Summary

Fix the hole in your car floor mat.

This is not really a hack, just an odd use for a laser cutter.

This is the 2nd time I've had to fix this mat. The first time was seven years ago, and since then the repaired section has itself worn out and needs replacing.

The problem

The floor mat in my truck has a hole, right under the gas pedal.

The solution

I noticed someone on Craigslist had brand new toyota floor mats on the "free" list. Apparently the new mats came with a used vehicle they purchased, and they didn't need the mats. So for the price of driving 10 miles I got some "new carpet" stock for repairing my own vehicle carpets.

The new hole in my mat was on the edge of the original hole (the newly worn section was on the border of the original mat and the repair carpet), so in retrospect the original repair was off center a little.

To compensate, the new repair will use a larger cutout.

Step 1: Debriding

Center the laser on the carpet pad, and cut out a 150mm circle.

Step 2: Make a replacement

Cut a similar hole in fresh carpet

Step 3: Apply carpet tape

Using carpet tape, fix the newly cut replacement to the original pad.

Step 4: Final results

I don't really care that the color doesn't match my original pads exactly, it's just nice to have a fresh piece of carpet under my foot. Seven more years of use on that carpet!