Floor insulation adhesive

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KaLvan

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We are getting ready to install floor insulation in our Chevy Express Passenger Van conversion.  We will be using 1 1/2 inch XPS cut in panels to fit around the seat rails.  Then all of that covered with 3/4 inch plywood.  What recommendations would you have for adhesive between the metal floor of the van and the XPS?  It may not actually be necessary but we thought it might cut down on movement or squeaking between insulation, floor, and seat rails.  thanks.
 
Well on my trailer I let the floor free float. With all the stuff on top of it it's not going anywhere. As to it squeaking I wouldn't know it's a trailer, LOL. Highdesertranger
 
If you are putting down 1 1/2 xps, you certainly would not need 3/4 ply on top of that.. If you thinking anchoring things to it, there are ways to cut down on the amount of plywood you are using.. Lumber has gotten extremely expensive..
I am currently building cabinets out of XPS, I have been using heavy construction Gorilla silicone.. the stuff is awesome.. in my opinion better than liquid nails(I tried both).

if you attach the XPS to the floor I would certainly use the gorilla glue adhesive. If you are able to preplan for anchor points, the gorilla glue adhesive will bond xps and wood very well together..

3/4 in plywood though on the floor simply would be over kill the xps will not crush all you would really need is 1/2 heck 1/4 inch would be fine for a surface to walk on..

I would thinking about just adding some 1x2's to give you some anchor points, then put 1/4 in ply down for the floor.. you will save on weight, and give a couple more inches to play with height wise..

just my honest opinion
 
I planned on building a floor before i leave next month, but as said before..lumber is too expensive right now. Going to have to go with a no build build for now amd just put an area rug down. Hopefully in a few months lumber will come down.
 
Yes, 3/4 inch plywood is overkill but it is already in the van with floor supports and threshholds, etc.  The seat rails stick up 1 1/2 inches, thus the 1 1/2 inches of insulation we are putting under the plywood (to replace the factory insulation that we had initially left in there).  Like posters mentioned, wood to expensive to start over, especially after all the finish and detail work someone already did!

I would like to know more about the XPS cabinets you are building.  We are considering that.  I couldn't find good info about what thickness XPS to use to build them.  We were concerned how much abuse they can take without reinforcing the exposed edges.  If I hit it gently by accident, will it dent?
 
then I would say the gorilla glue heavy constructive adhesive is the way to go.. as far as the cabinets go, I have video on my build.. And you are welcome to send me a PM
 
I used liquid nails. I don’t know how much there are between the different grades but I use the pro formula. That could be just a word printed on the outside of the tube to get a little extra money for it but I don’t know but it wasn’t that expensive. I like the product because we could put it in a caulking gun and use it very conveniently that way. I put a half inch of insulation down and then a piece of three-quarter inch plywood. Over top of that I put a piece of vinyl flooring that had wood grain print on it.I know many Are saying that 3/4 is overkill. Right now with the price at almost $90 a sheet yes it would be too much money but I got mine a year ago at half that price. And really the difference in weight from half inch to three-quarter inch is not that great. almost everything I have is fastened to that floor which is fastened to the van. I like what I did I’d probably do the same if I got to do another van. Like the old lady said when she kissed a cow everybody to their own fancy.




inch piece of insulation
 
liquid nails is a good product, for the XPS though, and with what I am doing, I found it to be very liquidy, The gorilla si a bit thicker.. That said the difference of the two products probably would not matter to attach xps to a floor..
 
I use hotglue on all my insulation because it dries quickly and is as good as any other glue and no fumes. But because of the fast drying the foam sections have to be small maybe 3x3 feet at the largest. The best part of hotglue is it works extremely well with foam and metal, once installed it will be there until you decide to pry it loose.
I tried to use gorrila glue to attach foam to a metal wall years ago, but it wouldnt stick, it wouldnt be my first to go glue. It might work on the floor but you have to follow the directions to the letter and clean the area with the right cleaners. With the hotglue I dont have to clean anything unless its really dirty or wet I might wipe it with a rag.

This is picture of my rtech foam installation on the roof, the floor would be the same maybe easier. Notice how I cut the foam into small sections and installed like a jigsaw puzzle. Its been on the roof for about 6 years, never had it come loose. I think having it in small sections makes the whole assembly much stronger. The only xps foam I used was on my windows, that was before I discovered hotglue, I used doublesided tape for that. I havent tested hotglue on xps foam but it sticks to almost everything.
roof insulation.jpg
 

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I can see hot glue working for several different applications, they do sell different types and strengths also.. I would bet it would probably work quite well in the XPS
 
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