Carpet tiles for quarterberth?

DennisF

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 Dec 2011
Messages
281
Visit site
Hi all,

I've recently bought a Westerly Berwick, which had a fair amount of mould in the starboard quarterberth, and collapsing lining in the port one. I've fixed the source of the mould (unfilled holes from an autohelm fitting by previous owner) but had to strip out the lining to treat fibreglass and use fungicide.

I'm now debating what to reline the quarterberths with. Carpet has been used by a previous owner in fore cabin, and this seems to work OK. It strikes me that rubber backed carpet tiles would seem to be easier to work with than rolls of carpet or rolls of vinyl, but thought I should seek the wisdom of the Forum before committing! :)

Best wishes,

Dennis
 
My Centaur was lined by the previous owner in that van lining material (looks like carpet). He did both quarter berths and they look excellent! A very nice snug place to kip. I think that carpet tiles will be way too thick to fit the contours. If you make up a rough template and do the 'ceiling' first, then you can be more accurate with the sides and as the lining fabric is very flexible, they can overlap.

I suggest you also put a switchable LED light down at the end there before you do the lining.

Di
 
My Centaur was lined by the previous owner in that van lining material (looks like carpet). He did both quarter berths and they look excellent! A very nice snug place to kip. I think that carpet tiles will be way too thick to fit the contours. If you make up a rough template and do the 'ceiling' first, then you can be more accurate with the sides and as the lining fabric is very flexible, they can overlap.

I suggest you also put a switchable LED light down at the end there before you do the lining.

Di
Thanks for this. The quarterberth was lined with a foam backed carpet, but the van lining sounds like a good solution. I'll look into it.

Best wishes,

Dennis
 
Hi Dennis, my solution on another boat (not the Vivacity) was pound land camping mats glued to the grp then van lining on that. Still there on the boat after 2 years and no sign of it failing. It's what I'll be doing my Longbow with when I can face stripping the old droopy lining out
 
Cheers Steve. I'll look into the camping mats idea - would provide a bit of insulation which might help reduce condensation.
 
Van lining is good because it's designed to stretch a little to cover curves.

My only concern with a soft surface like that would be it getting damp again and not being able to be cleaned. My plan for Kindred Spirit's quarter berth was to buy thin (3 or 4 mm) ply and cut shallow V-grooves in it with a pointed router bit. These would simulate traditional tongue-and-groove planking and also allow it to curve easily to fit the hull side. I was going to paint it white with eggshell or gloss paint. Although we sold the boat before ever getting round to that :)

The van stuff will probably be fine.

Pete
 
I used bathroom carpet (rubber backed) on my Pentland aft cabin a few years back & still very pleased with the results. It isn't that hard to cut it to shape in situ with a Stanley knife & then glue in place when happy.
 
Carpet tiles are a good solution, you can and shape to go around curves, I have avoided the rubber backed tiles on the basis that should any water get in behind them you would not know.

They help to solve the problem of condensation forming of the surface of the hull and make a good replacement for head liners as well, also more comfortable all round.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
>It strikes me that rubber backed carpet tiles would seem to be easier to work with than rolls of carpet or rolls of vinyl

I used carpet tile much easier to cut and fit and no adhesive.
 
Just be careful about adhesives in confined spaces; I knew someone who lined their quarterberth and ended up feeling awful, high as a kite for quite some time !

There was a Mobo blew up a couple of years ago while the owner was using a solvent based glue. Apparently the fridge pilot light ignited the fumes. Quite a nasty accident & not something you would necessarily consider when risk assessing the task.
 
I have used adhesive carpet tiles from the pound shop 3 for a £1, £3 a square yard. No problems, except where the surface was not clean and then solved with carpet adhesive spray.
 
There was a Mobo blew up a couple of years ago while the owner was using a solvent based glue. Apparently the fridge pilot light ignited the fumes. Quite a nasty accident & not something you would necessarily consider when risk assessing the task.
I saw that years ago at home. Parquet tiles being laid in the living room. Pilot light on the gas fire. I was sat outside; luckily just out of the line of fire. The two guys who were doing the job weren't so lucky but, fortunately, they weren't too badly burnt. They said they had never seen a gas fire with a pilot light before.
 
Thanks for all the comments. Interesting to see that carpet tiles may be a possibility. Time to have a look at the options me thinks......
 
Thanks for all the comments. Interesting to see that carpet tiles may be a possibility. Time to have a look at the options me thinks......

When we had to replace the carpet on the flooor of our Moody 31, we were advised that carpet tiles didn't have enough "give" and were too inflexible to fit on complex curves. We used "glue backed carpet" - no, it isn't self-adhesive, it refers to a type of very flexible and stretchy backing that readily takes up complex shapes. It was relatively easy to fit, and double-sided carpet tape worked well to hold it in place.
 
When we had to replace the carpet on the flooor of our Moody 31, we were advised that carpet tiles didn't have enough "give" and were too inflexible to fit on complex curves. We used "glue backed carpet" - no, it isn't self-adhesive, it refers to a type of very flexible and stretchy backing that readily takes up complex shapes. It was relatively easy to fit, and double-sided carpet tape worked well to hold it in place.

I think I need to visit a carpet place and have a look at the things in the flesh to look at how stiff the are. I'll ask about the different types of carpet too. Thanks to everyone for the advice.
 
2qu3p6b.jpg


Here is my quarter berth. I think it looks quite smart. The wrinkle effect at the back is caused by something under the fabric.

I did take some carpet tiles down to the boat to replace the flooring with, however, they are so stiff that I couldn't be bothered to attempt to fit them and will be getting a nice flexible easy to cut carpet instead. In my opinion, carpet tiles would be a pain to fit, compared to the van stuff.

Di
 
Top