TEK-DEK - just started laying it...

[PCUK]

Have any of you gents any words of encouragement or warning about Tek-Dek, with the benefit of retrospect?

Yes, I've done two boats in Dek-King from Wilks, basically the same stuff. Easy job, no problems, can be cleaned with pressure washer. Looks real. I had a teak coaming next to Dek-King and impossible to tell which is which.

 

[Hurricane]

The synthetic teak I used came from Andy.
I believe TekDek is one of his brands.
Takmark is the trade name if you want to make your own panels
See here
DIY Synthetic Teak

 

[plumbob]

I was indeed taught to be cautious, as I trust you were. To answer the various questions...

1) 6.3 sq metres cost me around £700 inc VAT, including all the adhesive, edging stuff and a couple of tubes of Sikaflex. I don't know how this compares to teak, but I understand that you would bee talking thousands for teak.

2) Labour costs. I was quoted a couple of grand to lay this (this included digging out the existing teak from the bathing platform, and sorting out any horrors that may lurk below it), but decided to do it myself.

3) Well I reckon it looks almost identical. You can tell the difference when comparing teak and Tek Dek side by side, but on a boat with only Tek Dek... Wait for the piccies, or look at the Southern Ocean site.

4) Stains. It's PVC. Red wine just runs off, or you wash it with washing up liquid. If you make a real mess, you sand it down with 40 grit sandpaper, just like teak.

5) Area. I covered about 1.5 sq m on the first go. It took me around 4 hours, including all the buggering about deciding where to start. The next day, I caulked it in around 30 minutes.

6) Corners. Two options here: you can heat the stuff up with a heat gun, and bend it to fit, or you can stick two or more pieces of the uncaulked stuff together, and cut out your curves like real teak (so the grain doesn't go round the corner).

7) Yes, the edges get cut first, then the planking to fill in. Pile it all up somewhere, and spread the glue, put down the edges, then the middle. Weight everything down and leave it. Next day, use a straight edge to trim the 5mm gap between the ends of the planks and the edge strip, then caulk it.

G

I was taught to be cautious too. ?

 

[PCUK]

I was taught to be cautious too. ?

Special hand shake eh!

 

[Praxinoscope]

My boat has Tek-Dek in the cockpit, ( now about 6 years old) it’s good, it’s non slip, looks good, cleans easily and is normally easy on the feet, my only reservation is Don’t go bare foot on a hot sunny day, it does get painfully hot,

 

[Bouba]

Does anyone know, just out of interest, if you have non slip GRP moulded deck, can you put this decking on top...or do you have to file down the non skid nodules ?

 

[JOHNPEET]

I also used the Trakmark product on my build. As I understand, Tek Dek is the side of Andy’s business that does supply and fit. Trakmark is the product which they will sell for DIY as I did on my build having gained lots of good information and guidance from Hurricane and Andy at Trakmark/Tek Dek. The same product is supplied for DIY as in their supply and fit service.

 

[DAW]

Does anyone know, just out of interest, if you have non slip GRP moulded deck, can you put this decking on top...or do you have to file down the non skid nodules ?

I was told by a Flexiteek representative at a boat show that you just need to ensure the surface is relatively flat, clean and free of wax, oil and grease. He said they stick the product down with a fairly thick layer of adhesive that is usually able to deal with textured surfaces such as non-slip, but large bumps or surface irregularities need to be sanded away or they can affect the adhesive bond, show through or lead to bubbles, etc.

 

[harvey38]

Ive just removed 38 year old Treadmaster as the Tek-Dek ring deck is going down next week. The surface is clean and the adhesive will take up any surface imperfections, the majority of which are less than 1-1.5mm proud.

 

[Bouba]

Ive just removed 38 year old Treadmaster as the Tek-Dek ring deck is going down next week. The surface is clean and the adhesive will take up any surface imperfections, the majority of which are less than 1-1.5mm proud.View attachment 143068View attachment 143069

Looks like some good prep work going on there? Tell me, what do think about what the OP said (twenty one years ago) about not doing the side decks?

 

[Obi]

When I bought my old Oyster the teak decking had been removed by the previous owner. I knew I was going to re-do the deck back to how it was, just for the aesthetics if no other reason.

In Dell Quay I found a nice chap that had bought a lot of teak to do someone's boat and then the boat owner changed his mind leaving the poor chap with a lot of teak. The quotes I got from him to re do it in teak, and the quotes to have it done in Tek-Dek professionally by MC Products were so close it came down to personal preference.

In the end I opted for Tek Dek with MC and was very very happy with the finished deck, the company, the product and my choice.

 

[harvey38]

The ironic thing was we purchased an original Aquastar ring deck to fit but wouldn't match the Tek Dek we had fitted after alterations to the upper helm so opted for Tek Dek all over. In all probability I will remove the only remaining Treadmaster on the coach roof and have that done as well at a later date. Not a cheap job by far but I haven't found any other suitable alternative.

 

[harvey38]

Looks like some good prep work going on there? Tell me, what do think about what the OP said (twenty one years ago) about not doing the side decks?

Don't see why not do the sides, just as long as the strips follow the natural curve of the substrate.

As for prep, I used a heat gun and multi tool with a scraper attachment. Very laborious and spent more time heating to release the adhesive than using the multi tool.