Sawmill!

I had to work yesterday.  It was no fun.  It was, as I feared, a killer day.  Someone called in sick.  I had to do my job and then someone else's.  It made for a very long day.

When I got home you'll never believe what I discovered.  I found my beloved hand-milling some spruce (That's Dash in the foreground).  Also in the foreground is some of the siding from dear Miss Maizy.

Today, after a moderately hard day at work, I found Peter was just finishing the milling process and we now have this nice pile of spruce 1x2's, ready for wall building.

We are ready to move forward.  We headed to town to purchase our plywood for the walls.  Heading into town means going into the Bellingham, about 15 miles away.  We examined a dozen sheets of 1/4 inch fir plywood only to decide that the quality was less than desired.  Plans changed (remember I said being flexible here was key?) and we traipsed off to Windsor, intending to purchase that incredibly beautiful birch plywood for that incredibly fine price.  After 20 minutes of examining the birch plywood and Windsor's other offerings we ended up with deciding the fir from Home Depot was more than adequate - as the Windsor birch was less than 1/4 inch and Peter felt we really needed the full 1/4 inch.

As it turns out, we decided to wait to purchase the plywood until next week.  With work schedules as they are we won't have time to work on the wall until then anyway.  

Demo is winding up

Work progresses.  In fact, I reached a point today where there was simply no more dis-assembly to be done until some assembly takes place.  Let me share some of the day's highlights with you.

The interior banquettes were stuck fast.  As near as I could tell they were screwed from the bottom, up into their framework.  If indeed, that were the case, I needed to crawl under Miss Maizy to release those persnickety  screws.  Under I went:

I have taken to wearing some sort of face mask or breathing apparatus because the dust, the mold, the ... whatever, is very disagreeable.  It causes me to cough and I fear that it is riddled with all sorts of toxic things that I should not breathe.  

As it turns out, the screws were not from the bottom up.  Once I found screws poking out the bottom of Miss Maizy it was clear that they were from the top down.  I went back inside and finally found them,  They were stuck tight and would not budge.  I called in my muscle-bound husband and he managed to get most of them out and then man-handled the remainder.  Except for one screw.  It has gotten the better of the both of us and the banquette is still in place.

Removing the electrical system was one of the last things on my list and it really wasn't so difficult.  One breaker, one small junction box.  Removing a few screws, a few wire nuts and it was a done deal.

And then all hard workers need a beer break.  A little Black Butte Porter is just what was needed.

After the break I went back to stare at Miss Maizy and came to the conclusion that there was simply no more demolition be done.  It is time to start rebuilding sides.  

Tomorrow I must work but when I get home (assuming it's not a killer day) it will be time to measure.  I took photos of every side of Miss Maizy, and I've printed them intending write on them with the length of each piece of wood and each opening size.  

Thursday we go buy the plywood we have selected and get started building sides.  And we will hope my measurements are accurate!

Born to Shop

Today was a fun shopping day.  I had to work a bit (must work to get paid to pay for this stuff). But work was quickly done and off we went to the supply stores for a little reconnaissance.

Since Miss Maizy is small we kind of feel we can spend a little more on some things.  I mean, it's not like we are are dealing with a 20 foot trailer that requires 200 square feet of flooring and 40 sheets of plywood.

We are preparing to build new sides and we need plywood.  About 10 sheets we think.  We want a quality wood and headed out to Windsor, a local specialty wood store.   I (we) have some serious decisions to make.  This birch wood is $35.99 a sheet.  Exactly what we need and it's really beautiful. There are two problems with it.  The price is one.  At $35.99 that adds up quickly!  Plus it's just too pretty.  I envisioned painting the interior white and this wood is just too pretty to paint.

We also considered a marine virola.  Just as expensive, probably more durable, and not nearly as pretty, which means I can paint it any color I want and not feel bad.

And then we left the hoity toity wood store and checked out the local Lowe's and Home Depot.

They have a perfectly fine plywood for just $27.99 a sheet and not too pretty so perfect to paint.  I think that's the way we will go.

We left the plywood department and headed to the flooring department.  In my head I can picture exactly the look and feel I want in my little Miss Maizy.  I need to install the flooring before we replace walls and cabinets.  In building a trailer, it's done before putting in the attached elements (I learned that on a YouTube video).

