How to Cheaply Cover Your Skoolie Windows
As we got closer and closer to framing out the rooms of our skoolie’s interior, we were faced with a dilemma: how could we cover up some of our windows? We’ll be keeping most of our windows accessible, but some of them will be inside a closet or behind the fridge, etc. How could we cover them up without spending a ton of money to replace the whole window with a steel cover? Eventually, I came up with a solution that was inexpensive and relatively straightforward.
Disclaimer (as always): We are not professionals. We are learning this as we go and I created these posts merely for those interested and to potentially offer guidance to other bus conversion novices like ourselves.
Covering windows that you don’t plan to use
Step 1: Reflective Window Film
This is the finished product! This film really acts as a mirror for our skoolie’s surroundings. Note the difference between the window on the far left (no reflective film) and the other four (all covered with reflective film).
I knew right away that I would insulate the windows that we didn’t plan to use. Insulation covering the windows from the inside meant no drafty windows. A draft is not something that you’d want behind your closets or wherever else you would be building from the floor up. But our insulation is not exactly attractive - it’s certainly not something I want to have visible from the exterior view of the bus. Thus, I decided that a reflective window film would probably keep the insulation a secret from the outside. I bought 17.5 inch by 26 feet of one-way mirror vinyl window film, measured each window, then cut the film to size. Using a squeegee and a soap and water mixture in a spray bottle, I applied each pre-cut piece of vinyl to the tops and bottoms of the bus windows. See the final result above! All you see is the “mirror.”
step 2: Insulate Using Leftover Foam board
Windows as seen from the inside. These windows are covered because they’ll be behind our headboard and one closet.
We had quite a bit of 3/4” poly panel foam board insulation left over from installing our subfloor. I cut some of our scraps to size to fit within the window frame. The 3/4” panel turned out to be the perfect size! It created an almost perfectly flat wall above the lower pallet wood walls. The scraps were all smaller than the actual width and height of the windows, so I had to join several pieces together at the seams in each window using 3M HVAC tape. Hopefully that will keep the drafts out!
Materials Used on this Project
17.5 in. x 26 ft of Vinyl One-Way Mirror Window Film
1 Small Spray Bottle feat. Soapy Water
X-Acto Knife
Mini Squeegee
Measuring Tape
1 Painter’s Rag (for sopping up water sprayed on windows during vinyl install)
3/4” Poly Panel Board Insulation (Various Scraps from our Subfloor Project)
3M 2.5" HVAC Tape