Flooring options/choices please help!

[Henner]

I know this has probably been beat to death but want some direct answers. This winter I will be replacing the floor due to 3 soft spots. First off i have a 90 Supra Comp. I am going to replace all the wood floor but this go round i do not plan on using marine plywood, so what is the next best option from local lumber yard or home depot? What kind of resin and glass will i need to use to coat the plywood with? My stringers look good and motor mount bolts are extremly tight and can't be spun. My foam feels dry but if i stab a screwdriver in to the middle it is wet when i remove it. So if i wanted to replace the wet foam what foam do i use? I am ready to go pick this stuff up and just wanting opinions and names of plywood, resin, glass, foam to purchase and where. My best friend is a Trim Carpenter and is very good with wood (haha) but i'm just needing to know what to purchase. Thank you for helping out.

[Henner]

Also the old floor looks like 1/2" and i am wanting to use 3/4" is this ok?

[awesomesteven]

I wouldn't replace the foam in it. Its good for a little sound proofing but it'll get wet again and wet foam is not good. There's no real need for 3/4" floor but if that's what you want go for it. The only problem I see with it is making it fit back in. Are you planning on taking the top off? Local lumber yard is where I found the best pricing for wood for me - HD or Lowe's just mark it up from their prices.

[CornRickey]

that's allot of work to go with cheap ( quality) plywood.

[Henner]

Ok I will go with 1/2", what will i need to purchase to resin and glass it? I will not be pulling the top of due to the stringers are not rotted etc. My soft spots are just behind the engine, in front of the rear seat where everyone gets in and sits etc. Can i get the Resin and glass at a local harware store?

Thanks,

[awesomesteven]

I agree with cornrickey. If your going to glass the floor, why not spend the extra $30-$40 to get marine ply and really make the floor last. The plywood (even pressure treated) separates pretty easily and you'll end up having to redo the floorsin 1 or 2 years and end up spending a lot more $.

If you really are going to pull the foam, I would strongly suggest you pull the top and do it the right way. It'll go by a lot faster and end up being a lot easier.

If you go to a hardware store or even a west marine your going to end up paying a lot. I know you can get a pretty good price on the fiberglass mats on ebay. Epoxy (or poly) your going to have to put in some hard work if you truly want the best price. Call a bunch of boat shops that do fiberglass work and ask if you can buy resin and hardener from them at cost. A lot of times they'll say no but you might get lucky.

Go to the search box and do a search for stringer repairs. There are a lot of people here that have done great work and their threads will walk you through a lot of problems your going to encounter - why to leave in/take out the foam, what type of wood to use, how to do a floor patch job, replacing the floor with the top on/off, poly or epoxy...

I haven't done mine yet but I know I'll have to do it. When I do, because of everyone's prior experience, I'm going to take the pull the top and use marine ply for just about everything.

[Henner]

Yeah i understand what your saying about doing it the right way first, but due to finances and that the foam and stringers are ok right now i am just going to do the floor from the front seat, back. I do not want to spend a ton of money right now because I will be doing the complete job in a couple years. Just looking to get rid of soft spots for a year or two then start the big job. So just trying to get my best options on what type of wood to use from lumber yard and what type of resin and glass to coat it with. Thanks again

[awesomesteven]

Yep, definetly understand the financial strain it'll put on you.

Are you going to replace the carpet as well? I'm not sure where you are but I know there are a ton of marine carpet places in the SC/NC area.

If you are going to try to salvage your carpet, why not just try to do a patch job. That's what I did for me as a temp fix bc i'm going to redo everyting in the winter (at least i'm planning to). That way you can get marine ply and not have to buy that much resin or poly. I used an angle grinder to cut out a section (i bought mine at lowes but tractor supply has them pretty cheap) and coated both sides of marine ply with poly and it fit in nicely.

[awesomesteven]

If you can't find anywhere for materials, here is a good one

uscomposites.com

[villain]

Check out fiberglast.com also. They sell so e pretty trick stuff also.