Restoring the "Haunted Mansion"

[Borrego Dave]

Yup, have done a bunch of cabinets and such.....the devil and the details for sure. I always notice the refer doors after having a fridge once with the doors totally in the way and not reversible....PITA.
On another note, after following your reno post, if our paths should cross on a freeway somewhere, I'll be able to post in "sightings" and know who it was from the paint job. Me and a hundred others too

[Sohkraites]

Thanks, Dave! It is a unique paint job for sure. I'm really looking forward to getting it our on the road! We're also into Geocaching, so we ordered a travel bug sticker to go on the back! Might as well make a game out of sighting it, too!

[Sohkraites]

unny thing about working inside the trailer -- there's a lot of work that has to be done, but it's not all visible -- it's the details. And as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. When working on this stuff, it doesn't look outwardly like you've accomplished much, but the stuff you have to do is very important. So here's a peek at some of the "details."

Before we seal up the bench seat area, we needed to take care of the spare tire holder bolts. We put a piece of plywood on the inside of the trailer to add some support for the bolts a while back because we were concerned that the 1/8" fiberglass shell just wasn't enough to hold the weight of the spare back there.... We also opted to increase the size of the bolt - up to a 1/2" carriage bolt. We gooed up the bolt hole with the PL adhesive to make sure no water would get in, and then shoved the bolt through. To protect the paint, we put down a neoprene washer, then the flat washer then the assortment of nuts. Those bolts look so much better than the rusty ones we pulled out months ago. Below is a before and after shot.

One detail we needed to finish up was the drain on the A/C pan. When last we left, the drain was installed in the pan, but we needed to make sure that the drain itself was screened so critters couldn't use it as an access point into the trailer. So we put a small scrap of screen in the drain fitting and screwed it on to the bottom of the pan. It works like a dream!

The electrical, or at least part of it, had to come next since we won't have much room to work inside the cabinets once we get the countertops in. We opted to put the A/C and the fridge on their own circuits in the power box so each one needed its own outlet. The most convenient place for the plugs was on the driver's side of the fridge in that dead space between the fridge and the wire baskets (which you can see in the pics). At the same time we put the boxes in, we added the tie-down anchors which we'll use to strap down the fridge. And while we were running the wiring for the 110, we also took care of the outside outlet and cover.

[Sohkraites]

Now it was time to tackle the wiring for the running/tail/brake lights. We went with the wire nuts as the connectors for the wiring; I tried the crimp things -- just didn't work for us...at least not the way we intended. We downloaded and printed out the wiring diagram available on the Fiberglass RV forum for a Scamp to use as our guide. There was only one minor snag in this batch of wiring -- a small piece of ground wire we had used was no good and had to be replaced, but other than that, everything worked on the first go! YEA! And there was much rejoicing. To test all our connections, we used a 12v power supply we had lying around. Once the wiring was all connected, and we made sure everything worked, we wire tied it all together and put it up out of the way using wire clamps screwed to the underside of the seats and cabinets.

You can see that we got the label maker out and labeled all the wires and boxes so we knew exactly what was what. The big plug coming into the frame is the power supply cable for the A/C unit. In the second picture, you can see the wiring harness clamped to the tool box enclosure. The photo also shows a mod that we came up with on the fly. We had gotten an LED license plate light, but didn't realize that the license plate holder we had wouldn't work with it - it wouldn't have been able to stick out far enough to shine light on the front of the plate. So Dan came up with the idea of putting a light INSIDE the kitchen cupboard so we could see what was in the baskets. So, we added a lighted switch and attached the two to a support brace just above the baskets.

[Sohkraites]

Our attention then turned to the A/C unit. It had to be installed, secured and ducted before we could finish the cabinet. In the first pic, you can see the fridge anchors and the frame for the drip pan. The second shot shows the rough fit of the A/C unit. The first pic below was taken before we put screen mesh over the holes for the intake/exhaust.

The next couple of pics show the duct work for the exhaust. The pieces are just loosely put in place for picture purposes. They haven't been secured at this point. The A/C unit also came with a handy feature -- there's an adjustable frame that slides into two tracks on the top and bottom of the unit that helps you seal off the front from the rest of the unit. We'll have to modify it slightly since it was designed for a home window install, but it will come in handy to help seal off the cabin from the fresh air intake area of the unit. The track also serves as an attachment point for the A/C, too.

One final detail we had to take care of on this build day was the step just inside the door. We had left this for the end because we needed to modify the plywood just a smidge to account for the thickness of the flooring that will be going in later...you see, the aluminum threshold was only thick enough to slide over the 3/4" ply and maybe some carpet or vinyl. We're using some leftover laminate flooring from our basement in the Mansion, and it's considerably thicker than the vinyl. So we had to trim about 1/4" from the underside of the leading edge of the plywood so the threshold could slide over the plywood/new floor combo. Once that was done, a little construction adhesive and some screws and the floor is now fully intact!

