Flooring idea, will this work better than plywood?

[CampUnger]

Shop DPI 3/16"D x 4'W x 8'H Brown Hardboard Wall Panel at Lowes.com

As everyone, looking for ideas on flooring that is more durable than the plywood. I have seen masonite/harboard for cake boards, and in garage areas for the pegboard walls. While I have little experience with it, it seems to last a long time, and when it gets when it only seems to leave stains, though I have not seen it when left in a constant wet/leaky area.

If a guy were to put a double layer of this product on the floor, do you think it would be a better alternative than plywood, or is it just not suitable in this application. Were still new at all this, and just throwing out an idea looking for constructive criticism.
Thanks!

[HowieE]

My experience with Masonite is it will crack very easily and if the surface is violated to allow water in it swells and becomes soft.

Not a good idea for a sub flooring

Marine plywood

[CampUnger]

enough said, thanks for the help!

[CampUnger]

Coosa Board | Coosa Composites | Boat Decking Material

Thoughts anyone?? Expensive option I know, but so is constantly redoing a floor.

[CampUnger]

The Cutting Board Factory: MarinaBoard

??

[CampUnger]

Water Resistant, Fiberglass Reinforced Composites | Stringers and Transoms | RV Repair | Boat | Flooring | Plywood Replacement | Marine Bulkheads

Looks as though tough & supreme may be an option, but not sure on price.

[CampUnger]

Baltek Airex PXc Boards

[DFlores]

CampUnger, I am approaching the same stage, and am looking at MDO sign board, the question I have is has anyone used HDO sign board, and can it really not be painted,ie epoxy?

[Foiled Again]

CHECK the Marine plywood. I've heard on the forums that it's treated with chemicals that react badly with the metal in the frame! Not a good thing to trade floor rot for frame rot.

I am not a restorer, nor do I claim to be an expert on this subject.... just an observation I've heard in the past. Of course there is probably a way to put some kind of coating on either the frame or the marine plywood that would address this potential problem.

(I'd also make sure it wouldn't react adversely with the ALUMINUM in the C Channel.

Paula

[tarnished]

Having used a considerable amount of marine PW against steel (steel yachts) corrosion has not been a problem. I've no idea what marine PW is treated with other then the waterproof glue between lams.
Currently underway is the restoration of my '79 Minuet. The PW floor is fine except where there had been leaks. Barring leaks the PW floor should survive another 30 odd yrs.
Strength to weight PW is going to be hard to beat particularly if on a budget.
MDO and HDO are high grade PW, usually ext grade, covered with a resin impregnated paper.
Paul

[Wabbiteer]

I've seen and handled high-density-overlay (HDO) advertising sign board. The HDO has an unfinished (no painted finish color) 'Formica' type outer layer laminated on that seems problematic since it has near-zero flex to it...

Any bag of hammers (for example) dropped onto it will shatter the outer veneer; the clamp down of bolts or other clamped interference-points will shatter a crater lip around the normal wood compression pocket. This may/may not be a fatal flaw but that combined with its 'slickness' with zero surface texture ruled it out for my project. Its made as a perfectly smooth surface for cosmetic porpoises not for structural toughness.

Medium-density-overlay board (MDO) is a complete layer of waterproof resin with a heavy brown craft paper welded on as the entire sheet is heat-pressed together as the outer veneer. The paper layer anchors paint excellently and has a little more give to it like natural wood than a Formica-type coating.

Photo is MDO scrap laying just where its been exposed to sun & weather all winter, many freeze-thaw cycles plus 10+ inches of rain this spring. Zero signs of delaminating or overlay decay. Left edge is my cut, right end-grain is factory edge. The gap beneath is not warp, there is a pane of window glass laying beneath the far edge lifting it above the block of graphite.

Anyhow, for a minor cost increase over construction plywood I bet on MDO versus anything else... at less than half the price of a Marine grade plywood. See Hey y'all watch this...

[DFlores]

Wabiteer, the lady at the lumber place that I am talking with about MDO warned me about potential voids, have you found many voids in the MDO that you have worked with?

[Wabbiteer]

Remember we're not flying it to the State Fair!!!

Not saying zero voids but no there was nothing worth mentioning, maybe a dime-sized drop out revealed every 3rd sheet? I'd rather have a one nickle sized void per sheet than an entire layer of balsawood fluff like I saw on the first sheet of 'supposed' marine-grade I installed.

I think your local lumberyard may be upselling, especially if they don't have a pallet worth for you to view and see for yourself, though its not out of the question the product line they'd order is a lower quality sorting. Do the leg work and make the drives to a yard that doesn't have to special order stock!

The outfit I bought from had 1/2", 3/4", 1" and 1-1/2" MDO all for reasonable prices - $42 for the 3/4" 49" x 99" I bought into.

Pre-purchase you'd need to get the product line name and numbers and do the homework on the internet to read the panel manufacturers spec sheet and look for terms like 'minimal core voids" and such.

Anytime a panel is OEM recommended for concrete forms is a good indication that it will be structurally sound for the light duty a trailer floor would see, as a form could be reused dozens of times...