Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

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Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

June 19, 2022, 03:51:26 pm

Hi folks,

I did a search on "window insulation" and saw a few posts regarding use of Reflectix. We're gonna use that material, and found 4' wide roll so all of the windows can be made out of 1-piece of material.

My question is for the big interior windows (our LD is a Mid-bath). What works best for keeping out the cold and the midnight sun as we travel further north on our Alaska or Bust! Adventure?

For the sliding windows, how do you accommodate the window handle and screen?

How do you attach the Reflectix? Pressure fit? Velcro? And where to you attach it? Glass, inner frame, inner window trim? And with what?

I welcome any tips that you might have discovered that provide the most warmth as the temps drop, and also important, keep out the twilight that remains well after my bed-time ;-)

Thanks in advance. I hope to make these in the next few days, so your inputs will be most helpful.

Greatly appreciate all the expertise of this group. I'll report back on what we end up making and how it works.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #1 – June 19, 2022, 04:37:35 pm

I found a 4 x 25 ft roll at Lowes and used it for my 31 IB.
For the foward windows by the couch and table, the panel slips into the valence which holds it nicely.
For the side bedroom windows, I strung a piece of 1/4 paracord and hang that over the valence.
The rear window has guides on the sides and it slips in there, with a longitudinal brace to keep it from rolling up.
Covers for the cab windows are cut long and the doors are closed on them to keep them in place.
Never bothered with the kitchen window.
I have snap-on covers for the roof vents and trimmed pieces to fit.
I have a semi-permanently installed piece in the shower dome that I don't take out (on an 80 degree day, the shower hit 115!)
YMMV
Joel

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #2 – June 20, 2022, 08:54:37 am

For the 1988 MB Screens, I open the window and slip the Reflectix in between the sliding window and screen from the outside. while closing the window, also from the outside.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #3 – June 20, 2022, 12:05:56 pm

We simply press the Reflectix into the window and pull down the shade down to hold it in place. This works for us.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #4 – June 28, 2022, 03:52:33 am

Quote from: Ross and Beverly Taylor - June 20, 2022, 12:05:56 pm

We simply press the Reflectix into the window and pull down the shade down to hold it in place. This works for us.

Thanks Ross and Beverly,

That's the solution we ended up using. We tried making it bigger than the window frame to perhaps provide a better seal (or darkness), but it was just too difficult to install. So instead we matched the frame's shape, using a 6" bowl as a template for the 3" radius curves of our 2000 mid-bath. Turned out to be a perfect fit, and like you said, the stay in place and are aided by having the blinds drawn.

Greatly appreciate the input.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #5 – June 28, 2022, 10:54:57 am

Did you end up buying the 24" or the 48" wide rolls?

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #6 – June 28, 2022, 11:33:07 am

Quote from: pdl2win - June 28, 2022, 10:54:57 am

Did you end up buying the 24" or the 48" wide rolls?

We had initially purchased two 24" x 25' rolls, but ended up finding a store that sold it by the foot off a 48" roll. We bought 40 ft of thatso that we wouldn't have to piece anything together. Worked great and will have enough to do every window, skylight, and even the windshield. Ended up costing less that the two pre-packaged rolls, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #7 – July 15, 2022, 01:22:46 am

We tried a couple things.
A consideration is your window frames and how well they conduct the heat/cold.
After using reflectex to just cover the window, we now oversize it so the reflectex extends beyond the window frame a couple inches.
That made a big difference - we have metal frames and you can feel the heat/cold coming in.

We use a small piece of clear 3M Velcro for attaching.

For the large windows (lounge area of our TK), we use two piece overlapping as that is easier to handle vs one very large piece.

I have long considered creating “shades” with more than one layer of reflectex but never got around to it. Using these on the lounge area with the north side uncovered during very hot days , we could be very comfortable (eg around a 30 degree drop with the air conditioner on medium or high fan and maybe a 30 degree turn of the temperature knob).

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #8 – August 10, 2022, 01:05:18 am

Quote from: Jane and Scott - July 15, 2022, 01:22:46 am

We tried a couple things.
A consideration is your window frames and how well they conduct the heat/cold.
After using reflectex to just cover the window, we now oversize it so the reflectex extends beyond the window frame a couple inches.
That made a big difference - we have metal frames and you can feel the heat/cold coming in.