[Sohkraites]

Next up is finishing out the ducting on the A/C. That will allow us to finish framing the inside the cabinet for the drawer and the bracing for the countertop.

We got the foil tape and sealed up all the seams around the drain pan under the air conditioning unit. We also installed the adjustable frame that came with the unit (the one that allows you to fit the unit into a variety of windows). Using it gave us a couple of attach points and sealed the gap around the front face of the unit. We will still add some decorative molding around the face frame to dress things up a bit, though.

Once the unit was attached, we cut and attached Reflectix to the inside of the exhaust duct. Once the pieces had the Reflectix, we installed them and sealed the seams with the foil tape.

While we used wood for the exhaust, we decided to use some foam core for the air intake. Again, we sealed the seams with the foil tape.

We then added two 2x2 frames around the A/C unit to provide an air channel for the vents across the top and down the far side. Once the frames were attached, we paneled them in and sealed the seams with foil tape.

[Sohkraites]

Whew. That A/C was a bugger for sure and we are glad it's over! Now on to finishing up the cabinet!

We started with the bracing. We knew we would have to put the wood for the countertop in a piece at a time, so we needed add braces to attach the top to. We also needed to add support for the bottom of the closet. Just like we did at the back corners for the dinette, we put in a diagonal brace.

Next came the countertops. Granted, it doesn't look like much in these pics, but soon...it will look fantastic! We are going to put a faux granite laminate on the top and finish the edge with aluminum.

For the substrate, we opted for a lighter OSB material rather than the heavy particle board that one might normally use. We'll make sure the surface is smooth before we apply the contact cement and the laminate. The two photos below show the counter top looking toward the driver's side and one looking toward the front window.

The next two photos show the OSB on the counter and extending into the cupboard.

Now that the framing is done for the cabinet, we needed to put in the support structure for the drawer runners. The drawer will be about 20" deep and about 16.75" wide. It's the only drawer (besides the baskets) in the trailer.

Before we totally seal up the counter top, we'll need to attach and secure the LP gas line for the stove...it'll be a lot easier with the countertop off than on. Once that's done, we'll work on closing up the cabinet above the A/C unit and then start building the cabinets around the top of the trailer.

[alan H]

Wow what a fantastic job you are doing.... I'm really enjoying following this and also I can't tell you how much the detailed write ups are enjoyed
Giving me a lot of ideas and can only wish that my modifications came out half as nice

Great job on the a/c that is one change I'm considering
Thanks again for sharing


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[MRClaus]

Great job keep it up nice post

[Sohkraites]

Alan H - Thanks! I was hoping I wasn't going into too much detail, but I got the courage to attempt this based on descriptions and photos posted here...a lot of the ideas came from posts in the forum... Glad we could be of inspiration!

Thanks Rich and Linda (aka MRClaus)! I'll keep the photos coming! Got a lot more to put up - we got the laminate installed yesterday - it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! And it looks great!

- Tony

[Raff]

Really enjoying all of those detailed photos. Thanks.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Sohkraites]

Thanks, Raff! And here are some more.

Now the work began in earnest on the counter top. Because it was built in pieces, I decided to cut the holes for the stove and sink BEFORE we put the laminate on. Below are pics of that process and a test fit of the stove.

Then it was under the counter to put in the framing for the shelf for the microwave, and the water filter. We'll put both the city water and tank water through the filter using a T- connection somewhere along the line. We also added the line for the LP gas...we put in a brass bulkhead fitting through gthe front wall (we got the fitting directly from Scamp. It's not available on the website -- we had to call and ask for it). We then got to use two new tools (YAY!) - a small tubing bender and a flaring tool to bend the pipe around the inside of the cabinet (where it was connected using rubber/metal wire clamps), and connect it to the bulkhead fitting. We didn't put the flare nut on the stove end yet...we'll wait until the counter top is done and then feed the line through the grommet in the stove (it'd be much easier without the nut on it).

So now it was time to laminate the counter.... We took the same templates we used to make the counter top and traced them on the back of the laminate. At first we were going to use the jigsaw, but I could see it chewing up the laminate. So we tried a utility blade since the material was so thin. That was OK, but I eventually ended up using a pair of snips to cut it. Worked fabulously! In the pics below, you can see the test fits of the pieces. We double- and triple-checked the fit just to be sure we got it right. I could just see me screwing something up and cutting it short! Not something you want to do with a $50 sheet of laminate!

[Sohkraites]

The test fits paid off. Once we were happy with the fit, it was time to spread the contact cement to both the counter top and the laminate. We put extra on the wood because it was so porus and some on the back of the laminate. The only places skipped were the openings for the stove and sink.

