Wall covering fabric and installation.

[racerdude95]

Hey guys, Just finished installing foam insulation and luan 1/4 inch paneling to the walls and sealing. Considering what to use as fabric covering before I install cabinets and trim. Found some cool fabrics at Joannes store. Should I use a thicker fabric such as Upholstery material or something like a headliner material with a foam backing? I fear the headliner may disintegrate over time. What is the best glue to use without worrying about it falling down when it gets to be hot inside during the summertime.

[geofkaye]

....."prep" is the trick for interior walls....first coat the plywood on both sides with KILZ sealer also do the edges well....use either the enamel or the latex-but do a good job/if too thin use a second cost. I use fabric/or carpet that is used for headliners.....but you might use a vinal with an 1/8' foam backing also.....use a spray headliner glue-I use 3M- and apply it to the matching sides of the wood/foam let cure for a few minutes and them roll it on with a 8" roller to secure it to the plywood-fold the material over the edge and secure with glue and staples[this is why I use 3/8" plywood-it doesn't bow or flex much] stretch the material as you roll it on and make the edges tight and well glued as that is important over the long haul....reattach the panel with screws-not nails. Do each panel-you might have to trim the wood as you go-basically as you re-due each panel there will be some adjustment.....screws have a plastic washer with a cap and there are more variety's to use.....might also use 2" Velcro X 6" long but make sure that it is glued well to the panel and the frame....it will hold for years if you do the job carefully and there is no tension on the Velcro joint....try to stay away from buttons and screws as much as possible as it dates your rig....I have used the Velcro and covered all the edges of the panel-but it was over kill now that I look back a strip every 18" is quite enough-it allows some flex which is important over time. geofkaye

[racerdude95]

Thanks for the info. Is there an adhesive that is better than all the rest? I don't ever want to redo this thing. Unless of course my wife gets tired of the design.

[geofkaye]

....THE ONLY PRODUCT I USE IS THE 3M STUFF....it comes in gallon cans and looks like rubber cement....but what do I know-I get it from a fabric/upholstery supplier in town here... I use a glue spray gun-but it will work with a roller and pan [4"] but the fumes are quite potent an gets the girls really whacked out of their mind when using the stuff inside-funny, work is over in the early afternoon after an hour of spraying the stuff-the girls are quite stooooopid by then anyway. I have to do it outside in the open air b/c of the really bad headaches I get with it......If you do a good job of coating you will not have any blisters in the finished piece.....I have it installed in my trailer-on the wall for 5 years now and it doesn't come loose in the heat of summer.....in this market we are experiencing now-it is really cheaper to up date the interior than buy new.....a complete MH interior is about $1200 material cost and it sells for about $20k when done to the owners expectations.....geofkaye

[Doc Weaver]

Another point of view:

The front wall of my box catches the most wind and therefore is the coldest and noisiest. So here is how I treated it:
1) one layer of carpet padding
2) one layer of quilt batting
3) matching fabric and upholstery tacks from hobby lobby

It goes up (and down) real easy, so changing out fabric with the fickle times of fashion is not a problem. The padding gives a nice look (personal preference), as well as insulation. From an acoustic standpoint, the carpet padding absorbs structural noises, and the batting will help by lowering the overall volume inside. I used upholstery fabric (I think its type of linen), so the batting would work properly. Vinyl will act more like a sound barrier that blocks outside sounds. I used vinyl over the accordion gasket between the cab and the living space because I needed the extra sound barrier.

sidenote: I took geofkaye's advice when buying gear for my conversion, and I purchased most everything direct from the manufacturers. Saved thousands!

[geofkaye]

......in the "old days" we used to use lead foil on the floor of a Bus/Hearsts/MH to cover up the noise.....now that is not considered cool/legal/GREEN/healthy at all-even though we covered it with roll rubber and bonded it to the metal all around all 4 sides....times have changed....there are some expensive methods of eliminating noise on the market now.....but follow DOC Weaver's common scene approach and you have the same thing only at 5-10% of the commercial price-Doc understands sound [likes of which, I will never hear again] more than most understand what they eat for breakfast......some of the newer sound deadening materials are running upwards of $7.50 a sq.ft.....forgetaboutthat! If you want to learn about sound abatement I'd suggest you build a small lead box-drop a 6vt buzzer with batteries on and put the lead lid on....NO SOUNDS AT ALL.... When I was in S.E Asia there was a need to have meetings in rooms that voices couldn't be heard or broadcast from....the use of lead foil was very common and that is where I learned from the install crew how to control noise and radio interference......neat-but useless in civilian life-till now...Would I have lead in my vehicle now?....I have a lead foil floor in my Dodge PU since '92 and don't have any elevated lead levels.....but will remove it when it comes time to let it go.......geofkaye