Our motor-home revamp

Enjoyed watching this, you'll be getting a lot lighter van now!!
 
I do hope you used the word silicone as a generic term for sealant? silicone has no place sealing anything on a motorhome, guaranteed to let go and start leaking at some random point. Awful stuff, so stick to polyurethane based sealants and adhesives such as sikaflex or the cheaper version puraflex40
 
Anthea M said:
That’s great to hear . Keep travelling in the van it is a wonderful way to relax!
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Very true, needed a dry day- which i got today and allowed me to do a few bits but hope to be off again in feb..fingers crossed. Xx (after xmas away)
 
TheBig1 said:
I do hope you used the word silicone as a generic term for sealant? silicone has no place sealing anything on a motorhome, guaranteed to let go and start leaking at some random point. Awful stuff, so stick to polyurethane based sealants and adhesives such as sikaflex or the cheaper version puraflex40
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I do mean that lol... but had a nice wd40 battle through the day too..guess you know the one. ?

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Just Paul said:
Cheers for sending the link over mate.
Just Kate loves it.
Might change the seat covers in ours over to the grey it looks awesome
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Cheers mate. Its scotch and fire guard and blooming hard to manouvre but well worth it than the pink it was 😁 well I hope 😁
 
ryan_flea said:
Good Afternoon.
Well,here we go.... the before and after element. **Disclaimer...I can not refund time invested in reading/viewing or commenting .. :) (Also, if this is posted in the wrong area lemmie know).

Motorhome Day one: Started to get involved with the inner demons of motorhome refurbs/Upgrades/general fixing/enhancements ish.. We are gradually getting there (A huge lie, in hindsight- just blind optimism). What may have seemed easy, becomes a struggle-but got to keep battling forth. So, day one went well, sanding and sorting, emptying etc. We managed to fill spare bedroom and front room of the house. Feeling out of our depth but good to see visual changes. Have we bitten off more than we can chew?? Time will tell.

Day two: Feeling optimistic, things going to plan and started to deconstruct the cupboards, vents and heating system (vents screwed out from main housing, thought that would be worse- however, quite simple) screws and bolts bagged and labelled. Fourteen cupboards and all the gubbins.

Needing to deep clean and prepare properly- Soda crystals and varied other cleaning products. Fixtures and fittings are everywhere and the dog is looking at us both traipsing in and out of the house and van thinking ‘Are we going away or not?’. Here’s to wishing I had a huge house with garage/s. I would welcome the big lotto win!

Day three: Paint nightmare. Things ground to a halt. Thought I had bought the same paint ... but it was different (Ear Bashing from the good lady). Paint refund and an epic drama. I bought more expensive paint than what was required or needed and ‘BnQ’ were in a right kerfuffle as I wanted to return it for a cheaper one- the could not fathom such. I basically, had to step in and almost operate the till. Manager and till operator were in cahoots, and then denied me a refund. Well, I was not quite in the mood for such and I stood my ground making the place grind to a halt (Not purposefully) Eventually after I had thrown all my toys out of the ‘trolley’ spoke to a manager and had to describe a cashier I spoke to days before we realised that ‘Alice’ had made a faux pas in her scanning procedure. (I’m sure there is a song that could be input here)

Anyhow, all angles of the van different and starting to realise all the nooks and crannies. Time passing slow. yawn. A big effort of a day input by us both and pleased to have at least some paint on. The roof was...dare I say it, "The easier aspect" being 6ft 6” has its advantages. Helen was to paint the intricate bits. (No pun intended) the off yellow tobacco colour was still trying hard to remain. About four rolls of masking tape now used. Officially hate the stuff. Even worse is when you leave the tape in the van and it gets a little damp and wont peel easily.

Day Four: Lots of paint but another coat needed. Disappointing, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Ceiling looked great, but worth another coat. Probably another- then follow by yet, another. Neighbours all taking interest now, which is lovely.... however, ‘everyone knows best’ scenario played out multiple times. (Really spurs you on when someone is critical)

Painting the paint, that’s already painted may be a bit tedious. Which is another hurdle to overcome.

Day Five: Going good on what’s been done, intricate work and slogging as best I can. Today, toooo many hours invested. Helen (the better half) abandoned me today as off on a hen doo. Put the radio on and trying to remain sane- and yes, I do talk to myself he he. Contemplated sleeping in the shell of a Motorhome as started to get tired and work was becoming sloppy- even though my mind was telling me to crack on.

Eugh, fiddly day and so much still to do....disheartened? A little -as realised my time frame was far too short for the work being done....An oversight on my behalf .Tomorrow eat, sleep, paint, repeat. Yuk.



Day Six: Up early and back to the grind. Had to tinker with the Audi first as the indicator relay went. Felt I was skipping hours on the motorhome- Guilt creeps in quick. Therefore, got car complete and back into my four walls. Even the songs on the radio make it feel like Groundhog Day- so registered with Spotify. Off for more paint and prep materials. Paint acquired and needed to second coat the 'intricate bits’ time consuming and does not feel like the progress of previous days. I Started on the cupboards (*little tip-always number them as you remove them, so you know what goes where upon refit). More prep needed to cupboards as they were not good enough and learned the hard way previously. I can not state how important the prep is at this point. Good ol’ hindsight.

Day went slow and was stilted in progress. Pathetic fallacy played its part. Weather turned miserable, as did I. Right, Friday afternoon/eve. Tools down and move away. Even ironed a shirt for a beer at the local as spent the day/s in scrubs. On till the morrow'...


