Cutting new deck tiles

[Hudds Lad]

After a bit of advice really from those who have done this.

 

Earlier this year our boat had new deck tiles bought and installed, these have recently perished and after consulting the supplier it turned out to be a bad batch and have now been replaced.

 

As its now fallen to us to replace them (we sorted the replacements) and there's a goodly number to do, I just wondered what forum knowledge would say was the best tool for cutting these to size?

cheers in advance

 

pic of tile attached so you know what i'm on about.

 

 

[Nut]

maybe a junior hacksaw

[Robbo]

Stanley knife I think cuts them?   Run thre knife against a metal straight edge a few times.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Robbo

[cuthound]

Jigsaw with a blade for cutting  plastic?

[Boater Sam]

With an Axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, use an axe.

[Silebyman]

I laid our well deck with said tiles in the spring.  Stanley knife cuts them easily.

 

I made a calibrated stick so could mark a pattern on the tile before trimming so it would follow curvature of the bow.

 

Once done it looked really neat.

 

Then they all shrank during the heatwave, so now theres about a 10mm gap all around...  Fairly unimpressed...

[Hudds Lad]

19 minutes ago, Silebyman said:

I laid our well deck with said tiles in the spring.  Stanley knife cuts them easily.

 

I made a calibrated stick so could mark a pattern on the tile before trimming so it would follow curvature of the bow.

 

Once done it looked really neat.

 

Then they all shrank during the heatwave, so now theres about a 10mm gap all around...  Fairly unimpressed...

Suggest you contact where you got them from if not happy, ours also shrank and became brittle so all the little feet began snapping off. Looking at the specs they should have easily withstood the conditions so we enquired as to why it had happened within only 8months of use, and were told there was a "bad PVC mix" in manufacture around that time, so they offered us replacement or refund.

[Cheshire cat]

Ours broke up too. They become brittle in cold weather.

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, Silebyman said:

 

Then they all shrank during the heatwave, so now theres about a 10mm gap all around...  Fairly unimpressed...

 

3 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

...ours also shrank and became brittle so all the little feet began snapping off. 

 

8 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

Ours broke up too. They become brittle in cold weather.

 

Did you all buy genuine Dri-dek or are we talking a knock off versions?  I ask because my Dri-dek tiles are 10 years old and still perfect.

[Hudds Lad]

14 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Did you all buy genuine Dri-dek or are we talking a knock off versions?  I ask because my Dri-dek tiles are 10 years old and still perfect.

 

As it says “Versatile” on them i’m guessing not, they were sourced by someone else

[Cheshire cat]

Ours came from Midland Chandlers. I don't remember what make they were.

[Richard10002]

These mats were on our boat when we bought it, and had collected water such that the cruiser deck was very rusty.

 

Ive recently bought some foam type mats from Halfords merely to fit when the deck is red hot, to prevent the dogs burning their paws when getting on and off. These also collect water, so I only fit them in hot sunshine.

[Sea Dog]

20 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

These mats were on our boat when we bought it, and had collected water such that the cruiser deck was very rusty.

I'm not trying to flog these types of tiles Richard, but the very point of Dri-Dek tiles is cunningly hidden in the name!   The open grid is held above the deck to allow water to run freely under it to drain. 

 

I have them in my covered cratch where the deck is as new and it's only just looking like I'm going to need to give the steerer's step a coat of something shortly - after ten years, and the tiles are as good as new too. They're grippy, you're never standing in a puddle and they and insulate your feet from the cold deck in winter. Bloomin' expensive, but perhaps they're not bad value.

[Sea Dog]

On 20/08/2018 at 14:48, Hudds Lad said:

I just wondered what forum knowledge would say was the best tool for cutting these to size?

Tin snips or Aviation snips? As suggested earlier, a Stanley knife will work because the tiles are a softish plastic, but snips might be a safer choice and perhaps easier to make controlled cuts. With either knife or snips, rather than trying to make a smooth curve, they can also be cut neatly across the base of individual bars to form shapes in small steps, which does away with any "loose ends".  

[Richard10002]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I'm not trying to flog these types of tiles Richard, but the very point of Dri-Dek tiles is cunningly hidden in the name!   The open grid is held above the deck to allow water to run freely under it to drain. 

 

I have them in my covered cratch where the deck is as new and it's only just looking like I'm going to need to give the steerer's step a coat of something shortly - after ten years, and the tiles are as good as new too. They're grippy, you're never standing in a puddle and they and insulate your feet from the cold deck in winter. Bloomin' expensive, but perhaps they're not bad value.

