As a base for the interior, I decided to put in a ½” thick piece of plywood on top of ½” rigid insulation board. I started to fill in lengthwise indentations of the metal floor with strips of a thin insulation material, to maximize the R-value.
Subsequently the insulation boards were applied. This applied only to the rear half of the van, since the other half still had the original insulation installed. I only had to fill the areas under the former rear chairs, which were left bare.
Thanks
Great blog. Thanks for sharing your van build journey. So…what is the insulation you used for filling the undulations in the floor of the van. I see that you are using a sound deadner like Dynamat and then…?
Thanks!
David
Hi…I meant filling the indentations. Thanks
David,
Thanks for your interest!
Remember the work shown here was done about 5 years ago during my previous van conversion. I used mostly what I had on hand without much consideration of its properties.
Fortunately, the van’s floor is the least impacted by insulation.
With my current conversion of the Ford Transit, I’ve done a lot more preparation. The main insulation material that I would use on the floor, is PolyIso. Locally available at your DIY store, low price and one of the highest R-values around. Ideally, I’d put 1/2 inch between the floor ribs and fill in the cracks with spray foam. On top of that another full sheet, between 1/2 -1 inch thick and a final layer of 1/2 inch plywood.
I have to mention some exceptions; my current Ford Transit has a medium high roof and with that, I can barely stand up straight in the cargo area, before floor and ceiling are installed. That will force me to only apply insulation between the floor ribs and to put more emphasis on ventilation. I will start working on my floor in the next couple of weeks, so expect a few new articles on the subject.
Van Williams