In my research today I learned what I don't like.  I do NOT like rolled vinyl flooring.  It's seriously awful.  It is certainly a cost saving option but man it's ugly.  Of the two samples below I really like the one on the left.  A tad more expensive (but I only need a little for my tiny Miss Maizy).  The problem with this choice is that it adds an additional 1/2 inch to the flooring height. In a house, not such a big deal.  In Miss Maizy, a problem.  As it is, toward the back of the trailer Peter can not stand up straight.  Near the front he can, but the hair on his head brushes the ceiling.   If you add a 1/2" to the floor, he wont be able to stand up straight at all.  Not so comfortable for him and I'm afraid I don't have time to wait for osteoporosis to shrink him and inch or two. 

The sample on the right is a peel and stick vinyl option.  If done well it wouldn't be too bad.  The problem here is that my experience with peel and stick has not been particularly positive.  

  

After our fun research trip we came home to a bit more work on Miss Maizy.  We continued removing skin and insulation.  She hardly looks the same.

At the end of yesterday I said things would be a walk in the park, and with today off from work I should be able to make major progress.  I was making a joke.  However, I did have higher hopes for todays progress.  

My first task of the day was to remove the vent on the roof.  A simple task, so I thought.  The problem was that the screws were covered with some sort of waterproofing caulky substance.  The screws were stuck fast.  I had to chip away the junk to expose the screws.  Unfortunately many of the screws were rusted in place and the vent flange was bent around the screw head, which kept my nut driver from getting a solid grip.  Each screw needed to be loosened with the vice grips, then hand un-screwed.  And then, the screws on the back side required I perch precariously on the top step of the ladder while laying on top of Maizy without actually putting any of my weight on her.  This task, which I figured would take me 10 or 15 minutes, took over an hour.

Not only did I struggle with the screws, but the second step, removing all the weather stripping,involved my supervisor, Oliver, who was micro managing and causing everything to go slower:

I did, eventually get the vent removed and most of the weather stripping cleaned up.  The view through the hole was very green.  According to Peter it was because of the type of lighting I was using.  I think the picture looks very cool.  As you can see, Oliver decided to move to the kitchen counter.  Just about the only time you will EVER find a cat allowed on my counters.  gack.













Other tasks I managed to complete today included removing all the fasteners from the "drivers side" of the trailer, the rest of the windows, the running lights from the front, part of the interior bench, and most of the plumbing systems, including the fresh water holding tank.









Peter seems to be totally onboard and has been researching insulation and types of wood required for strength and weight.  I really, really appreciate his enthusiasm and participation.  But I noticed that his vision was more about restoring Miss Maizy to original design, while I envisioned something more along the lines of "glamping."

I have been hesitant to bring up this difference in our approach.  But today the opportunity presented itself and I shared my vision with him.  I had many ideas, shifting the orientation of the bed, adding end tables, moving electrical outlets, adding a composting toilet and.  (this was the big idea..) removing the kitchen counter and replacing it with a free standing dresser.  Crazy, I know!  And I'm not entirely sold on the idea but I think it would be really cute and provide plenty of storage to boot.  I was thinking of taking out the oven and just adding a cook top.  It's not like I'm going to bake cookies or roast a turkey or anything.  We don't really need an oven.    Here is a picture of the general idea - only I don't like this dresser, I don't like the color and I most certainly do not like the wall behind the ice box.  It does give the general idea though.

Peter was somewhat non-committal over this idea - but I think it will grow on him.  Or else.  hahahaha.

New day, new plan

The nice thing about removing windows is that the gaping holes become the perfect way to jettison materials.  The first task on today's list was to remove the bunk bed.  An awkward piece of lumber to try to manuever in such a small space.  Fortunately - it fit right out the window.  I don't think the bunk bed will be returning to my tiny space.  Instead, I will put in a built-in cupboard or shelf.

