How To Insulate a Bunkie

If you are interested in using your bunkie in colder weather, we recommend adding insulation under the floor boards and roof while you are building to retain heat. You will also need to add a heat source.

How To Insulate a Bunkie Roof

To insulate the roof to reduce heat loss, here are some options:

• Ice & Water Shield
• Rigid Insulation
• Note that the strapping for this (the 2x4s OR 2x2s) is not included in the kit, please purchase some to fit. They will also allow give you a spot to screw in your metal roof panels if you choose to add a metal roof.

David Fraser will show you one way of many ways to insulate your bunkie roof by adding insulation before you put on your metal roof. In this case, the insulation is the same thickness as the wood, so it’s easy to install.

How To Insulate a Bunkie Floor

To reduce heat loss through the floor here are some options:

• Pressure treated 2x4s are included in the kit, so you can insulate in between this space with bubble foil, rigid insulation or spray foam. There are a lot of options out there to help reduce the amount of heat lost through the floor.
• Plywood Under Floor Sleepers: Some clients will add plywood underneath the floor sleepers to “trap” the insulation and not leave it exposed underneath.
• Bubble Foil: We’ve also seen clients add a layer of the bubble foil across the top of the sleepers with rigid insulation. Some will do only the bubble foil with no rigid insulation.
• Spray Foam: If you have space beneath some clients will spray foam underneath instead.
• Rigid Insulation: Many clients add plywood on top of their foundation, then lay pressure-treated floor sleepers, and cut rigid foam to size between each sleeper.  

David Fraser will show you one way of many different ways to insulate the floor of your bunkie.

The following video features one of our clients who insulated under the floor and roof and added a mini woodstove. He is staying in his bunkie year-round in Southwestern Ontario.

Our bunkies are great as is for 3 – 3.5 seasons of the year. If you would like to extend the length of time you are using your bunkie in colder weather, you will need to add insulation and multiple sources of heat. Read more about ideas for how to heat a bunkie > 

Client Tips

“When we built the base, we sprayfoamed the underside and had professional roofers install a Tyvek vapour barrier under the metal roofing. We also used Mulco Flextra caulking, and this is supposed to be the best.

We have 2 baseboard heaters installed and a ceiling fan as well. It was -25 outside the other night (January) and I would estimate the bunkie was around 18 degrees inside. I had 3 friends sleep over with only one extra blanket on top of the quilts. They all said they slept really well.”