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Old 07-26-2018, 02:52 PM   #1
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Insulation and wall questions

Hi everyone!
I am mid-demo on my 4 window shorty. This bus will be an occasional RV and mobile art studio, so no full time living.

I'm a bit confused about wall insulation and thermal bridging. I popped all the rivets, and taking down the wall panels Monday. Original ceiling is staying intact (mold-free and good condition)

My question is, since I don't plan on doing anything to the ceiling, how important is it to worry about thermal bridging on the walls? They will all be behind furniture and the futon, so aesthetics don't matter at all. I plan to silicone caulk the windows to stop leaks, then insulate with rigid foam and reinstall the original wall panels.

Am I on the right track? Thanks in advance.

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Old 07-26-2018, 03:52 PM   #2
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The walls are easy, get some rigid foam and stick it on the metal panels, but don't put the metal back up or you just wasted that time and money.

The ceiling is going to be a real heater. If you're dead set on leaving it in place, throw several coats of white paint on the roof to try reflecting as much as possible. Uncovered windows are going to be a big heat sink as well.

I actually cheaped out on my short bus and just wrapped the inside in Reflectix. It's not great insulation, but anything is better than no insulation.

I've got about $2500 worth of insulation in my new bus so far because I try to learn from my mistakes!
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:53 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimche View Post
Hi everyone!
I am mid-demo on my 4 window shorty. This bus will be an occasional RV and mobile art studio, so no full time living.

I'm a bit confused about wall insulation and thermal bridging. I popped all the rivets, and taking down the wall panels Monday. Original ceiling is staying intact (mold-free and good condition)

My question is, since I don't plan on doing anything to the ceiling, how important is it to worry about thermal bridging on the walls? They will all be behind furniture and the futon, so aesthetics don't matter at all. I plan to silicone caulk the windows to stop leaks, then insulate with rigid foam and reinstall the original wall panels.

Am I on the right track? Thanks in advance.
Don't use silicone caulk. It doesn't hold up well compared to newer technology. It's not that much more expensive.
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Old 07-30-2018, 03:32 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kimche View Post
Hi everyone!
I am mid-demo on my 4 window shorty. This bus will be an occasional RV and mobile art studio, so no full time living.

I'm a bit confused about wall insulation and thermal bridging. I popped all the rivets, and taking down the wall panels Monday. Original ceiling is staying intact (mold-free and good condition)

My question is, since I don't plan on doing anything to the ceiling, how important is it to worry about thermal bridging on the walls? They will all be behind furniture and the futon, so aesthetics don't matter at all. I plan to silicone caulk the windows to stop leaks, then insulate with rigid foam and reinstall the original wall panels.

Am I on the right track? Thanks in advance.
We didn't think we had any leaks or mold either.. insulation looked good and no drips in heavy rain. However, my daughter with allergies kept having a reaction in the bus so we ripped it our of the walls and ceilings. To our surprise there was mold between the adhesive and the insulation and the bus began leaking in the rain. We lined our whole bus in Lizard Skin sound control and Lizard Skin Thermal and it solved the mold and sealed every hole and gap perfectly.. It's been a great option for us. The bus is so quiet now (even in its completely empty state) when driving and much much cooler. Check out our video for and idea of what its like. We will be paneling over the spray in with fiberboard on the walls and ceiling and putting a runner rug down the isle on the floor.. saved us 2" in height just building off the spray in floor with out a floating sub-floor.

https://youtu.be/f6xCw2JPKtg starting around the 3:40 mark

Good luck!
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Old 08-11-2018, 11:13 PM   #5
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wow thats looks like some cool stuff.. great video btw..
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Old 08-11-2018, 11:25 PM   #6
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wow thats looks like some cool stuff.. great video btw..
Thanks
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Old 08-11-2018, 11:32 PM   #7
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would you mind sharing how many gals of each produce you used and how thick? how many sq.ft you did? I'm getting close to stay foam time and this might be a upgrade worth the effort and $$
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Old 08-12-2018, 12:03 AM   #8
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would you mind sharing how many gals of each produce you used and how thick? how many sq.ft you did? I'm getting close to stay foam time and this might be a upgrade worth the effort and $$
I don't mind at all.

