Soundproofing for a van

As well as thermally insulating the van with Kaiflex, for certain areas – such as the floor and the engine compartment – I’ve used acoustic insulation designed for vans

Initially, I hadn’t planned to fit these soundproofing panels as I was insulating the ceiling and walls with Kaiflex, so my idea was to just use that roll. But when I got to the floor, I wasn’t so sure.

The thing is, Kaiflex is like foam, and obviously, if you walk on it, it breaks. If I’d laid it on the floor, even if I’d put carpet over it afterwards, it wouldn’t have been ideal, as walking on it would cause it to crack and, consequently, get damaged.

So I removed the little I’d put down and decided to use a different material for the insulation.

What sort of soundproofing did you use for the van?

To be honest, it makes perfect sense to use soundproofing material, especially in the engine compartment. The fact is, whether you like it or not, these vans are noisy and transmit a lot of noise. In fact, these vans come fitted with layers of butyl in the engine compartment as standard, specifically for soundproofing.

Well, after removing it and doing some research, I ended up buying Noico soundproofing panels, which are sold on Amazon, and to be honest, I’m really pleased with the result.

These panels come in 2mm-thick self-adhesive sheets. They’re easy to handle, but you need to be careful as they have an aluminium foil layer that could cut you (wear gloves).

And to apply them, you’ll need a small roller to ensure no air bubbles get trapped.

How much soundproofing do I need for my van?

I bought a box of 3.4 m² (the one in the link above) and that was enough to insulate the floor of the front section as well as the whole engine compartment.

Don’t go overboard with this material either, as it’s not like Kaiflex in terms of weight. Noico soundproofing weighs 3.7 kg/m², so with just one box we’re adding around 12.5 kg.

As you can see, I haven’t fitted this soundproofing material in the central area of the van so as not to overload it, and because that area has a wooden floor, which allows me to fill the gaps with Kaiflex as it won’t be walked on.