The very first project we took on was the floor insulation. We used 5cm thick PIR insulation sheets, laid in a wooden frame. These have an Rd (insulation value) of 2.25, which seemed about right for a camper van.

After removing the multiplex floor, we thoroughly cleaned the metal van floor, which had collected a lot of sand and dust. With a clean floor, we made a layout and started assembling a wooden frame, in which we could perfectly fit the PIR sheets. We laid back the original multiplex floor on top of the insulation layer and screwed it to the wooden frame to have a solid floor.

Because of the large, thin metal surfaces, a van is very noisy when driving or even when it’s raining. Therefore, we first applied anti-rattling plates on all the large surfaces.

The first step in the construction was placing wooden slats on the metal beams of the van, using many thick screws. This is where all the furniture will be attached, so it needs to be a strong construction. I used the wood that I recovered from the old van interior for this.

Next, I placed 12mm thick slats vertically, which follow the curve of the van, as a basis to apply the actual walls. The walls are made out of 6mm poplar wood. This is a strong and low-density wood type, which makes it ideal for van interiors. After cutting the sheets, they are glued and tacked in place.