While I was taking down the bunk bed and attempting to remove upper cabinets I found something that brought back a fond memory.  Remember - I used to take my kids camping in this delightful thing back in the 90's.  On one camping trip near Beacon rock (in the Columbia Gorge) I let the kids make jiffy pop while I sat out by the fire with a glass of wine.  I am sure this was a perfect example of bad parenting, being left unsupervised with open flames and all.  Bad parenting or not, I did it anyway.   Next thing I know, I heard screams of "FIRE!!" I dashed in to find the jiffy pop had caught fire and was threatening the curtains and cupboards.  I grabbed the popcorn and tossed it out on the ground and saved the day.  Not really that heroic.  Disaster was easily averted and there is a nice singe mark on the bottom of the cabinet.    Ahh... good times!   It's kinda sad that I am going to lose that reminder.  But not too sad.

While I slaved away at demolition I had company.  Oliver the studio cat has decided to be the foreman of this operation.  His attentiveness was quite thorough, when he wasn't napping.  I wonder if he was monitoring safety precautions?  

I removed the last of the skin from the door side of Miss Maizy.  This exposed more rot along the door frame.  The threshold blew off while we were bringing her home.  I am really surprised the door didn't blow off as well.  As we see how much rot she has and how flimsily she is built, Peter wonders that we got her home in one piece at all.  Despite my earlier hopes, I am getting more convinced that Miss Maizy is going to be a complete tear down.

This was a fun thing to find.  Wasps.  Dead wasps.  It could have been way worse - they could have been live wasps.

And this is where I leave her at the end of the day today.

Our original plan was to skin one side, rebuild the wall, replace the wall and then move to the next section.  It seems to be important to have flexible plans.  The floor will certainly need to be replaced.  If we replace the walls before the floor, we won't be able to get to the floor.

So.. the new revised plan of attack is something like this:

• Skin the entire thing.
• Brace the interior to keep her from collapsing.  (apparently the skin provides some structural integrity)
• Remove the rest of the cupboards and interior elements.
• Using the skin as a pattern re-build both walls.  Set aside.
• Take out the walls.
• Remove the things that won't fit out the door or windows (stove, icebox)
• Replace the floor.
• Put the new icebox and old stove (if it works) back in.
• Put up the new walls
• Address wiring and plumbing issues
• Insulate
• Re-apply skin

That doesn't sound too hard and I have all of tomorrow off.  It'll be a walk in the park!!

The Freighbor

I have a friend and neighbor who goes by the very special title of "Freighbor"  In my eyes she is like the Martha Stewart of farm life.  (except for the insider trading thing, as far as I know)

I invited her over the other day to checkout my project and share her wisdom with me.  She came by and her eyes lit up and she was, indeed, bubbling over with ideas.  So many ideas that my head began to swim.

In fact she was so full of ideas that she decided to take on her own trailer project.  Not only is she now planning to refurbish her own 1973 Terry (aka Birch Betty) that's been sitting and rotting behind the barn, but she's already looking forward to finding an old used airstream and re-doing one of those.  It kinda makes my project load a bit less overwhelming.  And she really shouldn't poke fun of my random thoughts of weaving some custom cloth for curtains for Miss Maizy.  But seriously, her enthusiasm is catching.

I went by to check out Birch Betty today.  She's not nearly the wreck the freighbor would have me believe but she is so close to the 19' Terry Trailer that I got for the kids and I (after this one) that I started to get a little emotional.

During the visit, among the talk of rot, and paint, and skinning and such there was talk of adult beverages but I really wanted to get home and get to work on Miss Maizy so I declined, with the proviso that once I reached a task goal I would come back for refreshments.  My goal was to remove the rusted-in-place tail lights.  A task that I thought would take several hours.  As it turns out, 5 minutes.  They may have been rusted but it's not like the rusted screws were holding onto anything solid.  They basically just pulled off.

Given that this task only took a few minutes, and that it was still before noon, I thought adult beverages might be a bit premature.  My brother would say "it's 5:00 somewhere!" but I have priorities.

So I started removing the skin of Miss Maizy.  We have decided to do one side at a time.  We watched more YouTube videos so we are practically experts now.  Removing the skin was not very difficult really, but I was left not so sure if I should be happy, or concerned.  The bottom, near the tire is clearly rotted.  All of this wood must be replaced.  Above that, surprisingly, the wood was in good shape.

