Attaching bulkhead

[guy99]

As in mentioned in a couple of other threads I hired someone to do a remodel on our 1984 310 Limited MH. He did some nice cabinet work but never finished the job. I am now trying to finish up. Having solved the wiring issue, and having a pretty good idea about what to do with the medicine cabinet, I need to stabilize the bulkhead wall he built. This wall 'separates' the bedroom from the bathroom. It is solidly anchored to the floor and side wall but not at the junction with the ceiling. Here are some pictures:


When the contractor installed the wall he ran a screw up through the hole you can see and then into the inner skin in the ceiling. This pulled out pretty quickly as the flexing of the structure pulled the screw out of the soft inner skin. This wall is just forward of a rib so I tried running a screw at an angle into the rib. The screw didn't pull out IT BROKE in half. So I figure that what I need to do is not try to attach the wall directly to the ceiling but rather attach something to the ceiling which will hold the wall forward so that the seam in bathroom paneling doesn't open up as shown in the picture.

I also need to trim the junction between the wall and the skin on the bedroom side.

I have a pretty complete wood shop but am not eager to fashion a bentwood or steambent molding to fit the arc of the ceiling.

Suggestions?

[TomW]

Originally Posted by guy99

...This pulled out pretty quickly as the flexing of the structure pulled the screw out of the soft inner skin...

Since I have not kept up with the other threads, I may have missed an earlier point.

My Overlander's interior walls are mounted exactly like your contractor's work, and none of the screws have pulled free.

In what is basically a nod to Inland Andy, is your running gear balanced? The structure should not be be flexing that much under normal conditions.

Of course this is just my opinion.

Tom

[LI Pets]

Why not just put a 1/2 by 3/4 alum angle, short side on the liner.

You can cover with wood trim.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by TomW

Since I have not kept up with the other threads, I may have missed an earlier point.

My Overlander's interior walls are mounted exactly like your contractor's work, and none of the screws have pulled free.

In what is basically a nod to Inland Andy, is your running gear balanced? The structure should not be be flexing that much under normal conditions.

Of course this is just my opinion.

Tom

This is a motorhome on whose suspension and running gear I have spent many $ thousands. It is as balanced as I'm able to get it. On thing that may not be clear is that there is a fairly large gap between the top of the wall and the celing. Also, in order to close the gap show in the picture, you need to push the wall forward with a bit of force. This may be the source of the problem.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by Lipets

Why not just put a 1/2 by 3/4 alum angle, short side on the liner.

You can cover with wood trim.

Will the angle bend to fit the ceiling? When you say 'short side on the liner' what do you mean?

[TomW]

Originally Posted by guy99

... there is a fairly large gap between the top of the wall and the celing... This may be the source of the problem.

Yes, I agree. The panel should fit snugly before being fastened.

Tom

[guy99]

Originally Posted by TomW

Yes, I agree. The panel should fit snugly before being fastened.

Tom

Well, given that I don't want to re- manufacture the wall, the only thing I can think of would be to cut some thin strips of wood the same width as the wall and build a 'spacer' to take up the gap. The issue would be how to attach the spacer to the wall and the ceiling. ?

[TomW]

In my opinion, the spacer itself is a duck shoot. The real challenge is making the spacer look like it belongs there as opposed to being a bandaid to another situation. I have nothing to offer in the aesthetics department.

You may want to ping member sneakinup as he is quite good in knowing what works in these types of situations.

Tom

[LI Pets]

My question is was there a gap before this seperated?

If not this bulkhead must be put back in place.
You can place a block of scrape wood against and tap it in with a hammer.

What I mean by the short side is the the 1/2" leg of the angle is attached to the liner, the 3/4" is attached to the bulkhead.

It funny to be talking about this today I've been replaceing all my bulkheads with cherry wood.

As far as curving the angle yes it can be done just work it over something with a similar shape maybe an old tire rim.

You should 1/16" wall thickness not 1/8". HD even has this.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by Lipets

My question is was there a gap before this separated?

If not this bulkhead must be put back in place.
You can place a block of scrape wood against and tap it in with a hammer.

...

No, I don't think this bulkhead ever fit any better than it does now, I think the fellow who did the work didn't get his template exactly right. As I mentioned I can fill in between the bulkhead and the ceiling, it won't be the prettiest thing you ever saw but I can cover it with trim.

[LI Pets]

Ok, then instead of a piece with 3/4" on that leg of the angle you will need larger to make the difference of the gap.

So take 3/4 and add the gap to it.

If the gap is 1/2" you need 1 1/4" X 1/2" angle with the 1 1/4 attaching to the bulkhead and the 1/2" attaching to the liner.

How big is the gap exactly?

[GlenCoombe]

Guy, before you cobble the top with trim and such. Have you looked at the way the bulkhead is attached at the base/floor? If you loosen the floor attachment and wedge from the inboard corner you may find that it's easier to fill/trim from the bottom.
On my coach I have a lot of aluminum angle cut and screwed to accomplish attachment of bulkheads etc.
I found this stuff easy to work with when I go rid of the casket chamber and had to rebuild the tambour and cabinet in the head. (now my shoe closet)
The pieces are bronze in color and can be bent.

[LI Pets]

That's a great idea!

just get some shims on the bottom adjust the height secure it at the top.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by GlenCoombe

Guy, before you cobble the top with trim and such. Have you looked at the way the bulkhead is attached at the base/floor? If you loosen the floor attachment and wedge from the inboard corner you may find that it's easier to fill/trim from the bottom.
On my coach I have a lot of aluminum angle cut and screwed to accomplish attachment of bulkheads etc.
I found this stuff easy to work with when I go rid of the casket chamber and had to rebuild the tambour and cabinet in the head. (now my shoe closet)
The pieces are bronze in color and can be bent.

Glen,
Shimming the wall at the bottom to close up the top gap is a great idea, unfortunately its not going to work in this case. As you can see this wall is part of the support for the sink/vanity. Too bad.




What I have decided to do is to create a piece of cherry molding which will follow the curve of the wall. I will use relatively short sections of aluminum angle to position and anchor the wall in its proper position. Then i will cut mortises in the molding to fit over and conceal the pieces of angle.

OBTW, I'm not going to laminate or steam bend the molding, I will do a glue up some cherry into a curve from which I can cut the piece I need. Kind of the the way you build an arch.

What does everyone think?

[guy99]

Following the suggestions here, I made a bracket from Aluminum 'L' stock. Used it to push the wall into correct alignment and attached it to ceiling.


Now we need a way to trim the junction between the wall and the ceiling. So we fashioned a template,


glued up a blank using 'scarfed' miter joints.


Cut, finished and installed the trim piece



We're pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[Chaplain Kent]

Great solution to the problem, looks good.

[bobchevy89]

It looks execellent. covered up the nasty looking angle brackets perfectly....
Bob

[GlenCoombe]

Nice job! Interesting lighting array in the photo too.

[guy99]

Originally Posted by GlenCoombe

Nice job! Interesting lighting array in the photo too.

The lights are out of place at the moment. It's a 12V track light set that is actually covering an ugly seam in the paneling put in by the contractor. Got it at Home Depot, cut off the transformer and wired into the 'high' lighting circuit of the MH 12V system.