Installing a 3-layer Insulation (Sound Dampening, Thinsulate, Low-E Reflectix)

We recommend completing the prerequisites before continuing your journey through the steps:

There aren't a ton of pre-requisites for this part other than making sure your walls are clean and free of rust.
That said, there are a ton of different considerations; it's truly one of the more simple projects you'll do in the van build once you figure out the what and why of it. There are tons materials you can use to insulate your van and tons of reasons why you should use each one, so we recommend researching a bit about it and how it works before determining the best fit for you.
We'll have a future blog post to go through our process on how we determined the best way to insulate our van

Safety Tips:

When spraying glue, wear a mask and/or spray the glue in a ventilated area.
When handling any insulation around the metal van walls, be careful as there are often times manufacturing defects that leave nasty little sharp edges... making it super easy to cut yourself.

01

Measuring the area

Measure the area(s) that you would like to cover with sound dampening material. Be sure to write down the different sizes that you'll need as it'll be less back and forth from measuring to cutting.

Note: You'll need to cover a minimum of 25% of each area you'll be placing it for it to be effective.

02

Clean the surfaces

To maximize the effectiveness of the sound dampening material, be sure you use a cleaning solution and wipe down the areas that you'll be applying the material to.

03

Cut the sound dampening material

Take your measurements and mark the sound dampening material where you'll need to cut it at. Once marked, take a utility knife and cut out the sizes you need for your vehicle.

04

Install the sound dampening material

We took all of the pieces we cut and placed them where they needed to go to help with the install process. Once you have the cut pieces of sound dampening material lined up, take the first piece and stick it onto the area where it goes. We started from the top and slowly pressed the material down while pulling the backing off -> this method worked very well!

Note: This material is very sticky so go slowly on the first couple pieces you stick on.

05

Burn your forearms out

Using your sound dampening roller, begin rolling the material until the little bumps are flat.

For real... feel the burn!

06

Rinse and repeat

Repeat the process until all areas are covered. We used sound dampening material for accoustic insulation on the floor, walls, wheel wells, and ceiling.

01

Measuring the area

Measure the area(s) that you would like to cover with your insulation material. Be sure to write down the different sizes that you'll need as it'll be less back and forth from measuring to cutting.

Note: To make the best of your materials you have and not get left with awkward amounts, start with yourt largest surface areas and compare it to the width of your insultation. This will help figure out how much it can cover with the least amount of cuts.

02

Clean the surfaces

To be sure the 3M 90 spray adhesive sticks as best as possible, use a cleaning solution and wipe down the areas that you'll be applying the adhesive and material to.

03

Cut the insulation

Cut your insulation to size. We recommend using some fabric scissors as we had some issues with normal scissors and issues with a utility knife.

04

Spray the adhesive

Follow the directions on your adhesive spray - be sure to figure out what your insulation recommends. If you're using 3M 90 Spray Adhesive, start by shaking the can for a good minute or so. Then spray onto the area that you will be applying the insulation to, and also spray the back of the insulation that will be stuck to the area.

Note: Let the adhesive sit for 30-60 seconds.

05

Press the insulation

Grab your insulation and line it up to where you just sprayed the adhesive. Firmly press the insulation from top to bottom

06

Rinse and repeat

Repeat the process until all areas are covered. We used 3M Thinsulate insulation for thermal insulation on our walls and ceiling.

07

Fill in the gaps

Spray the Gaps & Cracks in any places that you have not covered with your thermal insulation. We used it in places where there was a bit larger gaps of the exposed van wall to ensure it was insulated.

01

Measuring the area

Measure the area(s) that you would like to cover with your radiant insulation material. Be sure to write down the different sizes that you'll need as it'll be less back and forth from measuring to cutting.

Note: Be sure to read the guidelines on Low-E Reflectix to better understand how it works. We left a minimum of 1 inch of space from the thermal insulation to the radiant insulation (Low-E Reflectix) to ensure the best outcome.

02

Cut the low-e reflectix

Cut the Low-E Reflectix to size. This is super easy to cut by using a utility knife.

03

Placing the reflectix

There's two options when placing the Low-E Reflectix to the wall:

Use a spray adhesive and apply it to the surfaces and material and glue them together (like you did for the thermal insulation).
Secure it behind the wall framing and walls when you get to that stage of building the walls.

Note: We secured it behind the walls as we ran out of adhesive and figured it'd be easier to work with and work behind the material if it wasn't glued down.

04

Ceiling placement

Installing the Low-E Reflectix to the ceiling is a bit tricky as you'll need to install the cabinet railing at the same time.

More details on the cabinet railing install can be found in the ceiling install guide.

Installing a 3-layer Insulation

Acoustic (sound dampening), Thermal (3M Thinsulate), Reflective (Low-E / Reflectix)

Difficulty:

Labor:

18.25 hours

Cost:

$1081.97

So... where are we now?