Screen porch floor overlay?

[k]

I haven't been to this group in awhile, so hello all.

I have a screened porch that is 14' x 14', and is surrounded by an uncovered deck (Trex). The floor of the porch is (I'm pretty sure) tig fir, and the wood itself seems in good shape.

I want to know if there's a material I can put over that floor, possibly vinly, or anything else, for that matter. This is New England, so things freeze in the winter, and screened porches get all the weather when the wind blows. This home is 40 yrs old, and the hand-built screens themselves will have to be replaced soon anyhow, so thickness of a new material isn't a real concern. I would love to do tile or somthing like that, but there is a lot of flex in the existing floor. I'm a lightweight, but I make things rattle on the table just by walking out there, and heavier friends can actually bounce things. That I can live with, but my knees complain too much for me to paint floors anymore, and this one needs it more and more often it seems.

Underneath there is varying space, probably 12" to 14", then earth underneath. I would love to put down something substantial out there for a floor (tile or Chicago brick), but being in New England that seems a bad choice, given the freeze-thaw conditions in winter. I suppose I could increase rigidity by cutting a few holes in the existing flooring and installing some permanent jacks, but I'd like something simpler, even if things do still bounce around.

Has anyone laid down vinyl flooring in a situation like this? Are there composite boards that aren't made for decking, and therefore aren't an inch thick? Can I get vinyl that's 14' wide and take my chances?

[ameijers]

I'd try some of those interlocking rubber mats with drain holes like they use in restraunt kitchens. Whatever you put down will rot the wood out eventually, but letting it breath some may buy you a few years.

I hear you on the knees. I plan my trips under the desk to fuss with cables very carefully now, and keep the painkillers handy for the mornings when I have to brush teeth with one hand and lean on vanity with the other.

aem sends...

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"ameijers" wrote in message news:Zfame.849391$ [e-mail]...

And I hear that too, about leaning on the vanity. I took the opportunity, when I added a tub room for an oversized tub, to place the sink up at MY level (I'm tall) so I could wash up without stooping. The mirror's at MY height, and I can actually see my hair without stooping, another godsend, now I've been forced into retirement for health reasons. Pretty un-standard, no one else can brush their teeth in there, which is great; I get the facilities to myself most of the time. ;-} Looks funny to most people, but it looks fantastic to me!! Only downside: my wife makes me clean it, what's at my height, since I'm the only user of most of the room. She does the low work, I do the high work. Jack Spratt... Don't do it unless you have others at the correct dims though! Now, back to raising the toilet up...

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