Walls & Insulation

[Taken from the original 'The Alice Project' bus conversion and motorhome website 2002-2003]

Having pulled poor Alice apart inside - to remove some of the windows, replace some of the framing, and treat the rust - our interior decorating adventures began with the complete re-lining of the bus walls inside. We wanted the walls to be as soundproof and 'heatproof' as we could possibly afford (cheap methods needed!!). As an experiment, we decided to try and completely finish the rear section of the bus first (bedroom and study) before doing the rest!

We chose to line the inside of the walls with polystyrene sheeting, which we bought fairly cheaply (2400mm x 1200mm x 25mm thick). The polystyrene was simply cut slightly oversize and then gently 'forced' into place between the frame tubing with a rubber mallet. Most sections of the wall received two pieces, making a total thickness of 50mm of insulation (seems very effective).

The walls of the bus were constructed using cheap pine as battens (42mm x 19mm dressed pine) and MDF sheeting (craftwood) of about 3 or 4 mm thickness for the walls. The pine battens were affixed to the existing steel frame of the bus with self tapping metal screws and plenty of 'liquid nail' type adhesive. The MDF sheeting was then measured to size and affixed to the pine battens, using plenty of PVA wood glue and chipboard screws. The pine battens should (in theory) act as an extra barrier of insulation, greatly reducing the possibility of 'heat transfer' between the outside and inside walls.. (there are no 'conductive pathways' between the outside metal and the interior).

Any gaps around the window sills or in the new walls were filled with a cheap 'gap filler' before painting. We splurged out considerably on paint and bought fairly good quality interior acrylic paint (yeah, we've got a fairly interesting colour scheme, as the photos shall reveal.). We thought it best to get most of the painting done before we starting fixing furniture and other items into place. The walls were painted red and the ceiling greyish purple (very standard colours, really).

(Keiran Lusk 2003)

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