Deadening + insulation weekend

I picked the wrong weekend to insulate a van.

July 12th and 13th. High of 99°F both days. No clouds. I set up a shade tent in the driveway, opened every door on the van, and spent two days installing sound deadening and Thinsulate insulation in every panel I could reach.

The layup

Noico sound deadening (butyl rubber mat, sticks to bare metal) on the large flat panels: roof, side walls, doors. Then Thinsulate SM600L (synthetic insulation, doesn’t hold moisture, used in semis and boats) in every cavity and over the deadening where there’s room. No spray foam. No fiberglass. No wool because the budget didn’t stretch that far.

Held in place with 3M 90 spray adhesive and aluminum tape over the seams because I’m not waiting for someone to invent a better way.

What I learned

Sound deadening works. The van sounded like a drum before. Now it sounds like a vehicle. The difference is immediate and worth the heat stroke.

Also: do this in spring or fall. Or pay for a garage with air conditioning. Or accept that you’re going to sweat through three shirts and drink a gallon of water and still wake up with a headache the next morning.

Next: printing van parts in the van’s own color, then the floor install.