We use a small piece of clear 3M Velcro for attaching.

For the large windows (lounge area of our TK), we use two piece overlapping as that is easier to handle vs one very large piece.

Thanks Jane and Scott, those are great suggestions. Sorry for my delayed response.

We tried oversized first and found it too difficult to install, so we went with inside fit. It's more convenient, but I agree with you, won't do as good a job keeping us warm (or cool, depending on climate) due to the aluminum window frames. Your idea of 2-piece window shades for the extra-large window (for us, at the kitchen table) is an excellent idea (and would let you use 2' rolls). But we've made do with an interior fit from a 4' wide single piece of reflectix (cut to fit).

Out of curiosity, where do you store your reflectix shades when not in use? They can all get a bit unwieldy I find.

Thanks for the excellent suggestions!

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #9 – August 10, 2022, 06:33:43 am

I have made cloth covered insulated panels for all windows including the front windshield. I had a roll of brown packing paper similar to the heavy roll to cover floors purchased from home depot....i also used sheets of beige packing paper from uhaul. I used a couple of pieces of blue tape( or more as need to secure) to hold the paper in place. The paper is cut larger than the window you are covering. Depending on where you want the panel to cover you run a smooth wooden handle....cooking spoon, paint brush handle, plastic handle....to run around edge of where window meets track. This will leave an impression and you then cut just outside the impression for a tight fit. This works best in front cab window and the edges will fit tight in window channels. All windows are similar but the concept is to get a somewhat tight fit. You can trim down the edges to fit ...once you have them covered with fabric....this is an option. I used old shower curtains to lay out the fabric and panels to spray with adhesive( purchased at HD in paint department..get your area.set up to work....large table or surface..i used a long stick...to hold to fabric up while making sure the fabric did not wrinkle ...remember to wait 5 to 10 minutes after spraying for adhesive to become tacky before matching pieces together....having a helper will make this application easier...slow and easy..(paint stirrer for 5 gal bucket of paint) the cloth is cut much larger so as to give you more room for error...then cut back to edge of insulation once dry. Covering with cloth is only neccessary to make if you dont have blinds and want it to look nice. I went to a discount store and purchase a color that matched interior somewhat. I stored the covers under the mattress...keeps them flat. Also you can store under.mattress in overhead...or in back of closet secured with small bungy cords...made from buying cord to length at ace hardware and attaching appropiate sized hooks. I also made an extra set for the cab windows where i cut a small flap and installed no seeum screen between layers of cloth and insulated material which i doubled the cloth. This allowed more air to flow but with window rolled down only 3 inches or so for safety. This of course was used during nights when ac was not being used but air circulation from fans was needed.

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #10 – August 20, 2022, 08:27:59 am

Steve and Carol,

We store our reflectex window covers in the area above the cab. Folding them before placing them there. We don’t use that area for sleeping, it is our storage area.
Even when we have that area filled a lot, there is always a handful of inches at the top to slip the window coverings in.
I have thought about rolling them up and and attaching them with velcro on the ceilings (above the windows and out of the way of opening cabinets) but I never got around to trying that out (not sure if that would be too bulky or if I was ok with the look or not).

For the larger windows we use two pieces (right and left side) as that makes them much easier to handle than one large piece.
Jane

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #11 – August 21, 2022, 07:19:26 am

Quote from: Jane and Scott - August 20, 2022, 08:27:59 am

Steve and Carol,

We store our reflectex window covers in the area above the cab. Folding them before placing them there. We don’t use that area for sleeping, it is our storage area.
Even when we have that area filled a lot, there is always a handful of inches at the top to slip the window coverings in.
I have thought about rolling them up and and attaching them with velcro on the ceilings (above the windows and out of the way of opening cabinets) but I never got around to trying that out (not sure if that would be too bulky or if I was ok with the look or not).

For the larger windows we use two pieces (right and left side) as that makes them much easier to handle than one large piece.
Jane

More good suggestions Jane, thank you. That is where we are storing our window reflectix as well (like you , we use the cab-over for storage too).

And I see you used large size reflectix too, but cut in half for the large window. Good suggestion. Thanks again!

Re: Interested in best practice of making and fitting Reflectix window insulation

Reply #12 – September 25, 2022, 07:03:36 pm

Probably already have done this but reflectex under the sliding beds is a must.

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