Our Houseboat Restoration Begins 2nd of ???
After a lot of running around and attempting to source up quality materials for this boating application, I settled on a good source of number 1 kiln dried after treatment 2x4’s that I found. Treated wood was chosen for its higher resistance to decay, insects, and hopefully my lifetime of enjoyment and use without further structure issues. They were courteous and allowed me to cherry pick through and choose the lumber for myself after a brief explanation of its intended use. Treated 2x4’s as a general rule are often riddled with knots making for too much waste and unusable weak framing after being ripped in half for this application. I purchased forty of them on the first trip and utilized them all with very little waste and had to buy more so be prepared to maybe need more materials than you’d anticipate in your build.
I am fortunate to have a garage at my home and made use of all of it for this project. On one side I placed a utility trailer and made a worktable on top of the sideboards and stored excess materials and lumber on and also under its bed. The other side of the garage was set up in work stations on an improvised huge table set up on several sawhorses. Having all the high usage tools out and set up for ready use really saved a lot of aggravation and increased productivity throughout the rebuilding process.
My next step was to rip all the 2x4’s in half on the table saw. Now my table saw is made where a shop vac can easily be incorporated to control sawdust. If yours isn’t please wear a dusk mask you don’t want to be breathing in any of the chemical laden sawdust period, let alone the quantity this much ripping will generate. Always consider safety and utilize and wear the appropriate gear and clothing to protect yourself from potential harm. We stress the need to protect your eyes (safety glasses), lungs (chemical or dust respirator), and skin from splinters and chemical absorption (appropriate gloves, or clothing for task), throughout the entire rebuild. We want to be able to fully use and enjoy the fruits of our labor after this job is completed don’t we.
In my build the original siding was removed on one wall at a time. After carefully measuring the wall heights, window openings and carefully recording them to paper each wall segment was then carefully constructed in the garage in eight foot sections. As each section was completed, the corresponding section on boat cabin was removed and the new section put back in its place and securely fastened to the roof. The process was continued in eight foot sections as I made my way around the perimeter of the boat. When picture above was taken you can see the wall section through door had not yet been installed when photo was taken and the front cabin section was the only original wall left to be done.
The photo above is included to provide another view of the actual framing, the plywood in lower back and upper left was temporally securely screwed in place to prevent structure from racking and keep everything square. After all wall sections were completed and installed the entire cabin structure was jacked up three and a half inches and perimeter 2x4’s were installed and securely bolted to the deck. The cabin was then lowered and screws were utilized to fasten it to the now substantial sill plate and I also gained a bit of needed headroom inside to accommodate my slightly tall self.
There are numerous types of siding that you can make work on your boat cabin. I ordered this and the hardware for it from an online source, it’s sort of a type of vinyl that’s one eighth inch thick and came in four by eight foot sheets. It’s fairly easy to work with, and also cuts well with a saw. When installing it I went around the entire cabin just covering over all the openings, I then went inside and drilled a half inch hole in a corner of every opening. I then used a router with a trim bit from outside and zipped it around the framing of the openings and I was installing windows and doors. The only real negative of this product is its thermal movement, on hot summer days it can appear a bit puffy from expansion and having nowhere to go, it’s not horrendous but it is noticeable. But on the other hand it’s extremely easy to clean up because bug poo and dirt can’t seem to get a tooth on it.
After the exterior was installed one and a half inch pink extruded insulation was installed between each vertical stud. The insulation came in four by eight sheets and again the table saw was utilized to rip the sheets down to the appropriate width. If you took the time to lay out and install all the framework square and neat, installation of insulation panels will go pretty quick and easy like mine did. In reality taking just a bit of care to use precise neat construction techniques from start will pay dividends in avoiding many potential complications as the rebuild progress.
This is just one entry of a series we’ve put together of our own personal experiences in the now completed rebuild and restoration of our pontoon houseboat from the pontoons frame on up. Hopefully you’ll find our shared experience both helpful and informative if you’re considering building or remodeling one for your very own. You can view the whole series here and its entries progress from bottom of index on up.
Please also review our other blogs and our home site: Pontoon Houseboat Odyssey for other potentially useful and helpful information about boating.
I am fortunate to have a garage at my home and made use of all of it for this project. On one side I placed a utility trailer and made a worktable on top of the sideboards and stored excess materials and lumber on and also under its bed. The other side of the garage was set up in work stations on an improvised huge table set up on several sawhorses. Having all the high usage tools out and set up for ready use really saved a lot of aggravation and increased productivity throughout the rebuilding process.
