Twenty

Insulating the Ceiling

We've seen online that a lot of people use styrofoam insulation for the ceiling but that it ends up being a real headache cutting it into pieces ranging from 3-6 inches and fitting them to the curve of the ceiling. To avoid this trouble we thought we would use spray foam. A do-it-yourself kit at Home Depot cost about $350 and would be able to do the whole ceiling at 1". The kit as well advertised closed cell insulation meaning it would be rated higher and not need an additional vapour barrier.

We purchased the kit and were so excited to use it, until we opened it and read the finer points. The kit seemed easy enough to use, however, our current wintery conditions were far from compatible; everything the spray foam required, we had the opposite. A warm surface; not in winter with a metal roof. A dry surface; not with a heated bus and cold outside. A ventilated space away from gas sources; not with a bus in need of an open-flame propane heated and all doors closed just to make a comfortable working environment.
Etc, etc...

It was a sad fact and harsh reality, finding out that spray foam was not in the plans after all when we had planned for it for weeks, bought the kit, and hurried through the wall work to finally get the ceiling insulated. Thinking quick though we opted for a 4" fibreglass insulation and got the whole job done quickly in an afternoon, including stapling up a vapour barrier.