Tear out ceiling & walls or not?

[Life And Stuff]

Is it worth the work and cost to tear out the ceiling and walls for the insulation benefit?

 

[Johnny Mullet]

It depends on your needs and the condition of the insulation. I wanted to keep mine stock since it was factory insulated. I dropped a few panels carefully to inspect and found no mold or anything and put it back up. If you are going to be in very cold climates or very hot climates, then you might consider dropping it down and redoing it.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Is it worth the work and cost to tear out the ceiling and walls for the insulation benefit?

Yes. Without any doubt.

Even in fairly temperate conditions the temp inside a tincan can soar. Ventilation and fans will help.

When the temperature drops so will condensation ... possibly on you while you sleep.

You add value should you ever sell.

If you are at all interested in early and late season camping, insulation is a must.

Many people convert their buses without removing internal walls and ceilings. I presume they do this for reasons of their own, but it isn't hard and will make your conversion a very much more pleasant place to be.

 

[Life And Stuff]

Yes. Without any doubt.

Even in fairly temperate conditions the temp inside a tincan can soar. Ventilation and fans will help.

When the temperature drops so will condensation ... possibly on you while you sleep.

You add value should you ever sell.

If you are at all interested in early and late season camping, insulation is a must.

Many people convert their buses without removing internal walls and ceilings. I presume they do this for reasons of their own, but it isn't hard and will make your conversion a very much more pleasant place to be.

Thank you.
I will be full time, year round living in it.

 

[Life And Stuff]

It depends on your needs and the condition of the insulation. I wanted to keep mine stock since it was factory insulated. I dropped a few panels carefully to inspect and found no mold or anything and put it back up. If you are going to be in very cold climates or very hot climates, then you might consider dropping it down and redoing it.

I'm thinking yes. Thank you.

 

[joeblack5]

Twigg is right, if you have a small bus you probably can still heat and cool it with original insulation in place but when you are building something bigger then the energy required to heat and cool is overwhelming.

If you do not have a bus yet and depending on your height pay good attention to buying one with enough headroom. You can easily loose 5" with a good insulation job.

Good luck,
later J

 

[M1031A1]

Is it worth the work and cost to tear out the ceiling and walls for the insulation benefit?

My wife and I are looking at our build to live in during warmer weather. Just look at our thread to figure out if it's worth it to you. Even though we're having a bit of difficulty in shaving down the spray foam, I believe it's worth the effort.

M :biggrin:

 

[BigBlue-SKO]

Is it worth the work and cost to tear out the ceiling and walls for the insulation benefit?

We say yes, even though it slows down the entire process, we found wet insulation in the wall cavities that we're sooooo glad we found now instead of later.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

I consider leaving my ceiling and walls in place as the worst shortcut I took on my short bus. Metal outer shell connected to metal frame connected to metal interior panels, insulation in the gap between inner and outer panels means nothing.

Ultimately, we threw up a layer of reflectix to cover all the inside metal. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Even with white roof paint, we've had days where we couldn't turn off the bus (engine driven AC) for hours because the sun was putting so much heat into the outer shell and it was super efficiently transmitting to the inner shell and doing a great impression of a toaster oven!

 

[BigBlue-SKO]

We ended up tearing out everything. And boy we’re happy we did. There are gaps in the wall crevices where you can see to the outside ground! Plus many more little holes here and there.

Definitely worth gutting completely unless you can deal with the thought of moldy insulation and a rusting Bus [emoji589]

 

[Twigg-SKO]

We ended up tearing out everything. And boy we’re happy we did. There are gaps in the wall crevices where you can see to the outside ground! Plus many more little holes here and there.

Definitely worth gutting completely unless you can deal with the thought of moldy insulation and a rusting Bus [emoji589]
View attachment 22191

If by "wall crevices" you mean between the chair rail and the outer skin, then those gaps are meant to be there. They are drains for any water that gets in above and runs down the inside of the walls.

 

[Life And Stuff]

If by "wall crevices" you mean between the chair rail and the outer skin, then those gaps are meant to be there. They are drains for any water that gets in above and runs down the inside of the walls.

So, you shouldn't seal these?
Or you should?

 

[Twigg-SKO]

So, you shouldn't seal these?
Or you should?

They will be sealed if you spray-foam. That's okay because the entire wall becomes sealed. If you use foam board (XPS preferred), then just leave them open. It won't affect the foam and it will leave a path for any moisture to escape.

 

[Yukon Cornelius-SKO]

Another vote for tear out insulate and re-skin