My next step was to rip all the 2x4’s in half on the table saw. Now my table saw is made where a shop vac can easily be incorporated to control sawdust. If yours isn’t please wear a dusk mask you don’t want to be breathing in any of the chemical laden sawdust period, let alone the quantity this much ripping will generate. Always consider safety and utilize and wear the appropriate gear and clothing to protect yourself from potential harm. We stress the need to protect your eyes (safety glasses), lungs (chemical or dust respirator), and skin from splinters and chemical absorption (appropriate gloves, or clothing for task), throughout the entire rebuild. We want to be able to fully use and enjoy the fruits of our labor after this job is completed don’t we.
In my build the original siding was removed on one wall at a time. After carefully measuring the wall heights, window openings and carefully recording them to paper each wall segment was then carefully constructed in the garage in eight foot sections. As each section was completed, the corresponding section on boat cabin was removed and the new section put back in its place and securely fastened to the roof. The process was continued in eight foot sections as I made my way around the perimeter of the boat. When picture above was taken you can see the wall section through door had not yet been installed when photo was taken and the front cabin section was the only original wall left to be done.
The photo above is included to provide another view of the actual framing, the plywood in lower back and upper left was temporally securely screwed in place to prevent structure from racking and keep everything square. After all wall sections were completed and installed the entire cabin structure was jacked up three and a half inches and perimeter 2x4’s were installed and securely bolted to the deck. The cabin was then lowered and screws were utilized to fasten it to the now substantial sill plate and I also gained a bit of needed headroom inside to accommodate my slightly tall self.
There are numerous types of siding that you can make work on your boat cabin. I ordered this and the hardware for it from an online source, it’s sort of a type of vinyl that’s one eighth inch thick and came in four by eight foot sheets. It’s fairly easy to work with, and also cuts well with a saw. When installing it I went around the entire cabin just covering over all the openings, I then went inside and drilled a half inch hole in a corner of every opening. I then used a router with a trim bit from outside and zipped it around the framing of the openings and I was installing windows and doors. The only real negative of this product is its thermal movement, on hot summer days it can appear a bit puffy from expansion and having nowhere to go, it’s not horrendous but it is noticeable. But on the other hand it’s extremely easy to clean up because bug poo and dirt can’t seem to get a tooth on it.
After the exterior was installed one and a half inch pink extruded insulation was installed between each vertical stud. The insulation came in four by eight sheets and again the table saw was utilized to rip the sheets down to the appropriate width. If you took the time to lay out and install all the framework square and neat, installation of insulation panels will go pretty quick and easy like mine did. In reality taking just a bit of care to use precise neat construction techniques from start will pay dividends in avoiding many potential complications as the rebuild progress.
This is just one entry of a series we’ve put together of our own personal experiences in the now completed rebuild and restoration of our pontoon houseboat from the pontoons frame on up. Hopefully you’ll find our shared experience both helpful and informative if you’re considering building or remodeling one for your very own. You can view the whole series here and its entries progress from bottom of index on up.
Please also review our other blogs and our home site: Pontoon Houseboat Odyssey for other potentially useful and helpful information about boating.
Posted by blog.houseboatodyssey1.com at 2/17/2010 7:37 PM 
Categories: Pontoon Houseboat (s), Our Houseboat Rebuild
Tags: pictures houseboat restoration pontoon materials rebuild
Categories: Pontoon Houseboat (s), Our Houseboat Rebuild
Tags: pictures houseboat restoration pontoon materials rebuild
I was very pleased to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! This is a very informative post, it helps me more.
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I am in the process of starting to do a rebuild of my houseboat and have found a lot of vaulable information to help me along the way from your website. I think that you have a very functional layout with a very modern exterior look. I am interested in knowing how the polymax board is holding up on the exterior. I was thinking about using this product on the exterior of my boat as well and would like to get your feedback about it. What are the pros and cons and how did you install it. I look forward to any information you can share and thanks for such an informative website!
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First of all we’d like to thank you for such a nice complement of our efforts here. For ease of answering your very good questions I’m going to break them down as quotes and address them individually here:
I am interested in knowing how the polymax board is holding up on the boats exterior. I was thinking about using this product on the exterior of my boat as well and would like to get your feedback about it.