Mine probably weren’t expensive Dri Dek. I’ll take a look as a permanent plastic covering would be good for dogs paws, both in terms of heat and grip.

[Mike55]

On 20/08/2018 at 20:23, Sea Dog said:

 

 

 

Did you all buy genuine Dri-dek or are we talking a knock off versions?  I ask because my Dri-dek tiles are 10 years old and still perfect.

Do you know where in the UK you can get Dri-dek tiles now? I've got some and they're very good, but I want some more, but being US made, don't seem to be available in the UK. Google only seems to bring up the imitations.

[blackrose]

Some of those rubber scraper mats with holes in have dimples underneath that let water drain. Cheap too. Wouldn't they do the same job? I cable tied some together after painting the floor of the gas locker and put it down there to protect the new paint from the bottles. I recently saw some big ones at homebase - about 4ft x 4ft for about £16. 

 

I used to have my bow well deck covered with rubber scraper matt but it collects the dirt and leaves which in turn collects water and promotes corrosion, so I got rid of it. 

 

Edited August 21, 2018 by blackrose

[bizzard]

As Jack Hargreaves would have suggested,'' Just run your mats to shape them through your £11,000's worth of electronc, computerised industrial band saw in the machine shop in your garden.

[blackrose]

I cut the rubber mats with a decent pair of kitchen scissors 

[Sea Dog]

7 hours ago, blackrose said:

Some of those rubber scraper mats with holes in have dimples underneath that let water drain. Cheap too. Wouldn't they do the same job?

No, because they aren't held above the deck to let the water flow freely away like the ones under discussion.

[Sea Dog]

8 hours ago, Mike55 said:

Do you know where in the UK you can get Dri-dek tiles now? I've got some and they're very good, but I want some more, but being US made, don't seem to be available in the UK. Google only seems to bring up the imitations.

I don't - I've never actually bought any! Mine came with the boat.  I did get a sample of an imitation, but it didn't seem as good.  Earlier posts suggest this was a valid observation, certainly regarding the life of the tiles. 

[Sea Dog]

8 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

Mine probably weren’t expensive Dri Dek. I’ll take a look as a permanent plastic covering would be good for dogs paws, both in terms of heat and grip.

They don't look or feel like they'd be that comfortable for dogs, but appearances seem to be deceptive because our Lab seems perfectly content to stand, sit or lie on them without discomfort. The certainly pass the extended Labrador sleep test - which can be quite a grueller! 

[Hudds Lad]

11 hours ago, Mike55 said:

Do you know where in the UK you can get Dri-dek tiles now? I've got some and they're very good, but I want some more, but being US made, don't seem to be available in the UK. Google only seems to bring up the imitations.

A quick Google shows that a company called Dek-Tec (UK) Ltd. was the sole importer of Dri-Dek, incorporated in 2003 and dissolved in 2014.

The domain name now points to the place our tiles came from, versatile-flooring.

 

There seems to be an animal grooming supply place that does them, if you don't mind them being blue, or nearly £8.65 a throw ? it does drop to £5.80 if you order 6+

No guarantee they are the real thing though as you can't tell from pics

[Machpoint005]

On 21/08/2018 at 00:04, Richard10002 said:

These mats were on our boat when we bought it, and had collected water such that the cruiser deck was very rusty.

 

Beat me to it -- exactly the same experience here, but in the forward well deck (covered). The tiles hold little pockets of condensed water and the dreaded ironworm does its worst.

[Mike55]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I don't - I've never actually bought any! Mine came with the boat.  I did get a sample of an imitation, but it didn't seem as good.  Earlier posts suggest this was a valid observation, certainly regarding the life of the tiles. 

Mine came with the boat too and I've been impressed with them - even more so having read the experiences of others with the imitations.

 

19 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

A quick Google shows that a company called Dek-Tec (UK) Ltd. was the sole importer of Dri-Dek, incorporated in 2003 and dissolved in 2014.

The domain name now points to the place our tiles came from, versatile-flooring.

 

There seems to be an animal grooming supply place that does them, if you don't mind them being blue, or nearly £8.65 a throw ? it does drop to £5.80 if you order 6+

No guarantee they are the real thing though as you can't tell from pics

I had found versatile-flooring, but I'm fairly sure they're imitations. I'll e-mail/phone them and ask the question to be sure.