Day Seven: Full steam ahead and got to get a great deal done as want to be set for the return of Helen, so cracked on. Pretty much another coat of paint all around including side door entry. Working in a tight space made certain angles tricky. Height, in this instance not playing to my favour. Couple of touch ups needed and more hours invested. Didn’t want to do much on Sunday so cracked on. Today was the coldest day so far. Rain meant I couldn’t do the cupboards as I do not have the space to do them, until outside. (Limited space- no garage).


Sunday Day 7. Managed to get the kitchen coated again and some extra scuffs.... that’s all i have to report. Back to work tomorrow and needed to get on with the bits I needed to do paperwork wise. So done .....for now.

Long week at work and dark/late nights meant stilted progress Mon-Fri

Saturday: Day whatever... I have forgotten... cupboard doors...the bit I tried to avoid. So many of them and awkward **thoughts from double checking...backs first. Went on well but blooming annoying angles and the roller and brush involved. Wishing I had more space to work. Masking tape off the van and touch ups to be done.

Sunday: Find time where you can and crack on. A massive blag today but make hay while the sun shines. Trying to remain positive- every element runs into a new 'need' ‘want’ for something else.... however, the rope handles worked so that’s a relief. Just crying out for completion now uber amounts of hours been consumed. Nearly close to the cupboards being reintroduced. Wallpaper and the kitchen burnt wood effect to go. Oh, and dog pissed on cupboard -great...signing out for today.

Long week at work and dark/late nights meant stilted progress Mon-Fri

Saturday: Both of us had busy weeks. Helen sourced the bits needed for the wallpapering and the kitchen vinyl, which is now in place of heavy ish thicker wood. Trying to maintain a good pay load. Both tried to avoid today as we knew it was always going to be tricky. However, Helen's eye for sharp corners and neat edges and ability to cut straight meant she had the worst of it. I was assigned 'hold that' duties. Now it’s starting to take shape!

Sunday: More to do papering and vinyl wise. General touch ups and ‘hooks n holders’ started to go in. Vinyl can wait -as too the control panel wallpapering. The Carver heater and it ten million settings that mount to the wall are just an inconvenience and in the initial built, in my opinion should of hidden them in the wardrobe.

Monday: Off to work I go. Helen, however, has the day off and my plan worked perfectly. Helen got up and completed the wallpaper on the panels and cut out the kitchen vinyl it looks epic and she felt pleased but exhausted. Twisting and turning and holding her breath in concentration. Bless her cottons.

Saturday: I think you can see the pattern of my work, but in the week, Helen does her savvy shopping and this week… Scotch Guard fire proof material is located (How exciting? Said no-one ever). It took a while to settle on a colour but wanted darker material to hide marks/scuffs and the infamous dog hair. In van roll down blinds being input. Kitchen sink cover and clip back in place after covering and sanding down. Helen's dad resprayed the hinges and used a nice lacquer finish to the wooden trim. Hinges of cupboards need touching up in places and large table for Dinner/Tea (North/South divide creeping in there) was prepped varnished and legs resprayed. Slowly emptying tools from van allows you to stand back and appreciate the fruits of your labour.

Sunday: The main table has been returned after drying. I can feel the odd ridge under the linoleum so getting the flooring back up to straighten out. Trying hard not to scuff any edges. Managed to do that rather successfully, I think.

Sporadic days now as the weather has been variable at best…

Upholstery has been an aspect we wanted to change as the pink seats and curtains and pelmets so on and so forth, were horrific, and not to our desired taste. I’m approached it as “Well if it’s not broke don’t try and fix it” however, the Helen had other ideas. So, I lost out on that one.

The upholstery was to be carried out over a variety of evenings, assisted by Helen’s parents as many hands make light work- in this case we needed them to just be able to get the foam covered again, as we all had a right ol’ sweat on. This was by far the most horrid bit of all thus far. The hours and pulling and pushing nipping and tucking took its toll. What was also annoying was just how sticky the Scotch guard fabric backing clung to clothing. I think I left most of the hard work to the ladies and scurried away at every opportunity. The speed in which Helen then managed to complete them in was impressive. All together x8 seats to be covered. X2 pelmets x2 panels for decoration and x2 slide bed bar covers. So that kept her busy. We think it looks great and really changes the final finish.

Curtains were proving to be the thorn in our side however, as they just wouldn’t do as we wanted. Eight ‘Dylon’ packets later and a small fortune, we thought they would just pop in the washer and all come out fine and dandy. Another oversight. We are now throwing in the towel (of which we dyed too come to think of it) and buying new curtains- But just to challenge ourselves further- we are not buying them fitted and ready, oh no, why would we. We are making them fit ourselves. I never realised the expense of fabric!


Few bits on the engine bay needed doing, radiator brackets were perished so replaced those and the Fuel pump needed doing. General battery care and recharge, a new steering lock and some ‘finishing touches’ and were beginning to make some depth of progress.







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Well done, you deserve a good rest and a bevy. have one on me (y)

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A very nice and rewarding job. It is a credit to you both.
I did not see it originally so am grateful for the link to see it now in the new viewing format.
You both should be proud. 😊
 
Fantastic job, great read and I am so pleased that your plans are coming together. Goid look getting out and enjoying the new Palace.👏👏👏

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It looks great, a real transformation (y)
 
Cool! Now it's a complete home to live in, not an old junk house.
 

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