Interior wall questions

[the_experience03]

2x4's will lose you 7 inches of overall interior width. Couple that with the T&G and I bet you lose over 8 inches of interior space. That's a big loss! I'd go with 2x2's as well.

[swinada]

Do you plan on doing lots of wintercamping? Or why do you need that extra insulation?
I myself would stay away from the pink fibreglass insulation unless your 100% sure there is no leaks in your bus. Once that insulation is wet it will stay wet for a long time and all the metal around it can nicely rust away.
How about just screwing some 1x2 strips on your walls then fill those with Solid insulation boards (1x2 will bend with the curve of your bus to a certain degree so will the insulation) and then pannel over it.

[the_experience03]

You'll want to break the thermal layer somehow. Through-screws will do this after the T&G is installed. L-brackets would also work. Use good screws. A lot of my interior was done with drywall screws. They have poor shear resistance. As they pop out I replace them with real screws . I also would liberally apply liquid nails to the backside of the boards. I had never used the stuff prior to my bus conversion, but now not only am I convinced that the stuff works, but I love it. The screws then only really serve to clamp it until the stuff sets up. A 1/4 inch bead of liquid nails is DARN strong assuming you have good contact between the materials. Plus it doesn't squeak...

[Abbott]

Check the link in my sig. for a few ideas. There are many photos with notes found under the "Interior" link on the front page.

[Abbott]

· What size studs should I use?
· Should I do it in two sections, one below the chair rail and one part above?
· Or should I cut slits in the lumber for the chair rail?



I used flat 2X4’s because I was planning on sheeting the walls with ¼” luan. I got lucky and found some sale priced knotty pine T&G that needed some care (cuts and sanding) . You could use 1X2’s, 2x2’s or flat 2x4’s.

I sat a 2x2” plate on top of the chair rail and screwed it from underneath with 1 1x4” drywall screws (or gold construction screws) through the holes that were already in the chair rail. You may need to put washers on your screws if you're not going to drill the holes yourself.

I then cut some 2X4 blocks that fit very tight vertically between the floor and the underside of the chair rail and drove them in with a hammer. I put one 2 1x4” hex head self-tapper through them into the sheet metal. They drove in so tight the blocks probably didn’t even need that one screw. Drywall screws work fine for me...the difference is that drywall screws are black and some have a fine thread made for fastening material to metal studs. There are also black drywall screws with a coarser thread made for fastening to wooden studs. The gold construction screws also have the coarse thread.

You’re wall work and insulation already looks good, I doubt if you will have any troubles with the rest of the walls.

If you are using pine T&G and putting in a couple of partitions I used 1X2” Oxboard (waferboard) or 1x2” plywood and overlaid it with the pine T&G. I screwed the pine from the back thru the Oxboard with 3X4” gold construction screws. The other side will get Luan fastened with small wire nails.


Before


After


Back





Passenger side Refer cabinet under construction. I have overlaid the 1/2" plywood with knotty pine T&G but I don't have any photos of the overlay posted yet.