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millertimeUS · 03-20-2017, 07:30 PM

Treat/paint the top, things always seem to get wet or you might have a spill/unknown leak someday. Treating the wood will buy you time to discover it and stop the leak.

rhutson · 03-25-2017, 10:25 AM

Thanks for your advice millertimeus, I agree but was just considering the advice of others to leave some area uncoated to allow wood to breath/dry. I am doing all surfaces..I have coated top, bottom and all exposed edges with 3X coats of polyurethane. Now waiting to pick out flooring. May use some of my neighbors left overs since not many square feet to do. Also at same time considering rear bumper leak fix as per "Top" and PerryG114. Of course that's after all the other projects I have to do.

Thanks. Rick.

millertimeUS · 03-30-2017, 03:10 PM

Good call, floor should hopefully outlast all of us

rhutson · 11-26-2017, 06:27 AM

Hi all. Been out of sight for a while with son's baseball season, summer trips and sending daughter to college. Now getting back to the airstream! Fixed burst water intake pipe under shower seat. Looking forward to doing more and posting more in coming months. Rick.

rhutson · 11-26-2017, 06:33 PM

So now that the water intake is fixed, I am ready to design build the new bath cabinet. First pic shows the new composting toilet on the new floor in the area that used to be the bath closet. Went to IKEA with Dana (wife) and picked out a counter top(2' x 6') to use for the new bath counter. I placed a stainless pot top to simulate the look of the stainless sink we plan on putting in counter top to help decide on color. 3rd pic is of a support (2x4) slot that I put under shower seat so that a 2x4 can be slipped in easily after finishing plumbing and electric work, to support shower seat. Ok so now I am ready to start design building new bath cabinet. Rick.

rhutson · 11-26-2017, 07:30 PM

Decided to build a frame type cabinet out of popular since this is a fairly light yet strong wood. Build the frame to fit the desired space. My neighbor and brother suggested that I check out the KREG Jig for building the cabinet . Wow! Very impressed with the KREG jig. Highly recommend for any wood working. First pic shows the Kreg jig and associated screws and the first cabinet face I built with the KREG system. Second pic shows the cabinet face and a cardboard counter top template I used for my design. Third pic shows cabinet growing. Fourth pic shows cabinet still growing.

rmkrum · 11-26-2017, 11:12 PM

Kreg jig works really well, but I have found you need a dead flat table to assemble the frames on to make them flat and avoid fighting with joints. I put a single sheet of wax paper under the joints to make it easy to pick up the parts when assembling them. Don’t ask how I learned this trick...[emoji49]

rhutson · 11-28-2017, 07:08 PM

Thanks for the tip rmkrum. I am so impressed with the KREG jig. I can't believe I had never seen it or heard of it before. It, along with the new miter saw I got has really made my attempt at the new bath cabinet a lot easier. Pictured in the first pic is the cabinet frame sitting in the bath space. I used a cardboard template to create the interface between the cabinet side and the round wall of the trailer. The second pic shows the cabinet frame in my garage prior to moving into the trailer. I am now going to start cutting the counter top and figure out how I am going to run the pipes for sink and toilet vent. Rick.

rmkrum · 11-28-2017, 09:08 PM

Another handy tip. When you are cutting frame parts for a door or cabinet frame, stack the pairs of pieces, like top and bottom rails with a bit of double-sided tape, and cut them at the same time, so the joints will be square and the parts identical.

Verify the mitre saw is cutting dead square when you set it up. I use a Swanson Speed Square (metal triangle kind) to check the saw every time...

Your cabinet frames are looking great!

rhutson · 01-21-2018, 03:04 PM

Thanks rmkrum! I appreciate all the tips! Its been awhile since I have gotten any work done on the trailer. Now that the holidays are past maybe I can get some work done. Spent the weekend figuring out a plan and making a cabinet door for the bath cabinet. Spent a lot of time practicing with the router and figuring out how fancy I wanted to make it. Hopefully the next two that I have to make will be quicker, but then again i do admit i really enjoy the time in the garage with the smell of sawdust in the air and a good football game on the radio. Go Jags! Go Vikings!

rmkrum · 01-21-2018, 08:18 PM

Keep up the great work, and keep posting pictures. Nice to see how it’s coming together!

