Floor Work

Well, the walls and cabinets finally came out and I am down to the floor and trailer frame.  I had to have a friend come and spot weld one of the braces at the door threshold.  It had broken loose.  I ended up with four floor patches....the back two corners and back frame was replaced.  The door threshold was rotten and there was a hole in the floor where the battery acid had leaked.  I finished all the patch work/bracing then finished laying the new floor and I LOVE IT!

It is a new Armstrong product that was easy peasy.  Linoleum "planks" that link up with sticky edges and basically float on top of the old flooring.  I went with "country pine".  I love the rough hewn look of it.  I think it will go well with the beadboard walls.  I also think I will be able to easily match it with a natural stain on the birch ceiling.

I hit Goodwill AGAIN.  Here are a few of the things I picked up:

Brand new luxe pillow shams from Italy.  Really!  From Italy. They actually had tags still on them for....get this....$180.00 a pair!!!  Are you kidding me?  People actually pay that much for a pair of pillow shams???  I got them for $18.  I usually don't pay that much for things at Goodwill but they were brand new and very high end material so I snatched them up faster than lightening and danced a little jig all the way to the check out.  :o)

Vintage glasses for 50 cents each.  I picked up 6 of them.  I remember drinking out of these kinds of glasses when I was a little girl in the 70s.  Ours were green but I like the clear better. 

How about this vintage aluminum canister set for $5.  Very retro.  I don't know exactly how they will work in the trailer but I will figure something out....they are too cute.

Demo Days

Well, I was hoping that I didn't have to take down the side walls but the seam staples were rusted through, the top and bottom edges of the plywood were rotted and would need replacing.  I started taking down the walls piece by piece.  This is like one giant puzzle and I can only hope that the pieces are going to fit back together once that day comes. 

I plan to go with beadboard on the side walls.  I am using Gorilla Glue and staples to layer 1/4" beadboard on top of the 1/2" plywood for the replacement walls.  It will be heavier when completed but as long as I distribute the extra weight evenly then it should not be a problem.  The next few weekends will be focused on getting all the panels built, pieced together and then cut out.  My sixteen year old son is helping....he loves using the air compressor and staple gun!  I really enjoy his company while we build.

I also have a few spots on the floor that need to be addressed.  The back corners were rotted so I have some repairs there.  The framing on the back of the trailer will also be replaced.  I have to be careful because the linoleum used in these older trailers has asbestos so sawing through it is not advised.  I have gently been peeling it back where I will be making cuts and wearing safety gear. 

I'll just tell it like it is...the roof was a flat out pain in my booty to get off.  I am only 5'4" and small so lifting it off by myself was a job.  I ended up pushing up from the inside, dog cussing the whole time, and sliding it forward little by little.  Eventually gravity pulled it on down the front end.  It will be replaced with a seamless piece of aluminum ordered from a shop in town that repairs tractor trailers.  It will cost $14 per linear foot so I estimate maybe $200 worth of aluminum all total.

I also scored some vintage coffee mugs at the local thrift store for 50 cents per mug.  Aren't they cute?  I picked up a few other cool items that I will show off in some later posts.  Gotta love Goodwill!

Peeling back the onion

Well, my initial plan for this trailer was to make a few repairs, decorate her and go camping.  I have seen pictures of other's projects and wondered to myself "why did they buy a trailer and then tear it all down?"  Well, now I know....because that is where I am heading very quickly.  I don't want to go there but the water damage was more than I expected and I only want to do this once. I took off the front and back skins and saw all the slats had to go.  "OK, I can do that...at least the floor is good."  Then I saw where battery acid ate through the front right corner. "OK, I can repair that....at least the sides are good."  Then I saw where 2" along the entire bottom and every seam in the side was rotted.  "Darn, I don't know if I can do THAT!"  YUK.

This is a real delimma because the Scotty has solid 1/2" plywood with laminated paneling on the inside. Anywhere I patch with not have the paneling on the inside and will be hard to hide the repair.  I'm gonna get the roof and the rest of the skin off today and see if I can pull together a suitable game plan that DOES NOT involve taking down the sides.

By the way, I honestly do not know how I would get this project done if it were not for the help of a very cool woman out in Washington who has managed to restore eleven vintage trailers!  She gives me advice and direction along the way. The internet is a wonderful resource and I met her through a vintage trailer repair forum.  There is a wealth of information out there for anyone who wants to learn. 

OK, so my favorite part of this whole project is planning the decor for the inside of the trailer.  I'm going to go for something I call "Vintage Cottage Glam".  I don't have it all worked out yet but I have pulled a lot of magazine pics that I like and they all have a common theme.  Beadboard, reflective surfaces like stainless steel, mirrors and crystals, warm variations of white with pops of turqoise (which will go well with the outside color of the trailer).  One thing I have decided...I will keep everything neutral so that I can easily change pillows and curtains with pops of color to change the look inside.  I have a long road ahead of me before I am picking out curtains but thinking about them keeps me motivated.