Installing Pallet Walls on Our Skoolie
Though Emmett and I were super excited to install our subfloor, the wall installation was a lot less fun. The insulation portion of the project was incredibly time consuming and messy. See for yourself by virtually going through this process with us!
Disclaimer (as always): We are not professionals. We are learning this as we go and I created these posts merely to offer guidance to other bus conversion novices like ourselves.
How We Installed the Walls on Our Skoolie
Step 1: Attaching Studs to the Steel Ribs of the Bus
Our studs attached to steel ribs with multi-material screws.
Unfortunately, I was sick the day that we had set aside for this part of the project. Luckily, Emmett stepped up and did it all by himself! (Thanks, Emmett!) That’s also why I only have one oddly angled picture to demonstrate this process (see above). Anyway, to place the studs: Emmett cut 2x2s to size and put them alongside each of the steel ribs of the bus. From there, he pre-drilled matching holes into both the steel ribs and the 2x2 studs. After pre-drilling, he screwed the studs onto the ribs using multi-material screws. (See tools used section at the end of the post for more info).
Step 2: Insulation
Me shoving an odd puzzle-like arrangement of foam-board into one of the trickiest sections of wall.
The styrofoam “snow” aftermath of insulating the walls..
This part of our bus conversion was the most frustrating so far! During the demolition phase, we removed the steel panels and old insulation and then were left with what were essentially little wall pockets. [Click on the photo on the right above this to see what I mean. The “pockets” are somewhat visible to the far left.] Due to this pocket situation, placing the foamboard was pretty tricky. The space in the pocket was generally 2 inches thick and our foam-board was also 2 inches thick. However, the pockets weren’t consistently 2 inches thick and we ended up having to cut a lot of the foamboard into even smaller pieces. Then we played a bit of Tetris with foam-board pieces and had to literally shove them into the pocket-like sections. Anytime there was a rough seam, we used our handy HVAC tape to seal it and/or sometimes squeezed sprayfoam into the odder spaces.
Not only was placing the insulation into the walls difficult but cutting the foam-board to size with our small handsaw created a HUGE mess. Due to our budget constraints, we had to buy the very environmentally-unfriendly styrofoam insulation which we were already resigning ourselves to doing. Then, every time we cut a piece of foam-board, it “snowed” all over the interior of the bus and us. Emmett and I did a lot of vacuuming with our Ryobi cordless handvac to get the litter up and try to keep as much of it from escaping the bus as possible. I think/hope we did a good job of cleaning up, but it was stressful.
Completed insulation! Please ignore the inconsistencies.
Step 3: Deconstructing (Free!) Pallets
Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash /// These are the types of pallets we’ve used.
I have said it many times before on this blog and I will say it again: Emmett and I are big ole cheapos. We love to save money whenever possible. Thus, we decided early on in our bus conversion that we wanted to use wood from free (!) deconstructed pallets to make our walls have a cabin-like feel. We have sourced about six pallets at this point and have finished about 1/3 of the walls. At that rate, I reckon we will use about 18 pallets total for all of our walls to be finished.
To deconstruct the pallets, we pried them apart with hammer and chisel. From there, we cut the pallet wood to fit onto the wall studs and then sanded it down. This is a very time consuming process - and one that we are still currently working on!
Cutting pallet wood to size on the back stoop at our apartment.
Step 4: Attach Pallet Wood to Studs
A process shot of our first two sections we put on the walls. Note our drill and the empty box of screws.
A finished portion of wall!
We pre-drilled holes into the studs and then used decking screws to drill the pallet wood onto the wall studs. Pretty straightforward stuff! The section in the back of the bus (visible on the far left of the image below this) had to be glued on with Loctite adhesive because the above-engine section of wall didn’t have a place for stud insertion. That portion of wall is really just for aesthetics anyway, so Emmett and I weren’t too concerned about using adhesive. Our whole bedroom now has walls which is thrilling! They are looking pretty good already - if we do say so ourselves.
Finished walls in the bedroom!
Tools/ Materials Used
Our box of 1000-count decking screws.
Attaching Studs to Steel Ribs
Measuring Tape
2-1/4-in Bronze Epoxy Flat Exterior Multi-Material Screws
RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless Drill
DEWALT 2-Piece 1/8-in Set Titanium Twist Drill Bit
2-in X 2-in x 8-ft Furring Strips
2. Insulation
2" 4x8 Polystyrene Insulation Board (4 count)
6.625-in Coarse Cut Jab Saw
Measuring Tape
3M HVAC Tape
Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks 12-oz Spray Foam Insulation (4 count)
RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless Handvac (For Cleanup)
3. Deconstructing Pallets
16 oz. Claw Hammer
3/4" Hardcap Chisel
Measuring Tape
RYOBI 18V ONE+ Cordless 1/4 IN. Sander
RYOBI 18-Volt ONE+ Cordless 6-1/2 inch. Circular Saw
4. Attaching Pallet Wood to Walls
1/4-in x 2-1/2-in Ceramic Deck Screws 1000-Count
RYOBI ONE+ 18V Cordless Drill
DEWALT 2-Piece 1/8-in Set Titanium Twist Drill Bit
Premium Multipurpose Loctite Construction Adhesive
Minwax 64-fl oz Stainable Wood Filler
Putting together a solar-powered 12v system on our skoolie.