I continued to remove the skin, from the bottom up when I learned something quite important.  Something I've shared with the Freighbor already so she does not repeat my mistakes.  Ensure that all screws, tacks and staples are removed BEFORE removing any skin.  Otherwise you end up with this deadly sharp piece of aluminum sticking out at eye level while you try to get the top tacks/staples out.

So now, it seems, it may be time for that adult beverage because for the time being, I have all the skin off I plan to take off, as I don't want to compromise the structural integrity before we are ready to start rebuilding the wall.  I still need to remove more stuff from the inside, like the upper bunk and the stove. but we are getting close to going from tear-down to build up - at least on this one side.

Things I have learned

It was very fortunate that my first full day with Maizy was also a day off for me.  I got to spend all day with her.

I have been watching YouTube videos on how to restore a trailer and I felt confident jumping into the deep end of the pool.

I first started on the interior of the trailer.  I took off doors, removed drawers and hinges. paper towel holders, paper plate holders and anything else that was not screwed down - and some things that were.

I removed the screen door, took out the table rail and banquettes and swept out the space.  It all went smoothly.  Then I moved outside and started removing the gutter/railing.

Then the lessons began.  I learned a few things that I would like to share.

Just becasue someone makes a YouTube video on a topic, does not mean they are experts and they don't know everything.

This railing covers a series of tacks that connect one side of the skin to the other as well as to the framework of the trailer.

The YouTube video I watched stressed how this was a long, tedious process and can not be rushed.  The guy gave tips for removing the screws and explained how an electric screw driver will strip the screws and can cause damages.

This picture is how many screws I removed today:

There are about 160 screws here (I counted)  a little over 1/2 way through removal of these my forearm and shoulder and hands were killing me and I decided to use the electric drill.  It worked like a charm.  It was EASY.  It did not strip anything.  It did not damage anything.  I should never have taken the word of a random guy in a video and I should have known not to since at some point he admitted that he had never done this before.  I still have a long way to go and yes, I will be using the electric screwdriver every chance I get.

I learned that not all trailers are built the same.

This same YouTube guy told me (yes, he was talking directly to me) that underneath the rail, once I painstakingly removed all those screws holding it in, I would find a series of simple-to-remove tacks.  Nope.  My trailer has these horrible little staples.  Not fair not fair not fair. I decided to move on to another project.  I will tackle those stupid staples another day.

Testing the water pipes with the water on full pressure is a bad idea

From the beginning I figured I would have to replace most, if not all, the plumbing in Miss Maizy but you can't just assume things so I decided I should test the pipes.  I plugged in the hose and turned it on.  Before I could leave the tap I heard spraying and spewing.  A smart me would have immediately turned off the water, but I thought maybe the faucet at the sink was just open and spraying and spewing into the sink.  I trotted to the trailer and nope, water, water everywhere.  The water wasn't getting anywhere close to the faucet, it was all coming out under the cabinet.  So of course it was a mad dash back to the tap to turn things off.  Since I choose to put a good spin on this I shall admit my test was successful and I now know, for absolute sure, that the plumbing all needs replacement.  It also gave me an opportunity to clean the cabinets out a bit better.

I learned that when scraping gunk off a trailer from a location that is over your head, KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED!

I don't think this one needs much explanation.  However, I will have you know I gave up any pretense of being a lady and behaved like a teenage boy in a spitting contest.

Bringing her Home

We picked up  Miss Maizy yesterday.    Peter had not seen my beloved Maizy before.  His first words were:  "she is small...."   After that his words seem to be few and well chosen.

Before looking her over, I handed Max (the previous owner and my ex-husband) the agreed upon price.  A decision I began to regret.

When last I took her camping, Miss Maizy was in fine condition.  That was, of course, close to 16 years ago.  Her license plates expired in 2004 so she has sat in the weather unused and unloved for at least 12 years.  She did not fair well with this neglect.

My original plan for her was that I would bring her home, clean her up, replace some plumbing here and an ice box there, put down new floors, paint and decorate.

With all of Max's stuff out of it, we were finally able to get a good look at her interior.  We have leakage and rot.  I am sure what we can see is just the tip of the iceberg.

