varnishing. Just another 10 coats!
 
pmagowan said:
That is a confident answer! This was also my intention but the best laid plans... It turns out screws aren't keen to cone out. Tried every method I can think of but to no avail. I just end up making the hole a bigger mess. I shall probably replace the deck in the next 5 years or so. It is holding up ok apart from this. At that time I will replace the ply sub deck, probably glass it in and then replace the teak (I know but I like it and couldn't live with plastic). I shall do it myself so save a few quid and she will be almost like new. What I don't understand about all these people who advocate plastic alternatives is what do you spend your time doing in the winter. I think a boat should keep you busy all year! Wood does that. And once my back improves I will get back to the varnishing. Just another 10 coats!
Click to expand...

You may well find totting up 9mm teak decking at well over £200 per sq m plus ply at over £40 per sq m plus adhesive and sealant etc sobers you up a bit. Even if you ignore the fact that if you use the same method of construction it will eventually fail, just as your current deck is - doing it properly with glass/epoxy looks very attractive!

One alternative is to lay it properly straight onto the beams, but you need to go up to at least 18mm at 50% more cost for the timber. That way you know it will leak, but you will be able to see the leaks and the extra thickness will more than double the wearing life!

Another is to make good the substrate after you have removed the old teak and then lay on Sikaflex. I watched my neighbour spend a year doing this on his 32 footer, shaping or forming each plank to fit before laying. He told me it beat both meditation and Yoga as a way of escaping the realities of the world!
 
The really proper way to do it.

If the holes are very shallow and the head of the screw inside is domed the thickness overall of the inserted plug is limited. In your case you say about 1 mm ? You have to make the most of the scenario you have got, seriously.

Get hold of one of the plugs that has lifted and measure it with calipers or a micrometer that will give you a really accurate measurement. You now know the diameter of the exposed hole. Do not grind or drill the screw. Otherwise, if later on you need to lift the deck it will be impossible.

Get hold of a thin tube, like for example the shaft of a golf club and cut off at a place where the diameter is exactly the diameter. Now get a triangular needle file and patiently cut fine teeth on this edge.

Insert this into the hole and clear the surrounding wood around the head of the screw by one millimetre, no more..

I know this is laborious but there you have it...

Now cut some plugs of the correct giameter using a plug cutter.

You may use an overhead drill or if you have steady hands, by holding the drill.

If you are holding the drill you must hold it very steady so that the plug is even along its length.

Place the plug in the jaws of a small vice and use a dremel tool with a ball shaped burr to cut a concave hole in one end.

Now put some glue in the hole (Araldite will do although professionals argue the merits of using marine varnish) and tap the plug in with a light mallet ensuring a tight fit. The skirt at the edge of the hollow will fill up the groove around the screw head and give it extra grip.

Separate to this get a hacksaw blade 24 teeth to the inch, no coarser.

Get hold of an oilstone and patiently grind off the protuding teeth on one side.

You will now have a cutting tool that has a perfectly flat side which is the side you use facing downwards.

Now get hold of wet or dry paper and remove all the paint fronm the length of the blade, both sides.

Pass the blade back and fort over the oilstone back and forth until the motion feels smooth. Tilt the smooth face to the light to check all the ground off teeth are the same width. You will see a group of 4 flat and 4 pronounced alternating..

Use this saw with the smooth side facing downward and flush along the deck to saw off the protuding stubs one by one. Finish with a very sharp chisel to remove any burrs.

Do not forget to put in the plugs with the cross grain aligned with the direction of the grain on the deck.

Only do this operation if the deck is completely dry in sunny weather which will help to cure the epoxy.

To be absolutely sure, give each prepared hole a blast of hot air with SWMBO's hair drier.

Have fun. *Simples !"... as Alexander the Meercat says...:D
 
Tranona said:
You may well find totting up 9mm teak decking at well over £200 per sq m plus ply at over £40 per sq m plus adhesive and sealant etc sobers you up a bit. Even if you ignore the fact that if you use the same method of construction it will eventually fail, just as your current deck is - doing it properly with glass/epoxy looks very attractive!

One alternative is to lay it properly straight onto the beams, but you need to go up to at least 18mm at 50% more cost for the timber. That way you know it will leak, but you will be able to see the leaks and the extra thickness will more than double the wearing life!

Another is to make good the substrate after you have removed the old teak and then lay on Sikaflex. I watched my neighbour spend a year doing this on his 32 footer, shaping or forming each plank to fit before laying. He told me it beat both meditation and Yoga as a way of escaping the realities of the world!
Click to expand...


When the time comes to replace the deck, 6mm teak with a resin scrim back should be more the sufficent. All the panels will usually be preshaped to the deck so you dont have to worry about the plank by plank method.
With the resin scrim back you will also do not need a ply base. Just key the existing GRP to help the adhesive make a good bond and weight or vac accordingly. The OEMS all have 6mm with the resin back supplied to them, unless its over the 100ft range then they look at 9 -12mm.

I have seen some fitters apply a small amount of caulking to the deck screw thread before screwing to the deck and then plugging to help create a tighter seal.

Btw hi all only my 2nd Post. Stumbled across the forum when i noticed a photo of my handy work on here. All the best
 
I re-layed my teak and the ply underneath some years ago...........it was a tedious process. I glasses the ply and I cleaned and reused all the original teak BUT BUT BUT I foolishly used screws again even though the the wood was (by then) too thin really for screws and plugs. ( why did I put screws into my nicely glassed ply!!??)
If you do the same but stick the strips down (having first drilled all the original holes right through to plug size) then caulk and plug you could get a good result for lots of time but not too much brass!!
Good luck!!
 
Not going to pass advice on teak decks, we all have our opinions ...... even if some are wrong !!!

Try fitting a driver bit to a brace and bit to remove stubborn screws and or an impact driver.

I have been able to remove the most stubborn screws with these methods.

OK..... I think teak is the best decking one can have as long as your not one of the "it must be honey coloured" type. ? My deck is now 40 years old and still does what it's supposed to do but it isn't perfect and I wouldn't want it to be.

Tom.
 
Don't go trying to use a £1 plug cutter with a handheld drill or you will end up in hospital.

To release stubborn screws you could try drilling around them with a Forstner bit the next size up. With luck this will give you a little more space to play with.

If this works, and you have sufficient meat in the remaining teak, drill down a little more and use a smaller screw. Replace the teak plug (once establishing the new size, order all you need online - it won't break the bank). When inserting new plugs use a dab of varnish to seal - not glue.
 
chinita said:
To release stubborn screws you could try drilling around them with a Forstner bit the next size up. With luck this will give you a little more space to play with.
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I can't visualise this working - the forstner bit drills a flat-bottomed hole, so it won't get below the top of the screwhead.
.
 
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