The PolyMax Board used on our boat was purchased at Tek Supply along with the needed hardware for installation. As far as holding up there have been no real issues so far. We have accumulated a few scrapes that are virtually invisible in this product that had we used painted aluminum would be needing touch up painting to correct a definite plus to solid color plastic. I’ll also add that it is very easy to clean, and a lot of things you may encounter will have a hard time getting any tooth to it to stick to it at all. Spider dung does seem to be the exception though, but a shot of “L.A. Totally Awesome Cleaner” which is available at the dollar store and a micro-fiber towel and it wipes right off with very little effort involved.
What are the pros and cons and how did you install it.
Pros: Ease of cleaning, ease of installation (cuts well on a table saw, router and laminate bits make cutting windows and doors a breeze), very resilient product that’s resistant to damage,
Cons: Weight (far heavier per square foot than the original aluminum was), Expansion/Contraction Issues (See Posted Below)
The actual installation of PolyMax is relatively easy itself but because of its thermal dynamics expansion/contraction issues being a vinyl product special considerations are also needed. I in a since got lucky and got it up and installed during a thermal neutral period of average summer temperatures and have just a slight noticeable marshmallow effect of expansion when the suns glaring and it gets extremely hot. But I followed another’s rebuild that utilized the same product that installed during winter in an unheated shelter and it was in effect awful. When they pulled it out into the sun on a warm spring day the vinyl’s expansion made the boat look like the Michelin Man, and they were very disappointed to say the least.
Materials Needed: Utility Trim, White PolyMax H-Molding #106994, 304 SS Exterior Corners #XR2535, SS Panhead Screws, and some good quality chalk
Installation: I started with white vinyl siding “utility trim” which is available at any real lumber yard. Enough of it will be needed to run along the parameter roof-line and along the base of the walls on deck. The PolyMax will slide easily into it and it hides the ends and allows it to still look neat and clean and leave some slop or room for expansion purposes. It will also help create a weatherproof seal around the parameter of the walls. On mine I also formed a bit of flashing that I put around the base of the walls to further reduce the possibility of any water penetration into the boat interior.
First install and lightly fasten the flashing if you are also using it. Lie in a bead of chalking and embed the utility trim into the chalk and fasten it into place. Start at any corner and measure top to bottom less about a quarter inch for expansion and then cut the PolyMax Board to length. The board is very pliable so it’s easy to first slide it into either the top or bottom utility trim and then align with the corner. Then gently lift it a bit to allow some expansion room on both the top and bottom and fasten into place. Now cut a piece of the H-Molding to length slide it into place allowing a bit of wiggle room, cut the next board to length and continue down the length of the boat. Now assuming you’ve covered the entire side with the board, it’s now time to go inside with drill and ½ in. bit. Now pick a corner (and it helps to be consistent here) and drill a hole through the board siding in each opening (windows, doors, etc.). Now going back outside with your router and laminate bit (use safety glasses to the vinyl flies here) set the depth as shallow as possible and insert it into the holes you just drilled and run her around the perimeter of the each opening letting the pieces fall as they may. Believe me this goes fast and easy with this product and you’ll be ready to install windows and doors in seemingly minutes.
Also here's a previously published blog post that I just went back to look at that maybe you missed that may also be helpful. Hopefully I’ve detailed the product enough for you to make a determination whether you want to use PolyMax or something else for your boat. If I left out any details you’d feel important to know please feel free to contact us again and I’ll attempt to answer your questions. Also if you’re inclined and maybe want to help others with your experience please document your rebuild with photo’s and consider allowing us to post or publish it here.
Thanking for your inquiry from,
PontoonHouseboatOdyssey
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Thank you for all the helpful information. I noticed in your blog that you used 1/8 sheets of polymax. How did you determine the thickness that you needed and do you think using 1/16 would be just as effective of a skin for the exterior? On the corners you used the stainless steel, is there a benefit over using the polymax corners or is just personal cosmetics preferences. I am also planning on putting up new panels in the inside, do you think all of that would need to be done at the same time or can I do it seperately and if so which would you do first the inside or the outside? I will document my restoration and post pictures once I start, hopefully within the next month or so when the weather warms a little. Thanks again for all the input.
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I’ll follow through and attempt to answer your questions, but first let’s review a post I made on a forum of an experience we encountered on our house boat so you may better understand my position.
