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Old 01-12-2015, 02:55 PM   #21
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According to this with a 20% waste allowance it will be < 650 for a kit to do it myself. I put the sq footage as a generic 250. Does this sound right?http://www.sprayfoamkit.com/land/project_estimator.html

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Old 01-12-2015, 03:18 PM   #22
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According to this with a 20% waste allowance it will be < 650 for a kit to do it myself. I put the sq footage as a generic 250. Does this sound right?http://www.sprayfoamkit.com/land/project_estimator.html
250sq/ft sounds like just the floor to me. 7.5x30ish right? Are you planing to spray the walls and ceiling? I'm no expert, but I am pretty sure you need to measure the sq/ft on the sides and top as well...
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Old 01-12-2015, 03:25 PM   #23
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I need to do some checking, but my plan is to do the sides and ceiling and go with something else on the floors. I may spray foam underneath the bus from below.
I'm just not going to give up much if any headroom.
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Old 01-12-2015, 03:29 PM   #24
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Yeah, you folks were right. when I put in the right dimensions the price jumped to 1600. I'll pass on that.
Maybe foam boards and great stuff are my best option.
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Old 01-12-2015, 03:42 PM   #25
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From all the info I have read on here for the last several years, the place you want to spend as much as you possibly can, is insulation. I don't think I have read a single thread that stated they had too much insulation. You have time on your hands and metal skills if I remember your skill-set correctly, do a 12" roof raise and insulate like hell. Give up the idea of roof A/C's and go with the tried and true, easy to replace and cheap 5 or 6K btu window units above the rear door and windshield. That is $800 saved right there and a load of headaches gone. Both Bansil and Lorna Have good pics and write-up on the A/C installs.
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Old 01-12-2015, 03:51 PM   #26
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I simply don''t have the equipment these days to be doing any roof raising. And I agree about insulation. But I don't HAVE the money to buy the BEST. So I will just make do. Who knows, maybe someone with a nice govt "rebate" check will buy this motorcycle off me and I'll have more cash. Anyone want a ZRX1200 that's been sitting for three years?
I'm trying to keep this bus sorta simple, though.
I can buy a high headroom 300 hp beast when I'm closer to actual retirement. Right now I'm on an extended low budget vacation.
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Old 01-23-2015, 02:25 PM   #27
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glad I found this post... I am just beginning to work on a 96 bluebird. Insulation was my first concern also since I am in Idaho and winters can get a little cold as well. Are you guys talking about actually framing against the interior walls and roof then adding insulation between the existing wall and the new interior wall? also ceiling? I am right at 6 ft tall and already a bit concerned about head room....
sorry for the dumb questions but I am obviously a newby and trying to learn from others miscomings... lol
thanks in advance,
Clay
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Old 01-23-2015, 02:33 PM   #28
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I"ve torn all the sheet metal out of the inside, and am replacing the fiberglass batting with foam board and some great stuff.
Leaving the factory stuff may be ok with a newer bus in warmer areas but its still gonna get pretty warm in the summers. Foam and luan will be replacing steel and fiberglass. The only headroom I'll really be losing will be whatever flooring and insulation I go with there.
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Old 01-23-2015, 03:35 PM   #29
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I cant stress enough the advantages of using poly-iso foam boards over the poly-styrene boards--they have an r-value of close to 7 per inch thickness. More expensive but more better!
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Old 01-23-2015, 03:59 PM   #30
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The purple iso stuff at Lowes that I plan to buy is one inch and it is 7.
I'm going to look for some 2 inch or double up on 1".
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Old 01-23-2015, 04:03 PM   #31
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2 inch is definitely out there! I have 3" boards in my bus that I got for $.50/sq ft!
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Old 01-23-2015, 04:05 PM   #32
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Since I'm in Fl, there is likely much less selection of insulation.
I'm going to have to go to an 84 lumber to get any real selection.
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Old 01-23-2015, 06:54 PM   #33
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glad I found this post... I am just beginning to work on a 96 bluebird. Insulation was my first concern also since I am in Idaho and winters can get a little cold as well. Are you guys talking about actually framing against the interior walls and roof then adding insulation between the existing wall and the new interior wall? also ceiling? I am right at 6 ft tall and already a bit concerned about head room....
sorry for the dumb questions but I am obviously a newby and trying to learn from others miscomings... lol
thanks in advance,
Clay
I am still in the planning, brain-storming research and bus-shopping phase, but I plan to do a total strip of the interior minus the very front drivers portion of the bus. I may be stretching it with taking away 1.5 to 2 inches with 1 inch wooden ribs fastened to the contours of the metal ribs (to get another inch of spray foam in there and have something that's easier to fasten things to) and then either some tongue and groove or sheets of plywood (probably what's cheaper, the plywood). Then, insulating the floor with 1 or 2 inch poly-iso foam board and a hardwood floor on top of that. So, take your normal bus headroom and minus 2.5-4 inches and I start to get a little worried. I am ~69 inches, as I shop I'll have to keep an eye on taller roofs.

Anyone have some suggestions for what buses were made with more headroom?
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Old 01-23-2015, 07:17 PM   #34
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Carpenters often have more headroom, I've also seen AmTran (aka International) buses spec'd with high-headroom as an option--I own one, but its only another maybe 4 inches, though every bit counts!
You could just cut the roof off and add another 20" ;) Everybluebird I've seen has had the same height of about 73 or so inches.

