Getting ready to insulate my bus, and have decided to spray foam it.
I am leaning towards the DIY kits, mostly because I can do it at my pace, but price is also in favor of the kits. I have searched and found a few guys who have done the kits, just looking for more first hand experience. Comments?
Thanks in advance.
One of the things i remember from all the Guys that did the DIY kits was that the Square footage stated wasn't quite what they were able to achieve.
Also make sure you have excellent ventaltion and a high quality breathing apparatus.
I almost did my own because like you I wanted to do at my own pace. I ended up using the R-7 foam board and gluing on.
It was cheaper.... And allowed me to change my mind on things that would have had to been in the foam, as I worked from the rear to the front.
Best of luck,
Cliff
I used 3 kits from Mcmaster-carr, yes they work better the warmer it is outside.
It's alot of work, after you spray it you have to trim it.
I have a perfect insulation job, but if I was doing it again I would have it done for me.
Check the price on Mcmaster's web site and you will see that you can have it done alot less that the price of the kits.
:'(
McMaster-Carr page 3307 Expanding Polyurethane and Urethane Foam two different kits, 30 lb and 88 lb. Good luck!
Pat
if you do it yourself or hire it done ( I did a little of both ) the time spent masking and prepping is the best spent time. Better to be ready than to have to clean up afterwards.
Melbo
Before foaming in, make sure all electrical and plumbingn is installed in the walls. On my bus that included the three roof airs, two fantastic fans, antenna wire in conduit (to upgrade later), two air horns at the front top. Everything else is mounted on the outside of the wall. I first screwed 1x2's lengthwise to the cross beams for an anchor for the plywood. Also used ash 1x3's where the overhead cabinets are. The 1x2 strips makes the wall thicker so I ended up with 2.25" thick insulation.
I had my foaming done, and if I were to do it again, this is definitely one job that I will contract out. First off, they used the two part hot foam. It comes out of the spray gun dark brown and quickly turns off white-neat to watch. The two foamers wore hard helmets attached with long hoses to old Kirby upright vac motors that pushed fresh air into their helmets from outside my warehouse unit. They started at 9 at night (to work when it was cooler since it was summer), and by 8 the next morning, the foaming was done, ground even with the 1x2 strips and fully cleaned up. Well worth the $1,600 (this was in '94). Also, the fumes coming from the foaming process (this is why the workers had the pressurized helmets) is very toxic. My normal painting resperator wouldn't keep the fumes out. Highly recommend having the foaming done. Good Luck, TomC
Thanks for all the input guys, I do appriciate it!
I am still thinking which way to go, but it looks like I might have it done by a pro. Ill keep you all posted.
Thanks for the feed back.