Carpet installation tips

[watchinthebobber]

Been a while since I've done boat carpet. It's not too hard (especially because I've done it before), but I'm looking for a good how-to or step-by-step guide. I've done a lot of searching on Google, but not seeing anything that great. Anyone have any good links? Thanks!

 

[ezmobee]

It's pretty simple. Get a notched trowel and some of the outdoor carpet adhesive from Lowes/Home Depot. Spread it out evenly. Make sure you don't have too much built up in any one area because it will splooge up through the carpet which is bad news.

 

[Woodonglass]

I always like to make a paper or cardboard template of the floor area to be covered and then do the layout on the driveway. Cut it a bit oversized and then install in boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

ezombee has the directions covered. if you forget them, they are on the side of the can of carpet adhesive

woodonglass makes a good point to pre-cut your carpet. I usually use the old carpet as a template, however if you dont have it, or it came out in chunks, a paper template would be a great help.

also, unroll the carpet and let sit in the sun on your deck or patio for an afternoon. it gets the wrinkles out of the rug

 

[watchinthebobber]

Thanks all! I got this job done last weekend. Lots of work, but it came out real nice. I was able to remove the old carpet in one piece which helped to template the new carpet. An oscillating tool worked magic for prepping the floor. I cut the new carpet about 2" larger than the old piece, then lay it in and trim it until it lays good and flat around the corners. I rolled it back and glued in sections working from the bow back in sort of a counter-clockwise fashion. Once it's all glued down I used the philips screwdriver to run along the edges and make my cut lines. I used a carpet/utility knife with the snap off blades and went through about 20 blade ends so the cuts came out real nice. I must say this job came out better than the one I did years ago.

 

[gm280]

Sounds like you did it right. I used to install carpet in most every type place, decades ago. And it was glue down and/or typical stretch and tack strips. But doing vertical carpeting, you always want to do the vertical sections first and then the floor. Otherwise you could easily get glued carpet falling on a carpeted floor...not a pretty sight.

And if you ever have the opportunity (yea right) to do carpeting again, buy a standard carpeting knife. It used double sided flip over type thin blades and are incredibly sharp and cut the carpet like a hot knife through butter. And most home improvement stores carry them as well. Very top notch knifes to work with.