Insulating the Windows?

[mitchk]

Hey All,

I am in the process of planning my bus insulation. I think I am going to go with 1" XPS insulation for the floor and 2" XPS insulation for the ceiling and walls. I would like to keep the bus windows as I like how they look from the outside and don't want to deal with taking out the windows and welding sheet metal over the holes. My question is, can I wall/ insulate over some of the windows on the inside? So the windows would all be visible from the outside but only about half of the internal windows would be visible/ usable from the inside. The others would be covered with insulation and wood siding. I'm assuming I might run into some serious condensation issues due the the covered windows being in contact with insulation? If I left a 1/2" gap between the window and insulation would that help? As you guys can tell I am pretty new to this and learning as I go. Thanks for the help!

BTW I own a 2002 Chevy short bus.

[WIbluebird]

The windows have a bad habit of working themselves open while driving down the road. I would make it so you can easily access the windows if you have to.

Also yes I could see condensation being an issue as well.

[PNW_Steve]

I helped a tent out here with his conversion and he had a similar situation. He sound up cutting the 1" blue foam to fit each window and then had them covered in a fabric that matched his interior.

They looked very sharp.

He could pick and choose which windows were covered or not, depending on climate and view.

[mitchk]

Originally Posted by WIbluebird

The windows have a bad habit of working themselves open while driving down the road. I would make it so you can easily access the windows if you have to.

Also yes I could see condensation being an issue as well.

If I ended up covering these windows I would completely seal them off so they would not be able to be opened. Then again I might want to open them up occasionally to air out any condensation that would occur...

[mitchk]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I helped a tent out here with his conversion and he had a similar situation. He sound up cutting the 1" blue foam to fit each window and then had them covered in a fabric that matched his interior.

They looked very sharp.

He could pick and choose which windows were covered or not, depending on climate and view.

This was the other option I was thinking about. I didn't want to do this because I wouldn't be able to use that space around the windows for a closet/ wall/ whatever. But I guess I could still do this if it looked nice enough!

[musigenesis]

I'm going to make window inserts out of 2" XPS covered with black fabric (facing the outside) and white fabric (facing the inside), with velcro around the edge to attach to a wood frame around each window (my windows are black so these should not be too obvious from the outside). I'm thinking maybe each insert will have a small pocket on the out side that I can fill with silica gel packets - not sure that will help much with condensation but maybe.

I love my windows too much to cover any of them permanently, but I need to be able to stop them from leaking massive amounts of heat, too.

[FamilyCircus]

I sewed up some insulating curtains, three layers and they roll up. Just an Idea. they call them Kume curtains.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by FamilyCircus

I sewed up some insulating curtains, three layers and they roll up. Just an Idea. they call them Kume curtains.

I noticed those in your build thread and they look very nice. What is the insulation part of them? Fingers crossed for aerogel ...

[Mountain Gnome]

I'm thinking of using plexiglass, and cutting pieces the size of each window opening. Stick them in place (however they hold in place is another story) and they become double-pane windows for when it's cold. Still lets in sunlight, and you can see out, but reduces heat loss. Then the fabric-covered foam (as mentioned in previous posts) can also be used when it's dark and well below freezing.

[FamilyCircus]

Its a three layer assembly. Polar fleece facing the window, polyethylene sheet next as a vapor barrier, then a medium weight cotton curtain material. made a big difference.