Carpet is sometimes overlooked in a van build - despite its low cost and general ease of installation, it tends to be an after-thought. Which is a problem, because you can't fit a carpet once all the furniture is installed unless you want to cut around everything. And that might seem fine, but what if you decide to move or replace something later?

Gaping hole, that's what. No thanks.

So, when it came time for carpet fitting, I first prepared the floor for the advent of liquid spillage - something I hadn't done in mk2. Using spray glue, I stuck two thin sheets of polythene to the floor and walls (up to the cargo rails) before putting the carpet down. A spill would now stop right after penetrating the thin carpet, eventually drying out without causing any problems. Overlooking this in mk2 meant that when the inevitable spill occurred (and it was a dramatic one), the wooden floor became saturated, and then the liquid sat on the metal for a year, rotting a good part of the wheel arch.

Well, that's been repaired (time consuming) and the whole floor's been replaced (expensive).
I've learned an important lesson.

With the polythene glued down, I used the cargo rails (those metal bars along both walls) to secure one end of the carpet to the wall, and unrolled the carpet across the space, stapling it to the wall and floor as I went, and cutting slits to accommodate the wheel arch boxes. Then, I just clamped the other end of the carpet in place with the other cargo rail and sliced the remainder off with a razor knife.

A nice new carpet makes everything feel more homely.

Building furniture on top of the carpet is no big deal and if I later change my mind about things (as I did, several times), there are no gaping holes in the carpet. Happy days. Onward!