Do It Yourself (DIY)
Seagrass Matting Installations
How to install seagrass matting:
Seagrass matting is one of the easiest of our natural floorcoverings to install.
1. Firstly Vacuum all dust & loose material from the sub-floor, then it is advisable to lay out the matting in the direction that wastes the minimum amount of material.
2. Usually where possible, start the first run by skirting the matting up against the first two walls or skirting boards if they are 90° angle to each other, this eliminates the need to cut-in the first two walls, whilst leaving the remainder of a square up the opposite wall(s) or it can be cut in net with a knife or shears.
If there are doorway drops on either of these skirted walls, it is a lot easier to simply leave these drops or doorway areas until last, using off-cuts from the job to fill these areas.
3. The next decision comes down to the surface you are install the matting on, the smoother the surface the more the matting will need to be Fix in place as excessive movement of this type of matting is not recommended even though the seagrass matting squares are sewn together with a strong jute thread.
NB: Furniture will assist in holding the matting in place to a certain degree !
4. If you have a Non-slip surface (rough concrete or over carpet etc.) lay out the majority of the matting and start cutting in net to the perimeter walls and then skip to step 6.
5. However, if you have a smooth surface where by the matting slips back & forth when you push your foot on the matting in a forward motion, it would be advisable either to do one of the following;
a) Staple the matting down if you have a Timber floor, using the following installation method, with or without the assistance of Glue.
b) Glue the matting down applying small blobs of liquid nails randomly to the area or you can make any type of grid pattern with say a 3~5mm height beads of liquid nails, then carefully lay the matting into glue whilst wet(if glue comes through the matting use less), the weight of the matting should be sufficient or you can grab a length of timber to apply enough pressure to push the adhesive into the back of the matting, at this stage you can leave the matting in place to dry, during this time do not drag furniture over the matting for an hour or two or until the glued has reasonably dried where it is not sliding around. (If you happen to mess this up & miss a few areas, you can simply cut between a few squares or squeeze the adhesive in between the small gaps with the application nozzle) |
6. To stop the fraying of the seagrass squares that have been cut to the perimeter and/or doorways, it is best to apply a 3mm bead of PVA glue on TOP of the outer edge of the cut squares, then using your finger to rub the PVA glue into the matting (I use an old tooth brush to rub the PVA glue into the matting), we recommend to use Aquadhere or Maxibond brands of PVA glue as the best quality as these PVA brands dry clear and is easy to clean up with tap water afterwards.
NB: You can also use PVA glue OR any Clear silicon to adhere the matting together or to the floor, however it takes a lot longer for these types of glue to dry and you defiantly should NOT want to walk on the flooring during drying as it will weaken the bonding of the material to the sub floor.
Tools & Materials needed:
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TOOLS:
- Steel tape measure.
- Cartridge gun to apply Liquid Nails or Silicon. (available from most hardware stores).
- Sharp Stanley type Knife and/or hobby Sheers for cutting the carpet to shape.
- Narrow head staple gun (if planning to staple down).
MATERIALS:
- PVA (wood work) glue to stop the lifting or fraying of cut squares. (a good quality PVA glue dries clear)
- Any Liquid nails adhesive to glue the matting to the sub floor (clear Silicon takes longer to dry).
- Fishing line or sail makers thread can be useful if you want to sew the squares together.
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