Carpet lining and flooring your van
Disclosure: Links marked with (eBay⇒) or (Amazon⇒) are affiliate links. This means I get paid a small commission if you buy something after clicking on the links. This money helps to pay for the running of the website.
A common approach with smaller van conversions is to carpet the walls and ceiling of the van.
This looks smart, helps with insulation and is quite car-like in the effect it achieves. It also isn’t (quite) as difficult as you might think.
I’ve included a photo my van below. We started on the ceiling, thinking it would be hardest (as it’s upside down). In fact, the ceiling was easiest as it was large and flat – more so than the sides and doors…
This isn’t regular carpet – it’s automotive stuff (eBay⇒) with a very short pile and almost no backing, so it’s flexible and relatively thin. If you have a car now, it is probably similar to the stuff used on the floor/gearbox hump/roof lining.
To stick the carpet on, you need lots of contact adhesive (eBay⇒). I used the paint-on type, many people prefer spray alternatives, but make sure you get a good quality glue. Cheaper alternatives tend to soften in hot weather, resulting in your carpet falling off the walls and ceiling…
Good, smelly contact adhesive (eBay⇒):
Click here to buy this on eBay (eBay⇒)
(If you do choose the liquid adhesive option, then despite the instructions on the tin, it is not advisable to paint it directly onto the carpet. This is because you may end up having it soak through and be visible from the outside of the carpet. Use the technique described below, instead)
Before you start, you need to carefully consider how you are going to use the carpet. Obviously a minimum number of visible joins is the goal, which means covering large areas in single pieces where possible, but it isn’t always possible and can be quite wasteful, so you need to strike a balance.
The technique for gluing the carpet (eBay⇒) is as follows:
- Apply a fairly generous layer of adhesive onto the wall/ceiling panel, then press the carpet lightly to it so that it gets a thin layer of adhesive on its backing. (If you are using spray adhesive you may be able to just spray the carpet backing lightly instead.)
- Remove the carpet again straight away and leave the glue to go off for 5-10 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature.
- You are now ready to apply the carpet permanently. Start with one edge and work downwards/outwards, as appropriate. It shouldn’t move around too much but does need to be smoothed out and stuck down carefully and firmly.
Getting a really neat, bubble-free result takes practice, but it isn’t impossible for the beginner. Again, having a willing accomplice makes a lot of difference, especially with large pieces of carpet which are quite unwieldy.
Flooring
There isn’t much to say about flooring. I’ve used both domestic carpet and vinyl floor covering and found that while I like the feel of carpet under my feet, the benefits of vinyl flooring covering easily outweigh this – easy to wash and sweep clean and waterproof against spills.
When I used vinyl, I glued it down. When I used carpet, I just screwed it down around the edges (into the van’s plywood flooring and under the door trim). Both methods worked well.
Next: Furniture…
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Disclaimer: All material is provided for information purposes and is my opinion only. I take no responsibility for the accuracy, suitability, reliability or safety of the information in this guide.
I recently had an email asking whether you could carpet straight onto the walls of a van (without ply-lining or insulating it). I’m not sure this would be a good idea – here’s why:
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There are a number of good reasons to board a van out before you carpet it:
– You can place insulation between the boards and the metal walls of the van – essential to cut down on condensation and help keep the temperature comfortable in cold/hot weather
– It gives you a flat, wooden surface that you can screw furniture and fixings too, etc
– It looks more professional to have flat walls
Technically, you certainly could just glue the carpet to the metal walls of the van but I wouldn’t do it personally, if only because of condensation. Uninsulated metal surfaces (e.g. the whole of the back of the van) will suffer badly from condensation when you sleep/cook in the van. I don’t think that the carpet alone would form an effective insulating layer, so you might end up with damp carpet, which would be unpleasant and take ages to dry out.
Ply-lining (boarding out) a van without having the right templates would be a chore (unless you are good at that kind of thing) but there are companies who provide kits with each piece ready cut – so you just have to screw the boards into place. One such company is http://www.plylineuk.co.uk, although I haven’t used them personally (all of my vans have been secondhand and already boarded).
Bought a minibus to do a camper the roof is a bit tatty ,could I put the carpet straight onto the original ceiling,without taking the old felt carpet of thank you
Hi Meryl,
I’ve never tried this, so I can’t say for sure. But my instinct is that you will have problems sticking carpet to carpet. If you’re desperate/determined (!) one option might be to staple or use carpet tacks as well as glue.