Im sure others can chime is as well. It's too bad that the areas that are best-served by insulation are the ceiling and floor which are also the most precious dimensions for us tall people!
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Old 01-24-2015, 07:50 AM   #35
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This is going to sound a bit silly but if you are planning some sort of deck or P/V array on the roof, couldn't you insulate on the outside as well? Under the deck or solar panels do something like this:


Maybe cover the sides from the windows to the deck/panels with fiberglass or sheet metal for protection. This would provide a significant thermal break and could save some precious inches of headroom, while still getting 4"+ or insulation.

By the way this is in Nome, Alaska.
I have thought about similar concepts for a semi van trailer. If the unit is 96" wide outside width, then one would have 6" available to put insulation and siding on the outside. But if the unit is already 102" wide, then inside insulation would be your only method.

Condensation is a matter of humidity level and temperature differential. There are charts out there to show what humidity level is needed inside at what temps, to keep condensation to a minimum. But one does have to have air exchange in some way to keep oxygen levels inside proper. Any furnace or wood burning stove will take oxygen to support the flame. New oxygen must come in to keep things safe and livable.
Google "air exchanger basics" and you will get some ideas that maybe you even build something yourself to keep the incoming air warmed up.

I'm glad this thread is getting attention. Insulation is something I am struggling to figure out as well. Though my winters are not near as cold as Michigan.

I read something on another site that running a ceiling fan or some sort of small circulation fan can really help keep condensation down when temps outside drop very low. That seems why many hvac systems tend to install outlets near windows. Keeps the air circulating around the worst heat loss areas.
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:09 AM   #36
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I have been leaning towards leaving in the original bus windows (but, sealing them well around their edges and installing gutters the length of the bus) where I still want windows to be. I'll be shutting up at least half of them with sheet metal. Which I don't know yet wether tho pay someone tho weld it or do it with pop rivets and some kind of J.B. weld type adhesive.
Anyways, for the winter I'm thinking of routing out a bevel in the wood framing around the windows that an extra framed in pane with weather stepping fits in and is latched. This certainly will not be perfectly airtight, hopefully it's enough air exchange between all its imperfections in the windows, doors and hatches. From what I've read, unless you are going through extensive measures for a completely airtight home, there are enough air leaks for proper air exchange. But, I do plan on putting smaller DC fans above both wood stove to push a little warm air around.
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:17 AM   #37
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...do it with pop rivets and some kind of J.B. weld type adhesive.
Using JB Weld will get expensive and is unnecessary. You'd be fine with just rivets and a sealer between the metal seams. I used Acousti-Seal as a seam sealer. It is black, butyl rubber; similar to an automotive seam sealer like this: Dinatron Auto Seam Sealer. The only differences I could tell are that the Acousti-Seal is a bit softer and cheaper. It has worked well for me so far, except that clean-up is a pain! Use lots of mineral spirits.
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:36 AM   #38
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Closed end rivets and sealer are what I'm going with.
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Old 01-24-2015, 10:38 AM   #39
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I suggest that you substitute the wood around your windows with a non-rotting plastic "wood". The metal frames of all windows, single or dual pane, will create a thermal bridge and create the potential for condensation. While my single pane original bus windows do not normally sweat during cooking and normal living (I also am currently living in a dry dessert), taking a nice hot steamy shower is another matter. You need exhaust vents for that. So far the best vent I have found is a Vent-line Thru-the-wall style. I use it for my "range hood" vent over the range. Unfortunately it sucks all my nice warm heater air out in the winter... and all my nice cooled air out in the summer. Once I get the windows trimmed out (with one of the plastic wood trims), I will add a removable interior "storm" panel which will be a single sheet of clear plexiglass that will fit into the window trim creating a double pane effect with "dead air" as the insulator. I want to be able to remove the panel during nice weather and open my windows since I don't care for being in a shut up house.

Insulation will be added under the floor once I get to FL and get settled into a mobile home park (yes, mobile home not RV... cheaper to rent a site in a mobile home park, especially in FL, since I won't need the RV park amenties...except wifi and I can get that from the local cable company). Right now I only have the fiberglass batt insulation David stuffed under the floor last winter. It was a temp solution and he had planned on removing it before we were to leave out.

If I find I need more roof insulation later, I would use the same method George Myers used. A synopsis of his method is here and I would buy the notes he sells to get more details on how he did it. While his bus is a highway coach, the frames are similar. With a few modifications, I believe it would work for me.

Living in cold weather conditions is a pain. You need to make sure all your waterlines have been heat-taped and insulated (you need to be able to replace heat tapes since they do wear out and fail). I also have part of my drains heat taped as well since the valves can and will freeze up. I heat taped my "p" trap under the shower too (it's under the bus floor). I have discovered that pumping all my water from my holding tank is a plus. I have not had that freeze up and temps have been down to 4F overnight. David was from MI and he told me temps regularly got colder than than. I'm cold enough here. This is my last cold, snowy winter. I know my bus will survive the freezing cold winters and convection oven summers of NM. But I prefer a more temperate climate. "Surviving" is not comfortable. Das Mel & I head towards FL in Sept.
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Old 01-24-2015, 10:44 AM   #40
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My range vent


http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/Order9-exhaust.html (I believe this is where I bought it... mine is a metallic silver paint)
This has a good pic of the thing http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/Order9-exhaust.html

Love this vent.
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