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Old 20-09-2011, 17:06   #1
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Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

Our catamaran has old stinky carpet in it that we desperately need to replace. The hulls have wood in them, so we only need to do the salon area and stairs. We have gone back and forth between different options and are leaning to vinyl (considering weight and maintenance). Maybe Lonseal - a bit pricey but not as much as wood, or vinyl plank flooring from HD or Lowes (cheap, and maybe not as good looking). We're just not sure but we have to do something soon. Has anyone here put something other than wood in their salon? What has worked or hasn't worked?
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Old 20-09-2011, 17:16   #2
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Re: Flooring ideas for the salon ?

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Has anyone here put something other than wood in their salon? What has worked or hasn't worked?
We have used paint (painted fiberglass) - works pretty well - light, inexpensive, easy to repair.

More upscale you could go with any of the artificial teak decking - there are lots of options but I think Esthec® is the best of them.

Kitchen vinyl flooring (eg linoleum) is cheap and easy and durable, but I don't think looks as good as either of the above.

Good indoor/outdoor carpeting can look good and is easy and reasonably inexpensive - but some people just don't think it belongs on boats. We use it over our paint when in cold high latitude waters, and just throw it out when we sail to the tropics.
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Old 20-09-2011, 17:17   #3
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Re: Flooring ideas for the salon ?

I put bamboo on my morgan 3 years ago and it looks great. I got it at HD and it comes in two light and toast
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Old 20-09-2011, 17:26   #4
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We put in floor tiles from Home Depot.
Looks and smells better then the old stinky carpet we had. :-)
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Old 20-09-2011, 17:46   #5
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

Evans,

What kind of paint have you used? Just a household latex? I was thinking it may be a bit hard on the feet after a while but it sure would be cheap to try it.
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Old 20-09-2011, 19:22   #6
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

We put cork flooring in our catamaran. Inexpensive, doesn't show dirt, soft on the foot, durable and really easy to apply. We bought it in 1'x2 pieces from Lumber Liquidators for $1.49 a square foot, cut with a razor knife and set in contact cement. Really forgiving.
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Old 20-09-2011, 19:58   #7
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

We have Lonseal and really like it. It is attractive, very durable, and non-slip. We didn't put it in, so I'm not familiar with cost or installation difficulties.
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Old 20-09-2011, 21:12   #8
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

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We put cork flooring in our catamaran. Inexpensive, doesn't show dirt, soft on the foot, durable and really easy to apply. We bought it in 1'x2 pieces from Lumber Liquidators for $1.49 a square foot, cut with a razor knife and set in contact cement. Really forgiving.
Got any pictures?
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Old 20-09-2011, 22:19   #9
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

We have teak & holly in the salon, with many coats of urethane in a 30 year old boat. I really like the looks, and the engine room hatch uses the same. We removed the old carpet in the rest of the boat, which was stapled down (so you could not access the inspection hatches). I plan to replace some of that with new carpeting. but am not sure how best to fasten it down. If you want to use screw and clamping strips it seems that you have to melt holes in carpeting for the screws so they don't pull the threads.
We do have linoleum in the galley, which we pulled up to cut an access hatch. A single sheet seems to make the most sense to deal with spills, but its a pain to get it in and out of the galley.
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Old 20-09-2011, 22:51   #10
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

I put Lonseal down over water-stained and delaminating T+H veneer. It's ok as long as you don't look too hard at it.
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Old 21-09-2011, 05:30   #11
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

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We put cork flooring in our catamaran. Inexpensive, doesn't show dirt, soft on the foot, durable and really easy to apply. We bought it in 1'x2 pieces from Lumber Liquidators for $1.49 a square foot, cut with a razor knife and set in contact cement. Really forgiving.

We did look at cork, but the kind sold at HD etc. had a thick plywood back which was too heavy and thick for us. Did the kind you buy have a backing to it? How thick was it? How long have you had it in your boat (just wondering about longevity), cork absorbs moisture, did you coat the top with anything?
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Old 21-09-2011, 05:47   #12
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

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We did look at cork, but the kind sold at HD etc. had a thick plywood back which was too heavy and thick for us. Did the kind you buy have a backing to it? How thick was it? How long have you had it in your boat (just wondering about longevity), cork absorbs moisture, did you coat the top with anything?
This cork has no backing and is about 1/8" thick. It's been in the boat for 3.5 years and has a factory coating on it. We lived aboard her full time for over a year with a small dog with sharp claws and the cork still looks brand new. If something is dropped on the cork it will dent but over a few days the dent will work itself out. Will try to post photos later.
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Old 21-09-2011, 06:06   #13
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

If you sail in RI in the cooler season, don't forget that carpet is warmer. We have nice hardwood, but keep it covered with carpets. In the summer, we drip seawater everywhere and track sand; area rugs are easy to vacuum or dry or whatever is required. Hard wood is too slick on wet feet to make any sense in a boat, IMHO. The carpet absorbs a lot of wear. In the winter rugs add a lot of insulation and comfort.

If you are talking about glued-down carpets, by all means get them out. Smelly. But simply painting and covering with cut-to-fit carpet may be most practical and livable. There are many thin runners and indoor-outdoor carpets that can be cut with a knife and edge-melted very easily. Thicker carpets probably make no sense.
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Old 21-09-2011, 06:25   #14
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

Here are some photos of the cork floor.
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Old 21-09-2011, 06:41   #15
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Re: Flooring Ideas for the Salon ?

Thanks for the pictures smj - it looks really nice. So, you haven't had any trouble with moisture getting into the seams? I will have to look closer at cork now.
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