12 x's 2gal jugs of Lizard Skin sound control <~~ this was enough to cover the floors of a 15 window bus and the walls and the ceiling as well as the stairs. 6 X's 2 gallon jugs of white thermal (we used on the ceiling and B-pillers) and 7 x's 2 gallon jugs of black thermal (used everywhere else)... (the extra black was bought later and used to go over top of the 10 windows we are going to "kill"").

*note Lizard Skin is paintable and we chose the ceiling to be in the white shade incase we wanted to paint an area white covers easier.

*note that we painted the inside of the 10 windows we were "killing" black with black spray paint first and then went over top of the black paint with the thermal. From the outside looking in you can't even tell the windows are different than the others.

Total cost is close to $3600 all in<~~ bought at JEGS online I told them I had a racing team and they gave me the racing discount as well as a 10% online coupon and free shipping.

*also note that I had to buy the special Lizard liner spay gun kit as well.

I gained over an inch on the floor by not doing a floating sub floor. I gained over an inch in height in the shower stall buy just spraying a clear enamel over the thermal barrier in area over the shower stall (this will be the only ceiling area where we won't have a fiberboard sub ceiling. I am 6'2 and needed the extra inch on the floor we gained and the extra inch in the ceiling I gained by not installing a sub ceiling there in order to stand completely vertical).

Lizard skin forums claim an R16 insulation value... its likely more like an R10 but this is dramatically better than spray in or silver backed insulation at a R3.5 value. Also, the sound control stops the rattles and resenence very well.

Hope this helps.
Attached Thumbnails
nEuymaIYR46kIKNI4O1yfA.jpg   VgXTYXWSQ%mqG12tdk3dFw.jpg  
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Old 08-12-2018, 12:04 AM   #9
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I don't mind at all.

12 x's 2gal jugs of Lizard Skin sound control <~~ this was enough to cover the floors of a 15 window bus and the walls and the ceiling as well as the stairs. 6 X's 2 gallon jugs of white thermal (we used on the ceiling and B-pillers) and 7 x's 2 gallon jugs of black thermal (used everywhere else)... (the extra black was bought later and used to go over top of the 10 windows we are going to "kill"").

*note Lizard Skin is paintable and we chose the ceiling to be in the white shade incase we wanted to paint an area white covers easier.

*note that we painted the inside of the 10 windows we were "killing" black with black spray paint first and then went over top of the black paint with the thermal. From the outside looking in you can't even tell the windows are different than the others.

Total cost is close to $3600 all in<~~ bought at JEGS online I told them I had a racing team and they gave me the racing discount as well as a 10% online coupon and free shipping.

*also note that I had to buy the special Lizard liner spay gun kit as well.

I gained over an inch on the floor by not doing a floating sub floor. I gained over an inch in height in the shower stall buy just spraying a clear enamel over the thermal barrier in area over the shower stall (this will be the only ceiling area where we won't have a fiberboard sub ceiling. I am 6'2 and needed the extra inch on the floor we gained and the extra inch in the ceiling I gained by not installing a sub ceiling there in order to stand completely vertical).

Lizard skin forums claim an R16 insulation value... its likely more like an R10 but this is dramatically better than spray in or silver backed insulation at a R3.5 value. Also, the sound control stops the rattles and resenence very well.

Hope this helps.
The splotchy places on the floor and ceiling in the pics are where I went back the next day and touched up a few places. 24hrs it dried and matched right up.
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Old 08-12-2018, 12:40 AM   #10
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o wow thats a great info post! so I got a quote of $ 1800- 2000 to do the spray foam 1.5-2.5" in various areas and I have a lot of gaps to fill as I re-skinned basically the entire outside.
I did a 13" roof raise and all new window openings.So the foam seemed to me to be the best way to go. I'm doing 2.5" on the roof.

I have already installed 1" foam on the floor and 9 ply 5/8" ply sub floor. so my question would be do you thing doing just the roof and walls will thermal spray and then foam over it? the floor seams way quieter then before the sub was down.
thanks
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Old 08-12-2018, 01:15 PM   #11
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o wow thats a great info post! so I got a quote of $ 1800- 2000 to do the spray foam 1.5-2.5" in various areas and I have a lot of gaps to fill as I re-skinned basically the entire outside.
I did a 13" roof raise and all new window openings.So the foam seemed to me to be the best way to go. I'm doing 2.5" on the roof.