Love the smell of sawdust when things are getting built like I want them to be...have to work outside around here, and it’s just a bit too cold out for us SoCal weather wimps[emoji22]

rhutson · 01-23-2018, 07:12 PM

Finished my second cabinet door. This one only took two evenings after dinner. I made an exact replica of the first door, so there was not as much thinking involved, just measuring, cutting, attaching, routing, grooving, attaching and routing. Still have some sanding and obviously painting. I think the final panel of the cabinet will be slightly smaller and stationary because my gray tank vent will be going through this portion of the cabinet (I think? Things are always subject to change. So much for my hope for the jags and Vikings! At least they got farther then my Redskins! Go Eagles over Pats!

rhutson · 01-24-2018, 07:15 PM

Tonight I figured out how best to hang the doors (left hinge or right hinge). Placed the cabinet frame in bath area to make sure I have room to open both doors. I will hang left door with left hinges and right door with right hinges. So they will both open outward. In order to hang as such needed to add another vertical frame piece in front face of cabinet. Love that KRKEG jig system. No way I could do this without! Till next time!

rhutson · 02-05-2018, 07:23 PM

Over the weekend I placed the cabinet in the bath area to make sure it would work as I envisioned. Fits well. Now I will build a template for the countertop out of cardboard pieces. Took a long time trying to get the countertop template exactly right. I have designed it for a 1 inch overhang all around. Once I was sure it was right i placed it on the countertop I bought from IKEA to position it to most efficiently use the finished edges and also so that I might have some good pieces left over for other projects. I placed painters edge tape where i was cutting and. I cut the long straight edges with a circular saw. I cut the curved edges with a jig saw. I really took my time and it all went well. I have now placed the counter on the cabinet. I am happy with the way it looks so far. Now I have to figure out the sink I want to use. I m leaning towards an oval stainless marine sink I saw on amazon. Still deciding on the size. Great Superbowl game last night! So glad.the eagles were able to get it done! Rick.

Hittenstiehl · 02-07-2018, 08:49 AM

Rhut that turned out very well. Will you apply a finish to the wood to aid in longevity.

rhutson · 02-07-2018, 07:25 PM

Hittenstiehl, Thanks. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish the cabinet yet. My wife is thinking we will be painting it. I still have a lot to do before we finish the cabinet. Drain, sink, plumbing, vent stack and who knows what else...

Deciding on the size sink to put in. Planning on putting in ambassador brushed stainless marine sink, I ordered from amazon. Decided on the oval 17 in x 12 inch snk with 1 1/2 inch drain. Rick.

rhutson · 02-07-2018, 07:34 PM

Sink templates.

rhutson · 02-18-2018, 07:12 PM

Cut out the sink cutout so that I am centered on the front of the cabinet. I had to shift it back so that the back cabinet frame board runs between the sink and the faucet. Now that I have cut out the counter, I will cut the frame boards that need to be cut to allow the sink to fit. I am going to pull cabinet out to make the cut and at the same time I am going to add a couple of cross frame boards to strengthen the boards I am cutting. I am also adding an additional vertical frame board that I plan on using to hold the sink plumbing.

rhutson · 02-19-2018, 07:29 PM

Today I lined up the sink hole in the cabinet on the cabinet frame and marked the hole cut with the cabinet frame. Since I am going to have to cut at least 50% of the frame cross member, I am adding vertical cross pieces to the frame just below the portion of the cross piece that will be left after the cut. I also added an additional vertical piece on the back of the frame directly opposite the left side front vertical. I added this piece for additional counter support and also i am planning on attaching the plumbing for the sink drain to this vertical board as it makes its way to the gray tank behind the cabinet and hooks up with the plumbing vent stack. I still need to drill small bolt holes for the sink bolts and bolt/clamp the sink to the cabinet.

rhutson · 02-24-2018, 06:37 PM

Before I got to work on the counter and sink today I decided to remove the bath mirror apparatus. Ours was not in great shape with duct tape all over the edges and it always hangs down in the way. It seems as though many others in forums have had issues with the mirror brackets. It seems like a lot of wasted room (4 inch thick plastic box at head level) just to hang a mirror. It does also house an electrical outlet, but still does not seem to be an efficient use of space. Now that it is gone it does open up the area more and gives me more room to work. Before drilling the sink stud holes, I reinforced the edges of the cut hole with some metal strips so the holes would not break through the edge side. After fitting the sink into the counter I measured for the faucet holes. I wanted to place the faucet as close to sink as possible but avoid the cabinet frame that runs below counter. Final picture shows the counter with sink and faucet in place and the old bath mirror removed. Next I will run the sink and drain plumbing. Any comments, suggestion, ideas welcome! Rick.