July 17, 2008

More of the dinette...

Do you ever start something, intending to do just an "okay" job, but then that little something in you takes over and says, "Go ahead, kick some butt!!!". Well, I think that is what happened here.
It only has to be a simple table, but this has turned into much more. A sturdy, fashionable piece of work for the dinette. Mitered, biscuit joined, and about to be stained mahogany on the edges. The tops of the backs of the benches will be stained to match. Stylin'. And both benches almost completely complete.

Thanks to David Hawkins, friend and owner of Hawk Custom Floors, for stopping by to help us figure out the order in which to install carpet and parquet flooring (kitchen area only). He suggests to carpet up to furniture, but never under it, so that when you need to change flooring, it's easy peas-y.

July 16, 2008

The Dinette Set

One chair down - studded with 2x4s (and 2x3s). Something the kids won't break.


Figuring out the dimensions of this thing was time consuming, man! Four pieces of 4in. foam that will fit together when the table is down to sleep a 6ft. person/people. Tall enough to sit in with a good distance between the seats and the table. How tall are chairs anyway? And how deep?Should the back slant back slightly for comfort? No, then you lose sleeping length! Ergh.

For the geekier readers:
Chair Depth + Chair Depth + Table Width must = length of all 4 foam pieces
2 (23-1/2) + 28 = 2(14) + 2(23-1/2)
...which must equal something you would actually WANT to sit in or sleep in, plus we only had so many inches to work with overall (stairwell to wheel well).
We finally came up with an accurate sketch and cut list!


Our friend and upholsterer, Kathy Richards, is ordering and cutting the foam for us! Thanks, Kathy!

July 15, 2008

A Welded Bunk


We had a welding company down the street, ATP Welding, weld together a bunk bed and weld bars across the filled-in windows for added girth. Also, they welded in strips in the to-be kitchen area so that we have something sturdy and square on which to hang the upper cabinets.

The area to the right of the bunk will be a closet. The bottom bunk will be a couch/bed. We plan on putting the kids' car seats on this side since they can attach to the bus frame (where the original seats were attached).

July 14, 2008

Sawing away at the moon

Sort of Bethlehem-ish, don't ya think?

July 13, 2008

Sub Floor, Windows and a Wall

...and a bugle boy.

So, Marc finished the sub floor and cut out some luon to cover one of the walls. All of the walls will be done like this. Then, he cut out some "airline carpet" , as we call it to cover the portion of the wall that will be seen.


Also, notice the two back windows (on each side) have been covered over. We didn't want to lose any of the emergency windows, so we replaced one of the front non-emergency windows with one of the back emergency windows. Hey, if this thing blows up - we want a way out!


See carpet below.

July 11, 2008

Materials

MATERIALS ~ Have you ever heard of Asset Recycling? Man, that place is our kind of place. We bought 35 yards of fabric (for the seat cover cushions and the "airline" walls) and the carpet for the entire bus for around $50! Woo-hoo! They sell all kinds of seconds and leftovers; cabinets, caulk, doors, tiles, marble, paint, etc, etc, etc. We highly recommend them for the bargain shoppers.

Asset Recycling Inc

assetrecycling.org

701 N Holt Rd # 1
Indianapolis, IN 46222
(317) 635-7774


What else have we purchased recently?
- wiring
- cover for wiring
For the dinette set:
- 1/2 in. and 3/4 in plywood for the seats
- 2x4s for inside seat support - we're going for sturdy!
- table top laminate from a place down the street
- table posts and drink holders from Tom Raper, RV (they ship fast!)

- bead board for the ceiling

July '08 - Back to the work

We are finally back to working on good 'ol Maybelle. I'll post pictures soon, but it is amazing what can be done when you stay up until like, oh, say, 4am every night working like a dog, don't you think? (Marc, I mean.)