Havelock + vapor barrier to protect wood framing?

[dbsoundman]

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that school buses are made to leak into the wall cavity, so I need to manage the leaks rather than eliminate them.



That said, our plan at this point is to put havelock wool against the exterior wall material, then plastic vapor barrier against the wool to further protect any wood framing material we're using for interior walls. (I've already removed the old interior metal wall.)

Is the vapor barrier a good idea, or should I leave it out and let the space "breathe"? I'm just trying to keep the actual wood framing from getting wet when I park the bus in just the right orientation and get just the right rain storm.

[turf]

no opinions here.

i am redoing a van right now, just demolished the inside. originally, the van was construction with the havelok wool. i'm pulling it out and disposing of much of it. some will get reused.

condensation and spilled liquids inside the van left that havelock wool sopping wet. maybe for years. hard to say when the wool became compromised.

while the wool did not mold, there was a mold issue growing inside on the woodwork.

the van goes off to spray foam friday. then will replace the good left over wool, back in any cavities left by the spray foam.

the wet stuff was the floor and the lower walls, all of that went to the dump.

imo - i would leave drain holes in the floor. i doubt anyone agrees with me.

it was gross.

[dbsoundman]

Originally Posted by turf

no opinions here.

i am redoing a van right now, just demolished the inside. originally, the van was construction with the havelok wool. i'm pulling it out and disposing of much of it. some will get reused.

condensation and spilled liquids inside the van left that havelock wool sopping wet. maybe for years. hard to say when the wool became compromised.

while the wool did not mold, there was a mold issue growing inside on the woodwork.

the van goes off to spray foam friday. then will replace the good left over wool, back in any cavities left by the spray foam.

the wet stuff was the floor and the lower walls, all of that went to the dump.

imo - i would leave drain holes in the floor. i doubt anyone agrees with me.

it was gross.

That’s my thought- people think everything is 100% sealed, but that doesn’t last forever. Better to do the best you can, then have a mitigation strategy in place IMO.

I had not considered the havelock getting wet and just staying…wet. But there’s only so much you can really do about that once it’s in the walls you’ve built. My concern is definitely with wet wood; my subfloor is already getting wet and showing some mold…

[PhilipE]

I would not use any type of insulation that can retain moisture. Havelock can. Fiberglass can. A metal structure will sweat with temp changes. Spray foam seals up anything it touches. It is a better sound deadner than the other two types. Closed cell has a class 1 fire rating. Very hard to ignite. Fiberglass doesn't burn. It will melt above 1'000 degrees.

Rock wool doesn't burn. It doesn't collect moisture. Sheet type is hard to work with in tight spaces. Doesn't pack well.

[cannoncd1]

Any update? What did you end up doing?