But, foil is very effective as a vapor barrier and if you use an insulation scheme that includes a vapor barrier like this, you want to make sure that its sealed very well to prevent any condensation from sneaking past it and getting trapped hence filling gaps with spray foam and covering over with foil tape. Im anxious in a good way! But if you instead used 1/2 XPS foam sheets, you wouldnt have to build a frame, youd save 1/2, and youd be at R-3. Hi Mehrdad, I completely agree. Weve seen some discussion about using insulating paint like Lizard Skin as an alternative to standard insulation in van builds. Applying good building practices to a van would suggest insulation should not be stuck directly to the outer skin (i.e. Read More Creating Our Mobile Log Cabin: Easy Steps to Staining a VanContinue. Read more. The product isnt made for outdoors, especially sun & moisture exposure. It's a decision around a quarter of a million households have also made in the past decade. I cant offer an opinion at this point, but I do plan on doing some testing with ceramic coatings to investigate their utility as insulation for campervans. This post should cut through some of the confusion you may have about insulation, so you can get your van built and get out there on the road! Im personally a fan of insulating as well as possible, but Im not certain of the best technique for eliminating thermal breaks in a van at this time. They have downsides and proper installation is key, but it all depends on your priorities. We need to do a write up on this. Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Most of the interior metal walls & ceiling are covered w natural wood. You can cut holes into the walls and blow the insulation into the frame. You will also want to reduce thermal bridging as much as possible to prevent as much heat from escaping as you can. High Precision, Greater Yield Foam Spray Insulation Gun, One Hand Adjustment, 2' Long Nozzle We have a Fan-Tastic Vent installed on our van that works well, but we recommend going with aMaxxFan Deluxe due to its built-in rain cover and lower profile. It is so superior to alternatives because it is extremely lightweight, waterproof, fireproof, mold proof and also easy to access, easy to use, and cheap. Insulation is optional, proper equipment is not. This is Money is part of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday & Metro media group. While someone could shoot for the best possible insulation scheme using the best possible materials, some of these materials cost a whole lot of money and are not accessible for the average DIY builder. This probably helps a bit, but obviously does not fully eliminate the thermal bridge. It has now faded, crumbled and is useless. Really good article, thanks! To your opinion could those be a good idea as a solution for insolation, including floor, walls and sealing or not? The theory is that gluing the foam directly to the van walls (and making sure any cracks, etc, are completely sealed off) will eliminate any air gap where condensation could form, and also increase the effectiveness of the foam board against heat conducting through the van walls. I may have missed it, but whats the best insulation or way to avoid moisture and mold once its closed in? I will always follow this site. Theres a bit of a debate on this question, and the answer really depends on your overall setup. Hey just wanted to post a side note to the great stuff spray foam make sure its a nice warm day and it sets up so that you dont have it seeping from the walls later after it warms up. I had to use a spray on adhesive to glue it onto the bottom sheets of coroplast; that RV makers use to seal the bottom of a travel trailer. It bonds in under a minute and holds very well. However, I dont have access to Havelock Wool. I ask because I have cardiac and respiratory issues and mold and mildew is a huge problem for me. I am 6ft4 and desperately seeking the best way to insulate the bottom and top of the fan without taking too much space. Best of luck! There are good use cases for both, but it depends on what you value more. Canned spray foam like Great Stuff is fairly inexpensive, and does a great job at filling gaps, cracks, and hard-to-reach areas like your vehicle frame. But if youre doing a fully custom buildout that involes gutting the van anyway (or youre planning on spending time in very cold places), then I would definitely take the time to insulate. One of our favorite van add-ons. But I am not sure about it, maybe it would be better to put 2 polyiso on ceiling and 1 XPS on walls? While Reflectix does have an R-value, its very minimal (about R-1), and its very costly for what you get. I will be placing an oreder shortly. I recently saw someone put spray foam into the channels on the floor of the van and then level it off when dry so the floor is then flat and I suppose half insulated in terms of area. One thing to consider is that with the Thinsulate SM600L youre getting about R-5.2, whereas with the 2 batts from Havelock youre getting