The second part to be insulated in Pam the van was the walls and the two sliding doors.

The sides are not ply lined (due to awkward angles and shapes) while the doors are.

WALLS

The sides of the Kangoo are full of little holes that need to be filled in in order to have a flat surface to work on. Due to the weird shape of the area I’ve decided to use cheap foam camping mats as insulation covered with foil bubble wrap. Here is what I did:

1. Cut small pieces of camping mat and fill in holes between the wheel arches and the windows. Cut the pieces bigger than the whole as there is plenty of space behind the metal frame to fit them. I found that no glue was needed as the camping mats are quite sturdy and don’t move much if you put enough material in the holes. Also, in the holes there are electric cables for the rear lights and indicators, and the last thing you  want is to put glue on them!
   Fitting the mat inside the holes

   The finished look

2. Cover with foil bubble wrap, using high temperature contact glue.

DOORS

The doors insulation was slightly fiddly due to the opening mechanism and handle. In order to fit in the insulation and the plywood you will need to remove the plastic covering and displace the handle.

1. Remove the plastic cover from the doors by using a flat screwdriver.

2. Remove handle screw and push the handle to the left. There is a clip that keeps the handle in place. Look closely at where it is and maybe get used to put back the handle on it as it will be more difficult to do this once the ply lining is installed.

3. Fit the camping mat insulation to the metal body of the door. The door is quite deep so I’ve fitted 2 layers of camping mat. Again, no glue was needed (nor wanted!).

4. Make 2 template for the plywood lining by using 2 pieces of cardboard, then cut wood from 5.5mm plywood (I found a jigsaw the easiest tool to use to cut this thickness of plywood). Remember to make a whole for the handles!

5. Glue foil bubble wrap on the back of the 2 plywood pieces using contact adhesive.

6. Carpet the doors by cutting a piece of carpet, spraying spray contact glue to the plywood and the back of the carpet (the fluffier side) and by stretching the carpet to fit around the plywood (more on carpeting here).

7. Carpet the rest of the door (more here) and then fix the plywood panel to the metal door by using self tapping screws (by the way self tapping screws are just screws that cut their own hole, so you don’t have to pre-drill it yourself. They are also supposedly more resistant, durable and you guessed it freaking EXPENSIVE). If seeing the screw heads bothers you, you can try using screw caps or you can glue some carpet on top of them. I tried both methods but liked neither so I left it as it was.

8. Re-attach the handle by using the clip on the back of the plywood panel and by re-screwing the little black screw. Be prepared for this to be VERY frustrating as the panel thickness might make it difficult for you to refit the clip to the door handle. Take it as a great opportunity to learn patience 🙂

9. Check that the door mechanism works well by opening and closing the door and by checking the locking mechanism.

10. And yeiiiiii you are so totally done with those doors! No more door handle/clip fights for a while. Celebrate by having a cold beer.

-A ridiculous amount of coffee has been sacrificed to write this blog post so if you are feeling particularly generous, you can buy me one HERE .

You can also support Pamthevan’s adventures by visiting my Etsy shop HERE -