Sprung plank on teak deck - best way to repair?

[Midday Gun]

I've had the edge of a plank on my teak deck spring up, looks like the screws have pulled right through.

Honestly its 20 years old now & you can see that its starting to get thin, so I need to think about a replacement at some point, but if I can eke another couple of years out of it, my wallet will thank me.

Best way to fix, am I better to try and repair the existing plank, or to maybe cut it off & make a new one, I've a bit of scrap teak in the garage, so I think I could probably find something suitable.

[Kello]

Originally Posted by Midday Gun

Honestly its 20 years old now & you can see that its starting to get thin, so I need to think about a replacement at some point, but if I can eke another couple of years out of it, my LOWER BACK will thank me.

There, fixed your post.
And, WHAT?! No one has responded to your post yet?! IMO, remove the screws that pulled out and search the forum for adhesives to glue down the plank for now. Yes, teak is The Best non-skid, but unless you are Mr. Moneybags you can forget about renewing a teak deck. Plan on removing it in the future, i.e., don't use 5200 for the adhesive you need now.

[Midday Gun]

Originally Posted by Kello

There, fixed your post.
And, WHAT?! No one has responded to your post yet?! IMO, remove the screws that pulled out and search the forum for adhesives to glue down the plank for now. Yes, teak is The Best non-skid, but unless you are Mr. Moneybags you can forget about renewing a teak deck. Plan on removing it in the future, i.e., don't use 5200 for the adhesive you need now.

Cheers, I'll clean underneath, remove the screws and epoxy the holes. & Probably just sikaflex it down then. It will hopefully last as long as the rest of the deck.

[psk125]

Screws simply pulling out of the deck indicate that whatever they were screwed into has rotted away. Where else in the deck is this happening unseen? If this problem is widespread it might be good to use some double-sided tape to hold the loose piece down because you might be removing it soon. We had a friend who took two years to remove the teak deck on his boat, fill the screw holes and 'glass it over. Looks nice now, but it was a lot of work.

[JPA Cate]

It's a tough project. Friends of ours who were in their late 50's at the time, removed their old teak decks in Langkawi, and replaced with new. Did in both their backs, but both eventually healed from it. It keeps getting harder to stay fit as one ages. It requires diligence that one may not have.

Ann

[Midday Gun]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

It's a tough project. Friends of ours who were in their late 50's at the time, removed their old teak decks in Langkawi, and replaced with new. Did in both their backs, but both eventually healed from it. It keeps getting harder to stay fit as one ages. It requires diligence that one may not have.

Ann

I'm in my 30s, so hopefully I feel like I've got at least one decks worth of life in my knees & back!

For now I just want to fix this plank & carry on until the rest of the deck has run out of life.
I had thought synthetic, but apparently that stuff gets really hot on sunny days, perhaps not the best as I intend to sail south at some point.

[Craig Cape Town]

PSK125 has a valid point to consider,: "Screws simply pulling out of the deck indicate that whatever they were screwed into has rotted away."
When screws no longer hold, you may have the beginnings of core issues that left alone will only become progressively worse. Dig out the screw holes and fill with epoxy to make a solid fastening point and screw the strip down again.
If you find wet core, you'll have to make the call to keep digging or close it up and look the other way.

In the future glass and non-skid is another option instead of replacing the teak.

[Midday Gun]

Originally Posted by Craig Cape Town

PSK125 has a valid point to consider,: "Screws simply pulling out of the deck indicate that whatever they were screwed into has rotted away."
When screws no longer hold, you may have the beginnings of core issues that left alone will only become progressively worse. Dig out the screw holes and fill with epoxy to make a solid fastening point and screw the strip down again.
If you find wet core, you'll have to make the call to keep digging or close it up and look the other way.

In the future glass and non-skid is another option instead of replacing the teak.

The screws are still in the deck, they're just not visible in the photo, they've pulled through the base of the teak plank, not out the deck.
Even so I need to get them out and filled before long as the sealant is clearly no longer doing its job.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Midday Gun

they've pulled through the base of the teak plank,

Not uncommon on older decks where decking is bent edgewise in a curve.
It's also common for installers to run the countersink in too deeply, and you end-up with only a small amount of wood under the screw head.
They want nice thick bungs so that the bungs don't start popping prematurely.
Another issue is the screws and tooling.
Using a more-or-less normal countersink leaves a wedge-shaped hole bottom to match the angle on the flat head screws, this doesn't leave enough material, and can contribute to cracking/splitting.
If you re-use that plank, glue plugs in the screw holes and re-drill using a flat-bottom countersink with a pan-head screw.
And don't over-tighten the screws to the point of crushing the wood.