Bathroom rebuilt... mostly
Posted 10-31-2009 at 07:16 PM by Bowmans
We sealed the shower walls with a PVC textured shower board from a box store and 100% silicone sealer. Here are a couple of shots before the hall wall went on:
We put a coat of polyurethane on the walls before mounting them, then put 2 more coats while in place. Here are the finished shots:
From the rear bedroom looking looking toward the bathroom (the framing of the bedroom wall lines up with mounting of the bath cabinets and will hide mostly below the bed):
We still need to make the cabinet and bathroom doors, the mirror back on over the window (after some trim is put on it), find the loop piece for the shower sprayer hose holdback bracket thing and get a toilet, oh and flooring. I will probably wait on making cabinet doors and do them all at once. I haven't decided yet but I may add some wood trim where the screw heads show on the sink to give it a more finished look but not sure if it is needed.
We also finished polyurethaning and inserting the new pine panels into the fridge. I took the orange Dometic stickers that were in the trim off since they were peeling and... orange and replaced them with 2 strips of pine paneling.
It is getting cold here and vacation from work is mostly used up so won't be much progress again until spring unless winter turns out warm in VA.
We put a coat of polyurethane on the walls before mounting them, then put 2 more coats while in place. Here are the finished shots:
From the rear bedroom looking looking toward the bathroom (the framing of the bedroom wall lines up with mounting of the bath cabinets and will hide mostly below the bed):
We still need to make the cabinet and bathroom doors, the mirror back on over the window (after some trim is put on it), find the loop piece for the shower sprayer hose holdback bracket thing and get a toilet, oh and flooring. I will probably wait on making cabinet doors and do them all at once. I haven't decided yet but I may add some wood trim where the screw heads show on the sink to give it a more finished look but not sure if it is needed.
We also finished polyurethaning and inserting the new pine panels into the fridge. I took the orange Dometic stickers that were in the trim off since they were peeling and... orange and replaced them with 2 strips of pine paneling.
It is getting cold here and vacation from work is mostly used up so won't be much progress again until spring unless winter turns out warm in VA.
Total Comments 7
Comments
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I have been following your work and have enjoyed watching the transformation. It has spurred me on to polishing my "78" Ambassador, helped me address the messy vista windows, and after seeing the woodwork....who knows! I was wondering how you got the correct curve for your panels, trace off the old? And how did you attach them to the sidewall and roof of the trailer. I didn't see the metal channels that are riveted on stock wall. The weather is affecting us here in PA as well. How is your paint holding up? Keep up the great work.
BobPosted 11-01-2009 at 06:19 AM by Roadrunner 
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Roadrunner,
Thanks! The comments motivate me to keep going. I did use the old panels as templates for some of it, the large curves mostly. First, I took the trim off the old wall panels, then test fit them to see how they fit in the camper where they would go. I would mark any areas that didn't match up and when I would cut the frame with the jigsaw, I would leave a 1/16" next to the line drawn (larger than needed). Test fit into the camper and marked where it touched the aluminum, ran back to jigsaw, trimmed some. Rinse and repeat until perfect fit. I mounted the walls using 3/4" X 3/4" strips of pine and tried to make sure the mounting strips were hidden. Some strips are 2-3 foot and around the curves, some go down to 3-4 inches to fit the curve. Most are hidden behind the plastics or cabinets. There is one at the top of the shower hall wall you can see in the photo below (painted white).
Since my frames were 3/4" boards, the aluminum channel didn't fit and I really wanted to keep it a wood and wall look. I used screws to secure the strips to both wood and aluminum wall (pre-drilling and contersinking them flush). Each large wall has about 12-15 screws into aluminum and they seem to hold really well. They flex some when I shake the camper side to side, probably since the walls are all framed with floating panels so I am hoping they don't pull out when I travel the first time :/ .
When I was framing the curved areas of the walls, I went through many possible solutions like cutting boards to the curve, angling the curved areas (you can see this in wall that will be hidden between kitchen and shower) but the best looking was just to leave the paneling exposed in the corner like the squared frame of the wall just fades into the aluminum walls. You can see this in the 3rd photo down in the original blog post above. That is how I am going to handle all exposed curve areas.
The paint is holding up well. There are a couple of spots I will need to touchup so far but due to me taking tight fitting walls in and out 5 times each to get the curve right. I hit them probably 40-50 times with only 2 breaking the paint I can tell so I am happy with that. There is only 1 more large wall the size of the bath walls, the rest get smaller so less hitting I am hoping. Take care and good luck with yours,
TaddPosted 11-01-2009 at 11:31 AM by Bowmans 
Updated 11-01-2009 at 08:50 PM by Bowmans (Just re-read this and it didn't make sense...) -
Love it! Good jobPosted 11-01-2009 at 07:43 PM by 76sovereign - Great looking job. I agree, the floating panels should absorb a lot of the wracking when going over the road. I just ordered shower pan and sink from Colaws today and should have it in a week and plan on doing just about what you have done. What are you going to do for doors? My project is '65 Overlander changing from rear bath to queen rear bedroom and center bath. Not as much room as you have but there is just two of us.
Your shop looks a lot like mine except mine is a lot messier.
Ron C.Posted 11-03-2009 at 02:53 PM by Ronald D - Ronald,
The cabinet doors will be 2.5" pine board frame with floating panel and a 90 degree snap hinges. Not sure yet if I will need latches yet since the hinges will be loaded but will see when I get there.
I will build the bathroom door the same way, pine frame and paneling and will use a closet slide at the top (like what was there but with rollers) with a pine board covering the hardware. I also plan on making a track at the bottom out of pine boards (1.5" overlapped by a 2") that will hold the door against the wall as it slides and will stop before it fully emerges from the track. I will be building this soon and will post photos... but only if it works
HAHA! I cleaned the shop right before starting on this but only the left side that is showing in photos. The other side looks like a surplus AS parts pile. If anyone needs a particular part from the 1979 era, please let me know. I can only hold onto this stuff so long before I go on a trash rampage. This includes a goucho which was fully working before taking it out. Too big to mail but if someone was close and wanted it...Posted 11-03-2009 at 06:20 PM by Bowmans - Where did you find the material for the shower walls? I'm not familiar with the term "Box Stores".
Posted 11-05-2009 at 09:32 AM by TG Twinkie - Box store refers to your large, home improvement store in your area. Here we have Home Depot and Lowe's. I believe I got the wall boards at Home Depot for about $30 a sheet, 4'X8' sheets. It is smooth on one side and textured on the other.
Posted 11-05-2009 at 07:43 PM by Bowmans
