Wall carpeting

[BuffaloBill]

I would like to replace the wall carpeting in the forward cabin as it's

looking a bit grubby and faded. If I pull the old off, what glue do I

use to stick the new piece on?

Impact adhesive seems to be the one, but, in the enclosed space

it may not be a good idea

Anyone done it or can make a suitable suggestion?

[mbird]

When I had Tranquil Breeze, I fitted her out completely with wall carpet, as there was only the laminate on the walls at that time. I sprayed both the wall and the back of the carpet with normal carpet spray adhesive, and then left it a couple of minutes to go tacky before fitting it. There were one or two fiddly areas where I used Evostick impact adhesive as I could brush that on rather than getting loads of overspray. You are right that a lot of ventilation is needed, but even so I did get a headache or two from the fumes!

At the time I found these to be the cheapest for the carpet, but I have no idea how they compare now. http://www.rainbowconversions.co.uk/Equipment/Carpet_Trim/carpet.htm

[MBA Marine]

Spray glue all the way, and then when you venture out with a glazed over eyes turn to the nearest person and utter the words 'I bloody love you' and then dont be surprised if you get really hungry!

[Guest]

I've lined three boats and two motor caravans with wall type cord carpet (the correct type without any backing, so that it can stretch in two dimensions and confirm to any internal shape.)

I tried spray glue twice, but never had any success with it. It was much easier to use, but never seemed to stick properly, even when following the instructions to the letter, both surfaces etc.

I've always had complete success with impact adhesive from a can though, spreading it very thinly with a spreader.

It's vital to use the "Thixotropic" type though, which scoops up and spreads like butter, rather than the traditional very stringy and stretchy type that ends up all over the place.

I usually buy the cord carpet at Norfolk Marine (they keep a good stock upstairs), but I then buy the thixotropic impact adhesive at Coopers at Yarmouth, a large warehouse that sells it in the much larger 2.5 and 5 litre tins.

Chandlers only seem to ever stock the small 750ml tins and you need quite a few of them so it often ends up costing more than the carpet !

The 5 litre tins work out much cheaper.

..and yes, it can be very dangerous stuff, as you suspect. Keep all of the doors, windows and hatches open, and never work alone, always have someone outside, with you talking to them continuously if they can't see you !

[ZimbiIV]

Admittedly I have only done a small area but I used doubled sided carpet tape cost more and I had to press it down a few times 2 years on it is still stuck, some of it on the roof lining. I did get the lining from NM, strangely they were the cheapest.

Paul

[Oddfellow]

Spray glue is the best in evey respect. But, get the right stuff. Ideally, you want one that will withstand higher temperatures as your cabins will warm up and you may find that parts of the carpet begin to pull away and bubble.

If the fumes get to you, wear a mask.

It's easiser to reposition than contact adhesive and much easier to work with.

Contact Adhesive is much more permenant and will be a terrible job to get off and make a decent surface again if you ever need to.

[BuffaloBill]

Thanks peeps for the replies. I think the spray option sound the best

but will mean masking off the roof lining and the Cherrywood wall at

the headboard end.

I do have a paint sprayers mask with the 2 screw on canisters so

hopefully that will do.

The carpet I bought from Jeckells in Wroxham(Hoveton) for £20, and

there is around 50sq feet. Good value I thought.

[mbird]

The carpet I bought from Jeckells in Wroxham(Hoveton) for £20, and

there is around 50sq feet. Good value I thought.

That does sound a good deal indeed! The place I mentioned in Wisbech were, at the time, about half the price of Norfolk Marine, but they don't seem to be that cheap anymore. I have recently found that Norfolk Marine are actually quite competitive for a lot of things nowadays (plus they will price match )

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello BuffaloBill,

We have also found Jeckells quite accommodating and have had new upper deck seating, a fitted pocket sprung matteress and some new carpeting fitted in some area's of the boat during its winter service.

In the past when we have just turned up with canopy sections for small repairs at their Wroxham workshop they have done the work whilst we have waited or hadit ready after we have done shopping in Wroxham.

Regards

Alan

[MBA Marine]

Why are people looking in boat chandlers for cord carpet? pop to your local carpet shop (ideally not a big named one) and see what end of rolls they have, hard wearing cord carpet is favoured with landlords and offices so is fitted a lot. a little can go a long way when lining lockers but these small end of rolls are just sold off cheap or discarded by shops as they are nor big enough for a room.

[Guest]

Why are people looking in boat chandlers for cord carpet? pop to your local carpet shop (ideally not a big named one) and see what end of rolls they have, hard wearing cord carpet is favoured with landlords and offices so is fitted a lot. a little can go a long way when lining lockers but these small end of rolls are just sold off cheap or discarded by shops as they are nor big enough for a room.

Whenever I've looked for it in carpet shops it's always had the rubber backing attached.

That makes it so much harder to form into the compound concave curves often found inside boats.

That type of rubber also often perishes after a number of years, leaving quite a mess when it starts to come away.

Agreed, it's much cheaper, but when I tried it in a Motor Caravan a few years ago, the result was very disappointing and I ended up ripping it all out again. I then did it with the proper backless cord carpet, and the result was really professional, and it lasted for over 10 years till I sold it, with no deterioration.

I would think it's also quite dangerous if there was ever a fire, I would imagine the fumes from it burning would be much more dangerous than the much thinner backless cord carpet on it's own.

[MBA Marine]

if there was ever a fire, I would imagine the fumes from it burning would be much more dangerous than the much thinner backless cord carpet on it's own.

[Morris Man]

Hi,

We have used carpet on the roof and some walls on our boat for the last 20 years with no problem, we stick the carpet to the roof about a foot at a time leaving about 2 inch all round for final fittine and fixing when all the roof has been stuck, dont worry about any overspray onto the walls as it will wipe off with white spirit.

