Personalizing Princess' Loft

Well, painting Miss princess' loft is complete, and today, she and my wife added in the personalization!

 

Princess was very excited to finally be able to add her stickers. She's been asking for two days, and very unrelenting in it as well.

Floors and Trim Complete. More Painting.

We finally got the flooring completed, and bought some metal guards for the edges near the steps and front of the flooring where it was open and at risk of coming apart if we didn't add it in.

One more thing checked off the list!

Trim has been installed!

It's taken some time, but children are a priority, and even more-so when they are sick. Yesterday, my wife stained our trim after I was able to get it all cut, and today I installed it.

 

Floor is installed, working on trim

It's been a tough go trying to get everything ready in the RV with a teething infant, and a sick toddler. We're ever so slowly making headway, and the results look amazing indeed!

Floor Installation Begins!

Finally! Today, I was able to head out and buy a new blade for my saw, and a new square (mine is sitting in Alberta). After asking a few questions on a totally cool Facebook page called RV Remodeling, Decorating, and Renovations, I figured out what I should do about the flooring.

My biggest concern was the gap to leave for expansion, and if it would be an issue with an RV, and the movement. I need to leave 3/8ths of an inch for expansion all the way around, and that looks like a lot. I am concerned about it shifting while moving around. A guy who is on the page commented, and is the owner of a flooring store. He suggested making sure that I keep that gap, and avoiding gluing or stapling it down as it will buckle when it tries to expand/contract.

Flooring has been bought!

As we continue to gear up with our renovations, we need to make sure we get the materials we need when we can get them.

Rona had a sale this week on their laminate flooring. Buy one, get one half off. We needed four, so we really only paid for three.

The next step is to get some power running to the RV so I have power and heat to work. I need to buy a 30amp to 15amp converter plug so I can get those basics running. They're only about $8.00, and then I need the extension cords to run the power to where the RV is. I need two 15 meter cords as the RV is about 80 feet from the nearest outlet.

We went with a lighter grain, but not super light. It should complement the countertop nicely.

I'll get an image up soon, blogger won't upload from an iPad apparently.

Kitchen Countertop

Last year, we bought new countertops for the RV to get rid of the crusty and broken ones we currently have. Due to a delay in the stock for the specific design we wanted, I wasn't able to install the countertops before leaving for BC.

This was a blessing in disguise as well as I had a chance to use the RV and see what I wanted to change.

Small Update

It's been quite some time since I posted an update. To followers of my blog, you know that this can be quite normal as I go from fulltiming to a stickbuilt and back.

Anyways...

Today is a lovely day here on Vancouver Island. The sun is shining, and the weather is warm enough to be outside without a jacket. So, I decided that I really should get some work done on the RV while I can.

The simplest thing I could do was install the new table that I had bought from my wife's company she worked at until last May.

A look at the new countertops

So, we finally picked up the new countertops for the RV before we moved to BC, but they were first in a moving trailer, and then in storage until today. So here they are! I'm very excited for the new updated laminate to go in.

They are full pieces without holes, and get cut afterwards when the proper measurements can be completed and I'll use the old countertops as a template, however I'm thinking of changing out some things. I'm currently looking for a new sink and faucet for the bathroom, as well as a new sink for the kitchen. The kitchen isn't that big of a deal and could use the same one we currently have, but I'd really like to change the bathroom out. I honestly don't care much for how the thing is set up. It's really not laid out for full time living in the RV.

Not too much to report

It's been quiet here for a bit, mostly because I have been so busy with an issue affecting a clients site in Mexico. I even worked for 12 hours yesterday on what should be my day off trying to get the site back online. It's been rough!

On Friday, I sanded and painted my furnace cover and the A/C hood. I found a dark grey, and I think it works well as an accent.

90% complete on painting

I cannot believe what a difference a little painting does!

This past weekend was a four day weekend due to Easter, and I was able to focus on painting. I lost track of time and was painting until about 1am, but the results are certainly worth it. I got to work on the most disruptive part of the job which was the kitchen and dining room wall.

Safely running 30amp power now

When I first looked at this RV before buying it, I thought it was a little weird that it had a 15amp connection on it. The previous owner said that it was like that when he got it and everything always worked. They just didn't run too many appliances at once.

Painting continues

I've been hard at work this weekend with prepping the RV walls. I'm going over everything with wood putty, covering holes and gouges, removing hardware and doors, and sanding. 37 years of use really takes its toll on an RV's interior. The good thing about a wood finish is that many of those holes are mostly hidden, unless you know where to look.

With the paint I am using, these holes show up more readily, and need to be looked after right away. I found when I painted the entrance of the RV, that there were several staple holes i had missed, and now they're quite apparent. I'm going to need to go back over them, and touch up the paint in that area. It has made sure that I pay closer attention on the rest of the RV.

Painting the RV

I was able to head out and pick up some materials for painting the other day, and I am painting in sections now. I bought CIL's "City Song" paint. My lovely wife picked out the colour as being a guy, I'm a lot like Windows 3.1. I only see in 16 colours. haha

This paint is grey with a purple tint to it. Depending on the lighting, it can look more blue-grey. First, I'm painting everything this one colour, so it's going to look rather boring and bland. Once it's all dry, and the entire RV is painted inside, I can pick up the accent tone, which we're currently thinking about using CIL's "Cliffside" which is a darker grey.

Small update

It's been about a week since I last posted, and not much has happened. I am settling into the park, and I've been very busy with work.

Last night, I was in bed, and I just couldn't stop thinking. I was trying to plan out some of my renovations I am planning for this RV to update it, and make it more at home. I'm glad that the countertops didn't come in before I left now. It has given me some time to use the space and decide how I want to get things done.

Last weekend, I wanted to convert the fridge door into a chalkboard, and in the Travel Trailer, it was as simple as undoing a couple screws and pulling the wood panel out to be painted. In this RV, that is not the case. There are no screws, and the frame is a single piece that has been wrapped around the entire door. This means I have to paint the door inside.

I need to stop by a Home Depot and find a roll on chalkboard paint now. I did try to use the spray paint, but it makes such a mess. I'm glad I learned this before completing not only the counters, but the floor as well.

One of my thoughts, away from the fridge, is of what I want to do about the stainless steel appliances. Talking it over with my wife, a Brushed Nickel would look great with the new counters. I also need to replace the faucet as it leaks a bit from the tap. So, I am thinking about painting the sink with a Rustoleum paint, and replacing the faucet with a brushed nickel one. I actually found a couple great sites for how to do this, and I hope that it'll work well, and look good. I don't need to rush, but it is a day project. So, if I start in the morning, I could have a new sink by the evening. One day without water isn't too bad.


These are things I can do without the new counters for now, so I'm looking forward to that project. I'm also going to get started on sanding the walls and filling in holes this weekend as prep for painting. I'm going to have to do this in sections when I paint so I can still live in here, and be in one area while another is drying.

My biggest hurdle I think will be Loki, my cat. He may be a little grey in spots if he decides that being close to wet paint is a good idea. Then there is trying to keep his hair off the walls as well.

This should be interesting.

Getting ideas for the renovations

Today, while I had to be out of the house while it was being shown (it's for sale), I went to Rona and had a look at a few things. Earlier in the morning when I dropped my wife off at work, we had a look at some swatches for the countertops. Grabbed a couple, and then when at Rona, I was looking for a backsplash that would go nicely with the future counters.