R-7. Hope that clarifies! Although XPS is slightly cheaper than polyiso by the sheet, it also has a slightly lower R-value per inch. Rather than gluing it directly to the wall. I would like to share with you how I insulated my 96 ford window ext van for FREE. We actually did not cover the holes in our van. Thank you so much! I just looked into Prodex, and its a similar idea to Reflectix, only its foam core instead of bubble wrap. Im in the process of updating this page to more heavily recommend non-toxic options like sheeps wool and Thinsulate for van insulation. We wrote a bit about this in our first insulation post. View 1275 homes for sale in Marietta, GA at a median listing home price of $445,000. Hi Kimli, so glad you enjoy the site! Hope that helps! When I briefly looked into them in the past, many industrial solutions seemed like there wasnt a lot of data related to residential applications (thus making them tough to compare to other materials), the cost was prohibitive, and/or sourcing was difficult. Insulate for hot climate for us. Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is another type of rigid foam board insulation thats also widely used. Thank you. They would be more like an l beam. Hi Mike, thanks for the tip! It also works as a sound dampener. **Note: While we generally think polyiso is the best overall choice for foam board insulation, if youre regularly in extreme cold environments you may want to consider XPS instead. Amazon.com: spray foam insulation. Having spray foam professionally installed would likely eliminate much of the headache of doing it, namely incorrect installation. how did you get the reflextix to stay on your windows? Take a look at armaflex or K-flex with adhesive back in a roll. Make templates out of cardboard. VERDICT: Use this if you cant find polyiso. what are some examples of how you could do it wrong for using the closed foam spray? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 298,453 times. Its also naturally resistant to mold and mildew, has some sound deadening properties, and even helps purify your air. Those flooring mats could be a good sound deadener, though, so one option would be to use them on floor/walls/celing and layer XPS over it for increased insulation. You could use sheeps wool batting under the plywood floor, but because its not a rigid insulation you would need to build a frame to support the floor above it. Thanks so much!!! : This was a great very well done article and these open comments can open up more ideas and improvements. Why not with some sounds damping material and maybe a spray foam or something? Thank you for a great site and all the great information. Wow amazing! Does the polyiso foil side face toward the van or toward the inside cargo area? Rock wool has a higher R-value per inch than fiberglass, and its rigidity makes it much more durable and easier to work with. Hi Gary, thanks for the comment. And here is a chart comparing the R-values of insulation that includes cork Cork is one of the better materials out there. We did not do this in our van, but adding a layer of insulation over the ribs should increase the total R-value of your van. Also add reflectix to both sides to add some protection to the panels. We dont blame you, because theyre awesome. But, Thinsulate has the lowest R-value per inch of any insulation material we look at here. These instructions are for insulating your van with foam board. I am UK based and although not the cheapest insulation, cork is widely available here (I remember using self-adhesive cork tiles in my first VW conversion 20 years ago!). Thank you for making it so easy to follow yet still have the info about each thing. However, if you were to cover them up I would recommend doing so with a fiberglass patch kit (available in most hardware stores). The product isnt made for outdoors, especially sun & moisture exposure. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. This is generally our preferred method, but foam board works well also if youre mindful about sealing everything off. Wool is very breathable and also hydrophobic, so any condensation can easily evaporate out with proper ventilation. Our goal here is to compare different insulation materials on a 1-to-1 basis that the layperson can understand, so we calculated R-value per inch for all materials rather than go with something like total R-value or K-value. Install a layer of Havelock wool directly next to the metal of the wall or ceiling. Hi Jim, thanks so much for commenting and for sharing these tips! Hope that helps! The insulation itself will provide some sound deadening, but adding a dedicated sound deadener like Noicos sound deadening matto your vans bare metal before insulating will help keep road noise to a minimum. Cougar House Ep. The average cost of spray foam insulation is $1,300 to $4,000 installed. Thank you . Our curtains are reversible, so we can reflect heat out in hot weather and keep it inside in cold weather. *** 014: Safe Cracker (4.75) Eric takes Margo to the Bank. Exhibitionist & Voyeur 08/09/19: Cougar House Ep. ), its only 1/4 thick so it takes up less height in the van, and on the wheel well specifically theres a good amount of open space around it so we do see the benefit of the airgap there. ), Why You Need Proper Ventilation in Your Van. Did you cover them from the inside or the outside? Weve camped out in much colder weather (down into low 20s/upper teens), but we definitely need to bundle up and run the heater right up until bedtime when its that cold. Thanks so much John! Im getting about the same as well, when I price out just the same square footage. This article was so helpful in trying to filter the many options and related pros and cons of each material. The Reactor 2 E-30 electric spray foam machine provides next-gen technology for spray foam insulation.Each feature on the E-30 was strategically designed for your business, including software and hardware enhancements for better spray performance, remote access to controls, and unmatched job site data. VERDICT: Recommended for window coverings and large cavities. As a fulltimer, interior climate control is one of the most important factors in your overall comfort levels. Hi Olive, so glad our blog has been helpful! So the inside edges of the ribs are pretty much straight (vertical), the opposite edge follows the curve of the van wall top to bottom. Even if we went down the route of spraying with closed-cell foam, which is becoming popular, there can be no guarantee that every nook and cranny behind the subsequent inner wall will be filled with the stuff, especially within the struts. Did you use a vapour barrier? If you spend a lot of time in very cold weather, it might be a good idea to put up thermal breaks, which are basically non-conductive materials (i.e. Thanks for the suggestion! BLOCK 95% OF THE RADIANT HEAT with CLASSIC. Foam insulation is cheap, easily available at big box hardware stores, and insulates well. I am planning to convert either a use Sienna or Odyssey by striping it down (a la Forestry Forest van in youtube), live in it and come back home to South FL from time to time. Your incorrect with the issue of mood and rock wool. My wife and I love the idea of traveling around the states in a van while working remotely for a few years. Reflecting sunlight away from your van as much as possible is the best way to combat this. Cork boards under the flooring and on the ceiling, granulated cork for in-filling the walls and door cavities. What could be cheaper and help save our planet and reduce our landfills and our polluting factories? Do you think there would be any benefit to something like this? XPS also has a high R-value (R-5 per inch) and is slightly cheaper than polyiso. Excellent!! 'I needed to sell my home to move closer to my 90-year-old uncle who has moved into a care home,' says Lorna. Beyond that, you want to insulate in a way that will slow heat penetration, but also allow your van to quickly cool off when the sun goes down. Shade. You can always add more after it sets. To use Rockwool as an example, an R-15 batt of Roxul Comfortbatt brand rock wool (view at Lowes.com) has a thickness of 3.5. See pricing and listing details of Marietta real estate for sale. How much should we budget? Sheeps wool is easier to install, is more environmentally friendly, and is nontoxic, but it definitely is not as efficient in terms of pure R-value. When the curtains are down, the magnets stick to the metal around the window. One thing you dont mention that I think is valuable to know for van insulation is that both XPS and EPS have a max service temperature of 165F, and under hot sunny conditions (particularly for non-white vans) the sheet metal can reach these temps. I cant find any indirect coolers at 12v. That said, if youre careful and have the budget it can be a good option. In terms of general vanlife inspiration, these two platforms have it in spades. But, wondered if youd had anymore exposure to cork builds in the last couple of years? Hope that helps! Insulation only slows down mother nature, it takes proper equipment to truly keep you comfortable. Florida or somewhere similar) then insulation may do more harm than good. Its really helpful and thorough. As far as insulating the floor channels, thats something you could also do with foam board if you dont want to mess with spray foam. We installed our fan before insulating, and insulating around the fan was a matter of cutting the insulation to shape (we used polyiso foam board). https://web.ornl.gov/sci/buildings/2016/docs/presentations/principles/principles-01/Principles01_Paper159_Letts.pdf. Its widely recommended for diy van builds, but its also widely misunderstood. Both good things to note, Ill make sure to update the post soon. So its important to understand that R-value in and of itself is kind of worthless because you most often need to optimize your R value within a given dimensional constraint (overall insulate system thickness) because your van space is valuable.
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