I have already installed 1" foam on the floor and 9 ply 5/8" ply sub floor. so my question would be do you thing doing just the roof and walls will thermal spray and then foam over it? the floor seams way quieter then before the sub was down.
thanks

I do think so. A lot of noise comes in from the windows vibrating inside their B pillar frames and the sound control sorts that and the ceiling is your bigest source of heat.. Thermal on the inside of the ceiling and a light or metal color on the outside roof will combine to save you a ton of heat in the bus.
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Old 08-12-2018, 02:44 PM   #12
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Was there a question in there?
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Old 08-17-2018, 02:27 PM   #13
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New guy and 1st attempt at posting. May take me awhile to get this posting stuff down.

@ HappyInTN I thank you for you for posting about the "Lizard Skin" product you used. It sounds like a great option to go with. The one thing I found I didn't care for was it's price. I started looking for any possible similar products.

I will soon be at the point of doing my insulation soon. I found a Web page that presented similar products and a brief description of each one. It even add some of the manufacturers claims of product performance. Here is the link:

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...mic_insulation
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Old 08-20-2018, 04:40 PM   #14
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New guy and 1st attempt at posting. May take me awhile to get this posting stuff down.

@ HappyInTN I thank you for you for posting about the "Lizard Skin" product you used. It sounds like a great option to go with. The one thing I found I didn't care for was it's price. I started looking for any possible similar products.

I will soon be at the point of doing my insulation soon. I found a Web page that presented similar products and a brief description of each one. It even add some of the manufacturers claims of product performance. Here is the link:

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...mic_insulation
Nice! I'd love know if this product works well. Ya I hated to spend the money I did as well. If I ever build another bus, options are a good thing.
We just added a new video that focuses more on the Lizard Skin https://youtu.be/yR9JYTUxDes <-- check it out
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Old 08-20-2018, 05:16 PM   #15
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update on what I went with: this is what I just ordered. 10 gals which should do more then the 1k sq.ft I need and about 700.00 otd. shipped
its made for industrial and the manufacture that makes the lizard skin.
Also It can be sprayed on with an air-less. I should have it sprayed on by end of next week.
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Old 08-20-2018, 05:23 PM   #16
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update on what I went with: this is what I just ordered. 10 gals which should do more then the 1k sq.ft I need and about 700.00 otd. shipped
its made for industrial and the manufacture that makes the lizard skin.
Also It can be sprayed on with an air-less. I should have it sprayed on by end of next week.
Looking forward to the pics and your thoughts!
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Old 08-20-2018, 05:27 PM   #17
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Looking forward to the pics and your thoughts!
I forgot to mention that I'm spraying it on the outside on the roof and the walls on the inside. will see.. lol its been in the 100*z here in ca. so if the weather keeps up I will take a temp reading before and after.
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:49 PM   #18
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awesome! Good luck!
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Old 08-28-2018, 03:47 PM   #19
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I know this is a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. I have read that the ribs of the bus can cause the ceiling to sweat. We need all the head space we can get so I cant really put would over the tops. Would putting it on the sides of the ribs help at all? I just don't see the point, although I have seen people do it so many ways. I just don't want to see the wood paneling we put up destroyed. We will be doing foam board I think with reflectix. Would a vapor barrier help or thermal tape over the ribs? New to all this, so I appreciate any help as always.
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Old 08-29-2018, 03:28 PM   #20
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I know this is a little off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. I have read that the ribs of the bus can cause the ceiling to sweat. We need all the head space we can get so I cant really put would over the tops. Would putting it on the sides of the ribs help at all? I just don't see the point, although I have seen people do it so many ways. I just don't want to see the wood paneling we put up destroyed. We will be doing foam board I think with reflectix. Would a vapor barrier help or thermal tape over the ribs? New to all this, so I appreciate any help as always.
The Vapor Barrier will help.. consider fiberboard from lowes as opposed to wood. Mildew/mold impervious and easily paintable. All around more durable regardless.
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