I also have a pontoon houseboat of the very same width and length as the one in question. Under 99% of the conditions encountered it's a very steady and sound boat to be in. About a year ago while boating on the Ohio River while attending the Marietta, Oh. Stern Wheeler Festival I found that I didn't have the perfect boat.
At this festival there is every kind of boat on the water that a person can imagine including barges, big fast wake making yachts, go fasts etc. Anyway I made the "mistake" of going out for a cruise on the river Saturday morning before the boat traffic was actually out. We had a nice pleasant morning outing enjoying the sights until the big boats made their appearance. These folks were nice and safe in their boats many of which would actually are safe boats for a trip to the Bahamas but they could give a Damn less about how difficult their wakes made it for others sharing the water with them.
They were running abreast racing each other down the river and with all the traffic the river soon turned from peaceful to some pretty huge chop in places. There was really not any way to navigate into the chop after awhile and a person had to take it heather skeletal as the river and other boaters dealt it out to you. It was as if being in a huge blow, our boat was violently and dangerously tipping from side to side the Wife was screaming we were going to "tip over" stuff was flying from the cabinets everywhere and landing on the floor and all I could do was attempt to keep her upright.
It was a very, very nerve racking experience to go through, which didn't or wouldn't have happened to me if others on the water would have had some consideration and given me a wider berth. But it opened my eyes to the fact that I never wanted to be caught in exposed big open waters with our boat again. I'll venture onto the Ohio sometime again, but never when there are events going on that converge too many boaters on testosterone together. Boating should always be a relaxing experience and not a white knuckle ride.
Question: Do you think using 1/16 would be just as effective of a skin for the exterior?
Looking at the skin from the perspective as exclusively as an element barrier it would satisfactory.
Question: On the corners you used the stainless steel, is there a benefit over using the polymax corners or is just personal cosmetics preferences.
Yes there is an enormous benefit and gain of both the strength and integrity of the entire boat structure by utilizing the stainless steel corners. The stainless, at least when I purchased it was not thin beer can class metal, it’s of substantial enough steel to provide a very beneficial and significant rigidity to the entire boat structure. By having it securely screwed through the skin panels at the corners I feel that it makes the entire structure of the cabin stronger and more resistant to potential racking in extreme water conditions like I encountered above. That’s also the reason I chose the thicker PolyMax material for our boat rebuild, I was simply afraid the thinner material would simply rip free though the screws under such conditions leaving me inside the cabin with a racking and swaying structure surrounding me in what could be very dangerous water conditions.
Question: I am also planning on putting up new panels in the inside, do you think all of that would need to be done at the same time or can I do it separately and if so which would you do first the inside or the outside?
I would frame and construct the walls first, and secure them soundly to the deck with SS fender washers, nuts, and bolts. It’s easy to do when you can stand on the ground working around the parameters of the cabin and reach everything by yourself. Then I’d proceed to enclose the exterior to protect the framing and deck from the elements. Are you wiring or installing insulation? If so now would be the time to run any circuits or wiring you feel you may want to make your boat comfortable for your use, following up with insulation if you’re utilizing it before installing any interior wallboard, covering or fixtures.
In wrapping this up I may have actually over engineered our boat to some extent, but I’m also confident that it will retain its integrity for years of use, and we’ll remain safe despite the wakes and water conditions nature or other boaters may throw at us. May your build also be successful and safe and please do share it with both us and our readers here at PontoonHouseboatOdyssey.
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Hi, I love your site! It is very imformative and inspirational. I love the "Two Beers" post.
We are also in the process of rebuilding our pontoon houseboat and are considering putting in foam insulation. We had concerns that the foam may cause squeaking when the boat moves. Have you had any noise with your insulation?
Thanks again!
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We have not heard any noise from the foam insulation. The interior of the boat stays cool in hot weather and is easy to keep warm when the weather turns colder. We are very pleased with the effect of the insulation over all. Good luck with your rebuild, we have never regretted the blood, sweat, tears, and money we spent for our rebuild. She's not the biggest or fanciest boat on the river, but I wouldn't trade her for any of those. We are simple people and don't require luxury to enjoy our time on the river, much less the big payments we would have to pay to have one of the big houseboats. Over all the boat is very quite and solid. Our best times are putting on the river with the music playing and enjoying our friends. We will be glad to share anything we have learned with you. Thanks for posting.
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Do you mind if I referred your blog post on my twitter account?
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