Installation of Flexiteek Decking

The Process of Installing Flexiteek Decking

(In collaboration with the Teak Men)

What is Flexiteek?

Flexiteek is an alternative, synthetic choice of decking made up of composite materials. From both appearance and texture, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Flexiteek and the real thing. Overall, it’s an excellent substitute for the traditional teak decking with some notable bonus features as explained below.

How does Flexiteek compare to regular Teak Decking?

The non-slip surface of Flexiteek provides excellent grip, wet or dry, even in adverse weather conditions. Unlike teak, it will not fade overtime, dry out or split and requires very minimal maintenance to keep it in good condition. One of the most favourable perks of Flexiteek is the stain resistance – just using soap and water will remove most stains easily, including tough stains like oil, fuel, red wine, and fish blood. Gone are the days of scrubbing, sanding, and oiling your deck. Teak decking can deteriorate at a much faster rate when exposed to wet weather and low temperatures – which we unfortunately see a lot of in the UK. These weather conditions attack the deck causing the adhesive to lose its grip and the caulking to break up and perish.

Flexiteek is ideal when sailing in warm climates or even for the rare UK heatwaves – it has a reduced thermal transfer meaning it cools 30% faster under foot than alternative synthetic decking. This gives you the freedom to walk around bare-foot or sunbathe without overheating.

Brilliant for use within a business setting – Flexiteek is commercially approved with its excellent performance in slip/ramp tests, thermal effusivity tests and fire regulation. It can be used in ships and ferries amongst many other commercial applications.

Another important benefit of Flexiteek is that it’s far more accessible than real teak. In the current climate it’s becoming almost impossible to get your hands on ethically sourced teak. Due to its excessive demand and rarity, the price has soared. Quality teak wood is very scarce and a very expensive commodity. For this reason, Flexiteek is becoming a much more attractive option to an increasing number of boatowners.

“Affordable luxury, minimal hassle.” – Flexiteek

Environmental Impact

Good news! Flexiteek is fully recyclable – even in production. All the waste material produced from the deck manufacturing process is also recycled. Switching to synthetic decking is much kinder to the environment in more ways than one. It does not pose any threat to our diminishing rainforests and aids in discouraging deforestation. Flexiteek themselves are also big supporters of environmental conservation, supporting World Land Trust. Check their website for further information on environmental impact including an interesting ‘trees planted’ count.

In today’s climate, environmental conservation is an important factor when making choices such as these.

Process of Preparing and Installing Flexiteek

Removal and preparation of deck surface carried out by Richardsons. Installation of Flexiteek carried out by the Teak Men.

Before we begin the removal work on the current deck, we must ensure the surface is ready. The first port of call is to remove all deck fittings to allow sufficient access to the deck. This includes removing fuel and water fittings, windlass controls, pumps, vents, etc. We also cover and mask all hatches to avoid damage. Removal of the current teak deck is a lengthy and tedious process, we cannot simply remove it all in one, it must be sanded back to the original grp deck. In order to get the best results, we used a variety of tools including electric planers, a hammer and chisel combination and sanders.

After the removal of the teak is complete and we’re left with the initial grp deck, it must then be degreased after sanding and fairing to prepare the surface for the Flexiteek adhesive. At this stage, it’s important to leave the deck spotless, it’s essential to have a perfect surface before the Flexiteek is laid on top. If not done correctly, faults can appear later down the line.

The installation was carried out by the Teak Men (specialists in installing synthetic teak decking). This process includes bringing large sheets of Flexiteek on board, trimming it to size and rolling it onto the adhesive surface. Once the bulk of it’s installed, you’re left with the smaller, tricker bits to complete the decking. Once everything’s in place, the last step is to complete all the caulking.

Now we are able to reinstall all the deck fittings that were taken out beforehand. Finally, the completed Flexiteek deck is lightly sanded to bring up the finish. After a once over with some cleaning products, she’s ready to be launched.

Before

After