Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

[fish hook]

I'm feeling ambitious this spring I have a 04 Tahoe Q4 F/S with factory glued in carpet. I would like to replace the carpet with snap in but i can't find for my boat. I figure I will have to purchase some marine carpet, cut and have a fabric or upholstry shop put an edge on it and add snaps. I can put the mating snap on the boat floor myself. What do I have to do to prep the floor? I'm assuming once the old carpet is pulled up, there will be glue residue left over. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I would like it to look OK for when the carpet is out - I intend to remove it while fishing and would like the floor to be easily cleaned by simply spraying down with a hose. Will it be as easy as using some sort of cleaner or am I talking scraping, sanding and coating with some sort of paint/sealer? Does anybody have pics of a project like this? Thanks!!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

It could be a big project. *Usually* carpet that is glued down is glued on top of a "rough" or "unfinished" surface. It won't be shiny non-skid gelcoat like you see on boats from the factory with snap in carpet. On many boats it's just resin covered plywood under th floor! So I guess you should find out what the underlying floor looks like first, before you tear up the carpet and realize to have to cover the entire sole with gelcoat.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

Rip out the carpet and then give the deck good sanding. Then roll in some gel coat, paint, or duraback and then get your snap in carpet. You might need to put down a layer of glass to smooth it out, but that is easy.

Check out my Sea Ray restoration thread, and you will see how my snap in carpet turned out.

Snap in Carpet is not cheap, but looks awesome.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

Once you have your deck acceptable to your standards,getting the snap down carpet is a piece of cake.

You can make a template out of contractors paper or clear visqueen (available at any DIY store) or you can contact the carpet people and they will send you a kit to use. It's simply a thin, clear plastic and tape. Mail the template back to them and get on their website and pick the color/type of carpet and color binding you want to use.

I have used the people in the link below many, many times and their work is always exactly what I'm looking for and their turn around time is really quick.

http://www.snapincarpet.com/

 

[fish hook]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

Once you have your deck acceptable to your standards,getting the snap down carpet is a piece of cake.

You can make a template out of contractors paper or clear visqueen (available at any DIY store) or you can contact the carpet people and they will send you a kit to use. It's simply a thin, clear plastic and tape. Mail the template back to them and get on their website and pick the color/type of carpet and color binding you want to use.

I have used the people in the link below many, many times and their work is always exactly what I'm looking for and their turn around time is really quick.

http://www.snapincarpet.com/

Thanks Fireman. Thats kinda what I was thinking. I'm good with the new carpet, I'm just not sure how big of a job this will turn into depending on what I find when I rip the old out.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

If you want to DIY, stay away from household carpeting with nylon or jute backing. Get the marinized stuff with the rubber backing. You will need either a carpet binder or, at minimum, an upholstery machine with a binding attachment. I always found it easier to order it and just snap it right in.

 

[jkust]

Re: Replace factory glued carpet with snap in?

Snap in carpet was on the must have list way back when I got my sig boat and it is def a worthwhile project if you plan to keep your boat imo. I've seen a few threads with pics over the years here just adding snap in carpet not associated with a full rehab and they all turned out nice. You also have the benefit of not having to replace any plywood or rehab but just jumping right into it.