Robin.

[Poppy]

The carpet I used for this purpose came from a carpet store, not a chandlery. It is not foam backed and cost (from memory) less than £3/ sq mtr. I used a thixotropic contact adhesive, emerging from the cabin frequently.

Beware of naked flames and/or sparks!!!

[Guest]

Beware of naked flames and/or sparks!!!

Yes indeed. I forgot that part ! Very inflammable vapour....

[BuffaloBill]

I'm off to the Newark Boat Jumble tomorrow so will see if

there's anything available there. I have a list of things I

need and will no doubt come home with things that I did'nt

know I wanted Just like going in Lathams.....

[Mowjo]

Ok! contact glues work very well but as the name says it's contact and instant, so you have to be very carefull because if you get a crease or it's slightly in the wrong place with that cord carpet you may end up throwing a lot away, if your going to use contact, cut the carpet a little oversize, spray or spread the glue on one or both surfaces as directed, beware spray glue can get messy if you miss aim the can, get yourself a little batten or something and hold it between the wall and the carpet to hold the carpet away from the wall, line the carpet up at the top of what you are doing and press the top few inches into place, now slowly move the batten down the wall smoothing the carpet into place as you go, when it's in place go back over it again smoothing it again to make sure there's no Bubbles, then you have the tricky bit of trimming it around the edges and in the corners, unless you are very good or very lucky you will probably end up having to put trim in the corners, all the above applies to fitting Carpet or Vinyl on wall and places where it dosn't normally go,, if thats all a bit instant for you, you can use the tub carpet glue, the only difference is you normally only put it on the wall etc and not both sufaces, you get a lot more play time with it, so if you missplace it you can move it, I always fit the carpet as soon as I've applied the glue so it goes on wet, you just have to then leave it a short while then go back over it a few times making sure you smooth it down,, if you want to use the Tub glue, use the trade one called Styccobond F3 any good Carpet shop should sell it, or one I've used a lot because I needed some quickly to finish a job, Is B&Q's Diall Carpet and Vinyl Adhesive which is around £8 for a 2 ltr Tub, happy carpet fitting fitting, Oh! a little tip for beginers get some of those Vinly gloves cos trust me Spray or Tub glue you will get it in places you don't want it, the Tub glues are a bit better because most are water based so while it's still wet you can clean up with a wet cloth or sponge,,,,,

Regards Frank,,,,

[Mowjo]

Forgot to mention, I was a Carpet fitter for years, if you want to see an example of my last boat check the photobucket link below, I did all the walls with Carpet and Vinyl,,

Regards Frank,,,

[BuffaloBill]

Thanks Frank, that sounds like what I need.

Iv'e had a look on B&Q website for details but one thing

it does'nt say is whether it's toxic if inhaled.

Would a 2.5ltr tub do 30sq ft ?

[Guest]

When I was emphasizing the need for unbacked carpet where there are many irregular shapes to cover, I was thinking mainly of a small cruiser I did a few years ago.

I've searched through my old photos and found this one, showing the back corner of the fore-cabin roof.

As you can see, the fibreglass moulding had a very complex shape, and I couldn't get rubber backed cord to lay flush in it at all, because it needed to stretch in three dimensions.

The very thin unlined cord came out quite well, and pressed right into all the corners.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Stowager,

The carpet looked to fit well in your picture but I was more interested to see the Hamiltons Broads Tide Calculator in the picture. I wonder how many more of these are still used, I use mine and have done since we started coming down to the Broads in 2001, simple to use and I guess they have been around for more years than we care to remember.

Sorry to go off topic.

Regards

Alan

[Guest]

Yes , an invaluable and very simple gadget Alan.

With the demise of Hamiltons, I guess the copyright of Claude's genius idea prevents it's reissue by anyone else. (for 75 years anyway)

It's not too apparent in the photo, but it's actually double the original size too.

I scanned, enlarged, and laminated it, to make it easier to use with my poor old eyesight.

Hopefully, a single counterfeit object for my own personal use, having purchased the original, is not too much a breach of copyright

[Dolphin]

I have had to line the walls of my cabin as the plywood used to suffer dreadfully with condensation, not nice when you are sleeping against it.

I made a cardboard template of the wall and then rough cut the carpet (Jeckells) before using spray glue on both carpet and wall. A little trimming up and hey presto!

A couple of tips -

When you think to yourself 'That's enough glue' - Add more! My first attempt came down quite quickly but with a more liberal application its been perfect.

And (you've probably thought of this) but its really not a good idea for anyone to sleep in the room for a while afterwards. Even thoroughly ventilated my cabin still smelt days later. I would suggest its a job for a day visit rather than when you are overnighting if that is at all possible.

Charlie

[VetChugger]

I did a bit of this on a previous boat using the methods described here. The only thing I would add is that a friend recommended "own brand" versions of Floatex, Its a very dense short pile, no troublesome backing and extremely flexible for the unforgiving corners and shapes found on a boat!

Trevor

www.normanboats.co.uk

[Mowjo]

Bill! there is hardly any smell with the Tub glue from B&Q it's water based, and yes the 2.5 ltr tub will more than do that 30sq ft, if your just doing flatish areas you can use virtualy any carpet, if you look on my link below you'll see that on the curved walls in the front cabin and flat ones in the dining area I've used quite deep pile carpet, just make sure it's the felt back type as foam will disintigrate after a while, just put the glue on a bit thicker, if you have areas like Stowager then go for the stuff he says, so far I've done 6 boats and the only problem I had was using foam backed stuff,,

Regards Frank,,,