As we inspected the exterior we noticed some loose siding and signs of more trouble.  Peter and I briefly discussed trying to back out of the deal.  But for some reason we chose not to.  Eternal optimism maybe?

A deal is a deal and we hooked her up and off we went.  V-e-r-y slowly and cautiously.  We were both afraid she would blow apart at freeway speeds.  And we had 300 miles to go!  As we approached 50 miles an hour we heard ominous creaking and groaning from behind us.  I rode twisted around facing backwards so if she started to go I could give fair warning and Peter kept checking the mirrors.  We also checked the faces of the people passing us and none appeared to be concerned about us.  There was no looks of terror or mad gesticulations trying to tell us we were leaving a trail of parts on the highway behind us.

We made it to the first rest area for a systems check.   Indeed, we had lost something.  The door threshold had blown off, now a permanent part of the debris along the freeway.  In so doing, it exposed yet more rot.  

Although I thought we might want to turn around and demand our money back I didn't say it out loud.  We continued northward.  We talked about the process of dismantling her and putting her back together.  It's going to be a much bigger job than I originally hoped for.  She is going to have to be "skinned" and gutted and pretty much everything replaced and then put back together.  We also decided we can do this.  

After another 100 miles we decided that if she hadn't blown apart yet, she probably wasn't going to and we relaxed a bit.  Finally making it home about 8:00.

This morning we gave Miss Maizy a bath.  It's encouraging because even just mostly clean, she looks quite adorable.

The next step is to get her in the barn and start disassembling her  (and when I say that I hear in my head: "Number 5 is alive.  No disassemble!!"

It's no big wheel, Maizy needs tires

Although it's still about 10 days before I get to bring Miss Maizy home, the previous owner (also known as Max, my ex-husband)  is preparing her for travel.  My beloved daughter caught the moment on camera:

Yes, that's one of his best angles.  Kidding, he's really not such a bad guy.  Mostly.  Anyway - he has removed all his junk from inside and hauled her out from between my daughter's wrecked red Honda and his wrecked jet boat and tested her basic systems.  Her lights don't work. That can be addressed with some temporary lights that we string on the outside for the trip home.

The more immediate concern is tires.

Max was getting ready to go get tires for her (see.. I told you he wasn't so bad!) but I had to go and be picky.  I've seen pictures and really wanted white wall tires for her.  Thus began my tire education.  This is where this post get's boring - feel free to stop reading.

Apparently there are "ST" style tires.  ST stands for "Special Tires."  Special Tires do not come in white wall.  Special Tires are made for vehicles that get towed and are not driven.  They have a different kind of traction which allows for the slippage required by something being towed.  Plus they take more air pressure and are a more durable tire.

After visiting two tire stores and filling my head with gobs of facts about traction, air pressure and assorted acronyms, as well as pricing of the ST tires vs white wall tires, I made a decision to go with the ST tires.  But then I decided Maizy needed new wheels.  Because, well, the existing ones are really ugly.

The original plan is to save money where possible.  So I thought I would take these wheels and clean them up and powder coat them, or rattle-can them with Rustoleum.  Cha-ching!  Money saved!  Except these wheels will always look like spray painted wheels and the new wheels the tire guy showed me are so pretty.  I am sure it was a sales tactic but it worked.

If I am going to eventually get new wheels to go with my special ST tires,  it makes no sense not to get them now.  It would be totally crazy to get new tires, put them on these old wheels, just to bring Miss Maizy home, and THEN swap  out the wheels.  That would not be a good use of my budgeted dollars. (let's not really talk about that though, because I really don't have a budget.)

Since I wasn't getting my white wall tires, I thought I really wanted hub caps.  Which brings me to the next thing I learned today while getting my tire education,  apparently you can go to WalMart and pick up hubcaps to put on almost any wheel.  I also learned from the tire guy that they usually don't last long before they fall off and get lost.  I shall have to ponder the hub cap option awhile, but at least that's not a decision that needs to be made now.

While I wait to bring Miss Maizy home I have been watching YouTube videos on trailer restoration.  I now know how a trailer is assembled and how to fix rot, remove the skin, and replace cabinets and flooring.  I am getting prepared.  YouTube and I are going to get this done!