Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The last month






OK, I know I have not written since the burning of the old cabinetry. It seems like so lon ao that the framing of the cabinets went in. Since then we have completed the project, just in time for it to be thrown into the deep end so to say. But before I start writing about our excursion to the pan handle of florida, let me catch everyone up.

So after the framing of the cabinets were put in, I installed the electrical panel, installed the stove, refrigerator, hockey puck 12 volt halogen lights on a dimmer, 50 amp service so as to power all of the poles on my breaker panel, all plumbing installed, water lines, bathroom and kitchen sinks, counter-tops, fridge flu, side and front gauchos, front cabinet facing, insulated the floors with closed-cell spray foam insulation, gas lines, belly pan, wired the brakes, welded stairs and leveling jacks in place.

Here is where I left off.

I ended up arriving back home in Atlanta with the basic frame of the cabinets completed.
I spent the following weekend running the gas lines, then insulating the floors with closed-cell spray foam insulation, and then the following week completing the belly pan. What a job that was!!! It took me 4 days to complete the belly pan with .032 mill finish aluminum. I ended up just shoving aluminum between the exterior skins and the u channels. Of course, there was a lot of Trempro 635 involved. After this was completed, a buddy of mine came over and welded the leveling jacks and stairs to the trailer. The stairs were easy, but the leveling jacks required a bit more energy or thoughtfulness. I wanted them easily accessible for lowering, so we put them on both sides of the black/grey water tank wit a plate and some triangle supports as can be seen here. The front jacks were welded directly to some 3 by 3 steel turbing which was then welded to an outrigger and then a angle iron to te side of the tubing in order to provide some support against the floor. The real scare came when my buddy yelled for me to get the fire extinguisher. Some of the foam caught fire between the floors and bely pan. The inside of the trailer was full of yellow smoke. With a full extinguisher and water available to put out the fire, we got things under control.

Installing the appliances was actually easier than expected. All of them worked as they should, which is the way it should be, but you never know what kind of errors could have been made. So the fridge is a 3 way fridge (110,12v,gas) and works great. I ended up running a separate 110 ciircuit for the fridge. The stove serves as a 3 burner stove, toaster oven, etc and was really easy to hook up. The vent fan was only a challenge when I had to customize the vent piece fits around the hole in the side of the trailer. The hot water heater was all hooked up and all that was needed was to hook the blue, brown and red wires to the switch that was provided. I did, and it actually worked just as it should have. So, the appliances were actually one of the easier items to deal with on this trailer.

The sink was also installed the fit around the wall of the tube. I did not have the original pieces, so I improvised in order to keep the proress. It works just fine being supported by some wood. The toilet was really easy to install.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Burn Baby Burn






Well......Once we finished cleanign the shop up, we decided to go ahead and do what I ahve been wanting to do, and we burned the old cabinets. I am not going to o into details, you can see what happened, it was oh so nice.

Back Cabinet finished






So we spent the day finishing the install of the back cabinets complete with shelving and even a back panel hiding the wiring. We made a cut-out for the electrical panel to be in the divider between the way back cabinet and the 1 foot long hallway linen closet. You will see the hole. All in all, I am pleased more than I could have ever imagined. We get more and more done each day and I did not expect to get this far in 5 days. We still have 1 week to complete the doors as well as other items.

Tomorrow we plan on finishing the street side upper cabinet and the front cabinet. I am oing to put a coat of laquer on both cabinets to seal them and finish the 2 other coats and sanding when I get back home to Atlanta. Lots to do in order to get her ready to roll for Spring break....

Here is where we ended today, with the end caps adn dividers cut for the cabinet being made tomorrow.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

This past week





This past week has been a long week. One week ago I was prepping the interior for painting. Now I am in Ohio and have built cabinets for the kitchen and back streetside. This has kind of been a roller coaster ride to be honest. I have put alot of pressure on myself to finish this in time for April usage. Not only is every portion of the project different and challenging, the curves make everything more difficult. I keep telling myself that it is OK, that if it were easy, then everyone would be doing it, we would see these tings restored and all over the place. So, it all makes sense to me after I say this to myself.....It takes alot to do what I have done and I am having fun kowing that. So, tht is all I wanted to say. It has been a tough week or so....Even though this trip was labeled a vacation, it has been far from a vacation. I am really hoping to get to the finish line with this trailer so that I can take a vacation. I am really going to need it.

ALSO, I sometimes wonder who is actually reading this. Don't you wonder who is listening out there in the world all around us. I would like to one day, be able to meet some others who are likeminded and of similar nature as myself. That would be cool.

These pictures are some fun pictures including two of my lovely ladies, Rosemary and Atheena.

Streetside begining cabinets





Snow and Cabinets






OK, so today we really made some headway. We installed the kitchen cabinets, except for the blocks attaching it to the wall. We designed the street-side cabinets. This project is definitely a much larger project than I anticipated and I am really amazed at how much we have accomplished in 4 days, especially with this not being the only reason I am here in Ohio.

I woke today with it snowing. So in the past 3 days I have seen everything from sun to rain to snow. Here are some pictures of the majority of the kitchen cabinets installed as well as thing such as what I saw when I awoke and how our day just ended.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009