Hope this helps,
Roland
Hi, my van is already lined with ply and I’m about to remove the panels to cover them. I’ve seen lots of photos of vans completed and they look really nice. But I can’t see any visible sign of screwing/fixing the ply back on to the walls of the vans. How do people do this?
Thanks in advance,
Paul.
Hi Paul,
What I think most people do is to carpet the inside of the van with the panels already fitted. So the screwheads are below the carpet. That’s certainly what I did.
Hope this helps,
Roland
Hi just got my first van to ply and carpet,ex BT van.Can you tell me what the carpet is called and where to get it .
Thanks Kevin
Hi Kevin,
It’s automotive carpet lining. If you have a search on eBay or click on my link above then you should find plenty of examples. Alternatively most motorhome conversion companies sell it.
Regards, Roland
Hi. Just bought a van to convert. Can I lift the original flooring, put down insulation and replace original on top, and then carpet or lay vinyl over the top? Or do I need to buy new plywood to replace original flooring?
Hi Lisa,
That depends on the condition of your van’s current flooring. If it’s reasonably clean and sound then there’s no reason not to reuse it. I did with my last van.
Regards, Roland
Thank you Roland for your response! Yes the original flooring is in very good condition and reasonable clean. I will put insulation down and reuse.
Thanks again, Lisa
Hi
I am in process of converting my sprinter van which is already ply lined and sprayed with a type of fibreglass thick film over it, could you tell me if I really need to cover in carpet or lining?
Thanks
If you’re happy with the look and feel of the fibreglass film, then I don’t see why you’d need to carpet.
Cheers,
Roland
Ok thanks Roland do you think it’s insulated enough?
Hi Lawrence, as we don’t know what’s behind the fibreglass and plywood it’s hard to say. I don’t know how much insulation the fibreglass layer will provide.
But personally I probably wouldn’t want to rip it all out unless I was very sure that I needed more insulation!
Cheers, Roland
1) Where did you obtain the carpet material for your van walls and ceiling?
2) What brand of glue do you recommend?
Thanks > Tom
Hi Tom,
I used the Ball Styccobond F60 glue shown in the picture.
I think the carpet came from Autocraft Caravans near Chesterfield, but it’s been a few years now, so I’m not certain. You can get similar products from a number of places.
Regards,
Roland
Hi, I know this thread is years old but hope you still get the messages! I’ve got a ply lined Vivaro, which I’ve lino’d and am now about to carpet it. (I’ve got the 4 way automotive stuff and recommended adhesive spray) I’m thinking of putting the carpet straight on without removing the panels. What I’d like to know, is how do you do the edges of the carpet? Do you somehow tuck them away, what about joins? Can it go straight on to the metal between the panels? I’m only intending to use it as a day van with perhaps occasional sleeps in it, so not too worried about condensation. Also, what tools do you use? Thanks!
Nadia
Hi Nadia,
Getting a neat finish to the edges of the carpet is probably the hardest part of the job! I’m not sure how the professionals do it, but what we did was to have as few joins as possible and try and position the edges so they were in an angle – i.e. where the roof meets the walls of the van. One thing we did to was overlap adjacent sections of carpet to make sure there were no gaps.
Our van was fully ply-lined so there wasn’t much metal left exposed, but we did stick carpet directly to metal in a few places on the rear doors, it didn’t seem to be a problem although it will get wet with condensation sometimes.
Hope this helps — good luck!
Roland
Hi there,can I carpet over a fibreglass overhead cabin,without putting ply in.?The shape is really awkward.What else could I do to insulate it well?thanks,Kerry.
Hi Kerry,
I don’t see a problem with carpeting directly over fibreglass.
For insulation, your choices might be limited. You could try sticking foil insulation (the kind that’s like two layers of silver foil with bubble wrap in between) onto the fibreglass first, then carpet. It might be hard to get a decent finish, though.
Other than that, nothing comes to mind. Does anyone else have any ideas?
Cheers, Roland
How about the polystyrenes thin normal carpet underlay only about 3 m thick, should glue easily on metal and fibreglass and then cover with automotive carpet
Hi , I’ve recently purchased a transit camper which has already been carpet lined ceiling and walls, may seem like a daft question but I wanted to put some strip lightening but unsure how I can fix these to the carpet?
