Padded carpet install, what to make it stick?

[Ranchero50]

Sorry if this is overly redundant, my Google-fu has failed me. I bought carpet for my boat in 2010 and it's been on the roll since then because I haven't figured out what I wanted to do, carpet or high density foam flooring pads. I ended up deciding that I want both...

I bought a bunch of 12mm interlocking pads for the base and need to stick them to the floor. Most of the glues I've found aren't recommended for metal or foam. I've heard that I can use double sides tape to stick the foam to the metal and I've heard all sorts of results for various glues or even contact cements. The PO of my boat glued the carpet to most of the metal with silicone caulk so that's even and option.

Any tips or advice is appreciated.

Jamie

 

[wihil]

3M Super77 will stick almost anything to anything.

Or if you feel the need to stick a car tire to a wall, or are using neoprene, 3M Super 90. It will stick a truck tire (with rim) to a wall. First hand knowledge...

 

[Quackrstackr]

Regular carpet tape might work.

 

[Ranchero50]

Yeah, I'm thinking a combo of both. All of the edges will be tucked and covered. I had really good luck with the Super 77 when I redid the felt in my gun safe. I'm just concerned about how porous the carpet backing is. Maybe I'll tape those edges and spray the rest so it stays in place.

 

[bassboy1]

Contact Cement.

 

[Ranchero50]

I picked up some carpet tape a while ago. Did a quicky in-store adhesive test on a foam door mat and almost had to buy the darned thing. I think the tape will work fine for the foam.

Does the contact cement get hard? My only concern is the carpet glue getting brittle and then failing once the carpet is on the padding. I'm probably over thinking this a bit...

 

[bassboy1]

Does the contact cement get hard? My only concern is the carpet glue getting brittle and then failing once the carpet is on the padding. I'm probably over thinking this a bit...

I don't think the contact cement gets rigid, but I usually use it only to stick the pad to the deck, not the carpet to the pad. I have a hard time laying larger pieces with contact cement without a second person (if a corner drops too soon, it's stuck), so for larger spans, I use a trowel on glue, which I know does not get rigid. When I've installed the pad, I'll use either contact cement or the glue to attach the pad to the deck, then use the glue to attach the carpet to the deck.

I've always had concerns with the pad too, so I tend to make it undersized. It generally gets installed on the bow deck area, not on hatch lids, so I undersize the pad by about 3" all the way around. This gives the carpet 3" of metal to bond to all the way around, which I know it will stick to, and somewhat 'traps' the padding.

This also allows the inside corner where the deck meets the hull side to be bonded solid (assuming you're wrapping the carpet up the sides). The concern there is that if the pad is at the edge of the deck, and someone steps on the edge, the pad will try to compress, but the carpet is still suspended by the side of the boat. Short of gluing in a wrinkle to allow for that movement, the best solution I found was to cut the pad short.

 

[Ranchero50]

Thanks, So far I just used the tape on the pad and it's worked wonderfully. I kept the tap a max of 4" apart. I think I'm going to feather the edge of the foam where the carpet is going to the metal. The deck foam is really dense so I don't expect too much squishiness or wrinkles with that. Some of the other mats (in 3x5 sheets) felt softer but it's in areas that won't have issues from pressure on the corners.

 

[bobberboy]

Does the kind of foam you're using absorb or collect water?

 

[BigTerp]

Ranchero50 » July 19th, 2013, 2:27 pm[/url]"]I picked up some carpet tape a while ago. Did a quicky in-store adhesive test on a foam door mat and almost had to buy the darned thing. I think the tape will work fine for the foam.

Does the contact cement get hard? My only concern is the carpet glue getting brittle and then failing once the carpet is on the padding. I'm probably over thinking this a bit...

This made me laugh!!

What else do you have planned for your boat Jamie? I thought you were pretty much done?

 

[Ranchero50]

bobberboy » Yesterday, 09:36[/url]"]Does the kind of foam you're using absorb or collect water?

It does and doesn't. I had to spray off the caulk I tried and it didn't soak in but got dark and showed wet. The stuff floats pretty well too.

BigTerp » Today, 08:27[/url]"]

This made me laugh!!

What else do you have planned for your boat Jamie? I thought you were pretty much done?

I'm still trying to figure out where to hang my disco ball.

Other than carpet, a radio and some weatherproof storage I'm not sure. I do want reverse and a poly bottom sooner or later.

 

[BigTerp]

Ranchero50 » Today, 1:57 pm
I'm still trying to figure out where to hang my disco ball.

Other than carpet, a radio and some weatherproof storage I'm not sure. I do want reverse and a poly bottom sooner or later.

Sounds good. Not sure if your looking for a straight radio, or something to play your iphone, ipod, etc. on. But I got this.

https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLMRKT2B-Waterproof-Amplifier-6-5-Inch/dp/B009IAP54O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374693101&sr=8-2&keywords=pyle+waterproof+amplifier

I haven't messed with it yet. But if your interested I'll give you a report once I get it installed.