Planning to Insulate the Van

I have a plan to insulate the van. I'm shamelessly copying Stone174's blog about how to do this (thanks Stone!!!!). This is my plan:

Clearly the default interior of a kombi is not all that comfortable. It has plywood panels riveted onto large metal panels with no sound proofing in between and with no comfortable interior finish. One stage towards making the van more comfortable to live/camp in is to change all this.

It's basically two separate jobs typically done at the same time. One is to add a layer of insulation between the metal and wooden panels, both for purposes of cutting down road noise when travelling plus outside noise when sleeping in the van, and for the purposes of making it warmer to sleep inside. The second job is to carpet the interior walls and wooden panels, making for an more attractive and comfortable interior. This entry is only looking at the insulation job.

Insulating the van involves these distinct phases:

• Removing the wooden panels from the back of the van.
• Sticking large amounts of Flashing Tape onto the metal panels. This changes the resonant frequency of the side panels which stops them vibrating around so much, generally dampening driving noise and also stopping these panels vibraring with the sounds of things like the stereo. This is cheap and simple and very effective at reducing road noise. It will not be at all effective at stopping noise passing in or out of the van however.
• Adding a layer of Celotex insulation board. The choice of insulation has to be made carefully as it's important to get a version which wont absorb moisture easily - as moisture in this place will simply rust the outside metal panels and will also rot the interior wooden panels. Celotex board becomes a barrier between cold external air and the warmer internal air to cut down condensation. The 'wool' type loft insulation, over time, hangs on to moisture. Celotex actively repels moisture, is fully fire retardant, and is easier to work with than the 'wool' type insulation materials. Hence this is my insulation of choice.
• A layer of Thermal Insulation Foil. This is essentially a foil-lined bubble-wrap material that acts as another layer of air between interior and exterior. Again, it's fully fire retardant. This 'layering-up' process is just like clothing in winter, more layers rather than one thick layer seems to work best.
• Adding a polythene sheet water proof lining over the top of the insulation. This will keep the insulation dry and stop dampness from the inside of the van reaching the insulation.
• Stick this down with water proof tape.
• Replacing the wooden panels in the back of the van.

My plan is to get up early Saturday morning, drive to Wickes (the nearest one being some way away from me!) and grab the bits I still dont have, and then start taking this job on. I've also taken Stone's advice and bought a couple of tack removers from B&Q. They are like flat headed screw drivers with a 'V' cut into the blade. I tried popping one of the default VW plastic rivets off the planels with them and it's dead easy. A vital tool for the job I suspect.