We let it dry per the instructions and using the sticks, we started laying laminate and then took the J-roller to it. And viola! One counter top installed!

If you look in the corner of the counter, you'll see a single "tile". That is what will eventually become our backsplash. We came across these tiles at Home Depot -- they are actually brushed pieces of aluminum channel...really light weight and very sharp looking. I've included a pic of how they would look up against the counter. If we run the tiles vertically, they'll easily make the curve around the corner. And since we're using cabinets above the windows, they only need to go up to the point where it starts to seriously curve. They are going to look awesome!

[Borrego Dave]

Very nice Tony, I've done a lot of laminate but what was the reason for the sticks?

[Sohkraites]

Dave - The sticks are there to prevent the piece from inadvertently touching when and where you don't want it to. You place the sticks down and they don't stick because they don't have cement to stick to.......and as you get the piece ready, you put it on the sticks and position it where you want it... Then you pull the sticks one at a time, laying down the laminate a bit at a time. You get more control when the laminate goes down. If the contact cement touches another piece with contact cement, it's very hard to get the two apart.

[Borrego Dave]

Thanks for the info Tony. Having to set laminate in a confined space like that would be "touch and go" . I have used Weldwood cement but mostly a commercial cement......one minor contact and you have what you have. Looking back at the pics, would you have been able to fit the base ply, pull it out and do the lam and then install it? Either way, my hats off to you.

[Sohkraites]

Thanks, Dave! We could've done it all as one piece and then install the whole thing as one unit (like they do in a house), but working around that front cabinet threw me for a loop (I built it so the vertical pieces act as a support for the roof). Plus, we had access to smaller "handi panels" - 2'x4' - which, I thought, made installing the counter base easier. So that part went in in pieces. We supported everything and secured it and then put on the laminate in three pieces. No matter which way we cut it, we would've had a seam or two in the laminate, but doing it this way allowed us to hide one seam under the forward cabinet and the only "visible" one is parallel to the kitchen sink...

And you're right -- once that contact cement touches together it aint going anywhere!

We're really pleased with the way it turned out. Now I get to make another trip to the hardware store (I should get frequent flyer miles there!) to get the trim molding. I think we're going to go with an aluminum trim to tie the backsplash in. We'll also use it to go around the edge of the table (which will also be laminated like the counter top.

Oh, so much to do and so little time!!! I wanna go camping!

[Sohkraites]

Once we got the counter done, it was time to move on to the table. We cut the laminate to the rough size and coated both with a good layer of contact cement.

I got our son, Bryce, to help out -- he wanted to know just how a counter top is made, so I put him to work! He helped me position the laminate on the spacer sticks and helped remove them as we pressed the laminate in place. He then went to work using the roller to roll it smooth.

Once we got it rolled, we got out the router and the trim bit....Right now the corners are square, and I won't round them over until we get the aluminum trim to go around the edge. I want to see just how flexible this stuff is before I commit to a rounded corner!

With that done, I opted to start working on the upper cabinets. The photos below show the preliminary test fit of the parts of the cabinet face and then a test fit of the cabinet in the trailer. Had to wedge it into place for now since we haven't glued/fiberglassed in any tabs to attach them to yet.

When I was building the face frames, they look REALLY small. Since we never had a fiberglass overhead cabinet to look at, we're flying this one by the seat of our pants. The one we made is 13" deep, 7" tall and about 48" long. Is that about right?

[Borrego Dave]

Your going to like the 13" depth. Sure looks like your going as tall as you can. Bet your son had a blast helping Dad too. Same as my daughter did on the work end of pneumatic zip gun popping off 4" counter top tiles for a kitchen remodel when she was 12. Helping Dad

[Sohkraites]

I tried to make the cabinets as big as possible without making them TOO big. It's already pretty tight in that little space. The ones that I want to put around the back will be pretty small -- 7x7 or so -- just so you don't bang your head on them! I decided on that for a couple of reasons: 1) We need lights back there for reading, etc., 2) I didn't like the idea of putting the light at the end of the cabinet (as I've seen in other trailers), 3) I really don't like the "seam scheme" that Scamp has for putting up the rat fur. I think the headliner we got will allow me to keep the seams to a minimum and what seams we do have can be hidden behind the cabinets, and 4) the cabinets also allow for the opportunity to put the wires in where they are still accessible. Sure, they won't hold much 7" x 7" isn't a big space, but it should be OK for Kleenex, or something about that size -- some card games, etc., maybe.

And having Bryce help was awesome. He's been away at school all year - even taking some summer classes to get ahead of the game, so he hasn't been home to help with the work so far, but now that we have a deadline, he'll be pressed into service! That's where I learned to use tools - helping my dad with various projects. Glad I did, too. It's amazing how many people out there don't know a hammer from a pair of pliers.