Last weekend was spent undoing the hard work I put into my trailer renovation project last summer. Researching ways of using ‘green’ materials cheaply and efficiently led us down many paths.
Ultimately we decided we had it right the first time (sort of).
Michael and I ripped out the walls (again) down to the bare fiberglass, scraped the hardened glue off, and are now conducting several adhesive trials this week with some test pieces. This is something we should have done in the first place, of course, but in the past year or so we’ve gained perspective. Enough to be pseudo experts on attaching insulation onto fiberglass (or the willingness at least). Are you on the edge of your seats to find out which adhesive wins?
Originally I would use only the least toxic of all possibilities, but now I’m settling for what works and doesn’t offend my keen sense of smell. I’m eager to do some adventuring this summer with my finished tiny home on wheels, so whatever it takes…
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m very interested in which adhesive is working for you, and of course, what material you are applying to the walls.
I am renovating a ’74 Compact II, and have stripped the walls down to the fiberglass, removed as much gunk as I could, primed and painted the walls, and am ready to attach some foam and marine vinyl. The foam is the stuff used as underlayment for laminate flooring. It won’t mold/mildew and it will be a little padding underneath the vinyl, since the walls are not totally smooth at this point.
I found some tannish color olefin carpet runner at Lowes that might look good on the walls and act as sound proofing and insulation at the same time. I’d like to use a Non’Flammable, low toxicity adhesive that will hold onto the fiberglass. What have you found in your research, please tell!
Thanks,
Fran
Hi Fran,
Good to hear from you! It’s SO good to know there are others out there doing (basically) the same thing. We have an emphasis on cheap, non-toxic materials since this trailer is to be a home. As far as adhesive goes, we have 2 front runners — 1. is a low-VOC “green” contact cement (cheap) and 2. is a double-stick carpet tape (less cheap). I’ll keep you updated after our destructive testing.
We have redone two travel trailers, one a 35-y-o (25 foot 20′ interior) “Glendale”, the latest a 35 foot (31′ inside) 1995 Cobra. In both we added insulation. Because of the way these little trailers are built you have very little room for insulation, it has to be water-resistant and it’s MUCH better if you can seal the insulation so condensation doesn’t form behind it on the cold walls in the winter. (We live in Canada so cold and condensation must be considered.)
We found a product called Reflectix which consists of a sandwich of reflective mylar bonded to both sides of one or two (better) layers of bubble plastic. It comes in rolls, and is extremely light and flexible, so can follow the curves of the interior of the trailer. A 50 foot roll must weigh about six or eight pounds.
Both of our units have frames so we were able to staple the Reflectix to the wood, then tape the seams with mylar tape. We also use Reflectix window covers, which we put up when the sun sets. (used Velcro dots) When it’s -25 and the wind is howling at 40 mph off the lake you really need a cozy envelope. A 48 inch x 50 foot roll of Reflectix cost us $89.00 two years ago. It is very light so could be glued to a wall with non-toxic contact cement. We also taped a layer of Reflectix on the inside of the door, as doors have very little insulation.
Anyway, we have had very reasonable heating bills (less than $50 month) using a combo of propane furnace and electric panel heaters which draw 400 watts, despite the three coldest winters on record in a row. On programmable thermostats so we keep the temp 72 during the day and 65 at night.
Your web site is fun. I’m enjoying reading the articles. We’d have loved to build a “Tiny House” but we’re retirement age, husband has muscular dystrophy and I had polio, so we are limited physically. This was the next best thing and we are having a ball living on 15% of the resources the average American/Canadian uses. Google “Riot for Austerity”. Our goal is to reduce to living on 10% of average.
Good luck everybody!
Deb