Sticking in the Headlining

I think this is the job that I have dreaded the most because basically, if we mess it up, we have to start again with the insulation and the headlining. I think I would rather place my head in a toilet and flush.

It is more or less the same procedure as sticking in the carpet except that the headlining has more of a propensity to fold back on itself. Not fun trying to pry it apart. The other issue of course is that the substrate you are going onto has to be smooth or else all the lumps and bumps will show through the headlining. 

We mostly managed to get the headlining stuck down to our satisfaction, except for one section, where you can see the shape of 5 bolts, which go through to the deck. To remedy this, we have pulled the headlining in that small section back off. Unfortunately, it has taken the insulation in that section off with it. Fortunately, it is only a small section and we can replace the insulation. To remedy the bolts creating hideous bumps, which can be seen through the headlining, we will need to try and pad it out. I'm not quite certain howt we are going to pad it out but I am sure we will figure it out.

As a small additional note regarding the self adhesive insulation: the adhesive properties are not nearly as good as I would have expected them to be. We have had to go back over quite a few sections and stick them down with contact adhesive.

Carpets & Glue Fumes

The carpeting was an interesting challenge, both in terms of cutting it out and sticking it in. The cutting out proved to be quite difficult as the carpet is quite thick and extremely strong in terms of its construction. I had purchased a cutter specifically for carpets but it simply would not push through the carpeting. I imagine it would work well with cheap thin carpet but it didn't even dent the seagrass. Eventually, John and I resorted to a stanley knife with and the back of an old sketch pad as a cutting mat. This at least managed to cut through the carpet, with multiple blade changes.

Sticking the carpet in was another matter entirely. We used contact adhesive to do this and my goodness, the fumes were absolutely awful. We both wore masks but it was still rather pungent. I honestly do not know how anyone could choose to be a glue sniffer. Clearly, I am not cut out for it. Anyway, the biggest issue was in making certain that when we put the carpet in place, that it was perfect as there was no removing it once it had made contact. This proved to be a rather interesting challenge, especially with the larger panels and working in a restricted amount of space. Firstly, we had to make certain the carpet did not stick to itself and we had to make certain it was stuck exactly where we wanted it to be stuck..... as a result, I am absolutely dreading sticking in the headlining, as we will be using the same glue!! There will be no room for error.

Looking at the seagrass carpeting, I am really pleased we chose it. It will add extra insulation, it is hard wearing and it looks really good!