Hi Jill,
Underneath the carpet there’s normally a plywood lining onto which the carpet is stuck. The carpet is quite thin so you should be able to screw through the carpet into the plywood underneath.
Hope this helps,
Roland
I have a 1998 Autosleeper campervan. Some of the lining round the windows has gone brittle and broken away. I live in London and am looking for someone who can strip the old lining away and replace with new. I don’t think its a big job for someone who knows what they are doing but it might be very fiddly. Is there someone you can recommend who could do this for me, preferably in the south of England.
Thanks, Sue
We’ve just bought a T25 which we’ve stripped out the ply and carpet lining due to rust issues to fix. The original carpet is a corded carpet like a normal carpet but without the foam backing should we reuse the panels, fibo wall board or that spray on automotive carpet you mentioned my hubby is a joiner but i’m thinking of the look of the van.
Hi Angela,
The decision about what to reuse and what to replace depends on how original you want the van to be, and what condition the panels and carpet are in. Replacing the carpet could be a difficult decision if you’ve got to change the look. Replacing the panels isn’t such a big deal.
The kind of automotive carpet I used in our conversion won’t look original at all in a T25. So if you want to keep the look, but need new carpet, you may have to hunt around online to see if you can find some original-style carpet.
Hope this helps,
Roland
Hi I have a vivaro its already plyed from previous owner little bit worn but thinking it should still be ok. Going to take it off to insulate it am I right in thinking Cellotex blocks to use? What about where the boards don’t cover the edge of the van where metal is do I just leave it? And cover over with carpet. Also the floor and ceiling how would I go about insulating? And finally thinking of putting some 12v lights in on a battery can I do this after I have the ceiling (remove it again) and walls or do I need to do it first as I’m in decide on this at mo. Sorry for questions. Thanks
Hi Bex,
Most types of insulation will work ok, it really depends on your budget and how much time you want to spend. We found natural wool loft insulation worked well, but there are other equally good/better ways. Regarding the exposed metal bits between the panels, we had these and just covered them with carpet. It was by and large ok, as the carpet provided a barrier and there was no direct contact between the inside of the van and the metal. But again, more thorough approaches are possible.
As for insulating the floor and ceiling, this is what we did:
https://motorhomeplanet.co.uk/motorhome-diy-guide/diy-campervan-conversion-guide/panelling-insulating-the-van
Overall, it worked well. Insulating the floor and ceiling take away headroom but are really worthwhile, especially in hot/cold weather.
One final comment — you really don’t want to remove the carpet once you’ve fitted it. So run all your wiring first at the same time as the insulation. Then refit the panels, with holes drilled and the wires poking out in the correct places. Then carpet last of all. Once it’s stuck down, you can’t easily remove it.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Roland
Hi, any tips on getting the joins neat? For example if I do the roof first then the side, do you overlap the carpet or just piece it in next to the other one as best you can?
Hi Ben,
I overlapped the roof and the walls, but I’m not sure if that’s how a professional would do it. In my opinion, a neatly-cut overlap looks better than a join. And you don’t want any gaps.
Roland
Hi I have a renault traffic van I wanted to carpet the walls and ceiling my previous company took off the ply lining and insulated the bare metal walls and carpeted the ply lining and then screwed the ply lining back up is this the best way of doing it or should I carpet the ply lining while it’s in the van ?
I look forward to your reply
Kind regards
Philip
Hi Phil,
I’ve seen it done both ways. Carpeting the panels before fitting them is much easier. The downside is that you are likely to be left with gaps between the carpeted panels when they’re refitted. This leaves you with exposed metal, which will suffer condensation.
Although it’s more difficult, I would prefer to fit the panels and then carpet the interior as one. I think it looks better, too.
Hope this helps,
Roland
How much glue approx would I need for the ceiling and walls,if it’s the paint on, or how much with cans of spray ,any ideas, thanks
Hi Jill,
We bought two 5-litre tins of Styccobond (as pictured above). We used one completely but didn’t really touch the other.
That was in a short wheelbase/low roof Ford Transit, applying the glue to walls and ceiling.
I’ve not used spray cans, so don’t know how many you’d need.
Hope this helps,
Roland