Diary Of A Camper Conversion
It’s not a normal thing to do in a house, but stretch carpet is all the rage in the campervanning world. And I can see why…
…it’s very forgiving when you fuck it up!
I started on the grand task – finally – but as I have been really busy in the run up to an event this weekend, I only found 2 afternoons to work on the van. I had wished it to be more complete by now, but such is life.
Cutting the carpet to half the width of the van ceiling, I used clamps to hold it up in place to check it would actually cover the whole area and make sure it was running parallel to the van. I didn’t want to get most of the way through the job sticking it down, only to find out it was wonky and have to pull it all off again.
Satisfied it was aligned I used the spray glue and lots of patience to firmly and smoothly stick it in place. I did it in sections and used my hands to hold it tight and flat as it stuck to the ceiling boards. This left raggedy bits down each side.
I cut these as close to the wall as possible with scissors before applying a little more spray glue and then smoothing it into place. Unfortunately, this is where my exuberance with the glue got away from me and in a few places i got it on the top surface of the carpet. I’m not sure what will get it off, but I’ll have to try later, because lumpy fluff is just unsightly!
Finally, I used a paint scraper to tuck the last bit of carpet into the gap between the wall and the ceiling. This gave it a really nice crisp edge without any fixings showing.
I had ordered enough medium grey carpet to line the whole van but this would have meant the bedroom area would just be a huge grey cave. So I now have a load of this left over as I ordered some nearly black/grey, anthracite, for the ceiling. This gives it a nice contrast and a cosy feel, even if it is a bit darker.
Just one more wall to finish off…
And the pillars behind the seats…
Oh and the small bit of wall over the sliding door…
And the electrical box cover…
Not forgetting the over cab locker door…
Ok so there are a few more things to carpet yet…