Carpeting Questions

[MadTrafficBand]

Hey everyone! I'm brand new to the forum, and am very excited about getting started on my bus!
Here's the gallery with a few pictures: http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Skooli ... rafficBus/

My main questions are about carpeting the bus and whether I'm completely insane to try carpeting it... without removing the seats.

I researched carpeting techniques and think I've got it pretty much down. All of the conversion buses I've seen so far on this site however have removed their seating in order to lay carpet. I know how to remove the seating, but it seems like such a pain... and then to replace it again afterward?? Ugh. So my idea was to graph out my flooring layout EXACTLY and cut seams where the legs of the chairs are so I can lay the carpeting around them without removing anything. Later, I'll put carpeting adhesive underneath to keep everything together.

Does this sound reasonable to anyone? Haha... It's the end of the summer and I've got to get working on this bus... School starts again soon and the band needs their tour bus!

[Locutus]

There is commecial grade (as opposed to residential grade) carpeting you can get in squares that you lay like tile, with a special adhesive. If laid properly it looks just like wall to wall carpet. I've worked in an office where this was installed. I would recommend trying a product like this if you are going to install carpet without removing the seats.

[MadTrafficBand]

Well, what we really want is maximum seating. Our shortie can seat 9 with seatbelts and has room in the back for band gear and a handicap ramp for loading. I guess I could rent a grinder, but then I'd have to find or build more seating to install. I really just want to get away with the easiest conversion possible. ;)

Also, we checked the laws for short buses and we're good.

The tiled carpet sounds like a great idea! The only problem would be the expense. We just found some craigslist remnants that'll fit perfectly.

Thanks for the advice!

I was also wondering about the process of carpeting... Should I use foam padding and tack strips or just adhesive on the back of the carpet? I feel like just using adhesive would work, but the bus would feel more like a bus and less like a home... lol