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Originally Posted by Martha D
I’m going to start pulling the carpet out this weekend and yes I will be replacing something back onto the walls but that’s still in the deciding stage. How hard is it to take the cabinets and benches out for someone without skills? Luckily I don’t have a bath to deal with.
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It’s pretty involved. I would not say the removal is terribly difficult. It’s the carnage you leave behind that may get brutal.The dinette benches will come out super easy. They are designed to for easy access to the water storage tank and water heater etc. the kitchenette is a real PIA bc the original
fridge is rivited in. And you will need to disconnect the stove from the gas feed, the drain from the sink, the water from the faucet and the
electrical from the panel.
The overhead kitchen cabinet and door-side closets are a breeze. I had the trailer completely gutted in under three hours. It was the shower enclosure and pan that added two hours and a second day to the equation. The carpet is backed with cheap foam that turns to a fine dust when you start to separate it from it’s 35 year old partner. It is glued to the FG with contact cement that I’m pretty sure is from another galaxy. It seems impervious to all tools and grinders known to mankind. It was referred to me here that a cupped, twisted wire wheel on a 4-1/2” grinder works great for removal and it Does! However you need to be careful not to cut into the glass fibers too much. If you do, an acetone bath and a top coat of resin should be brushed over these raw spots.
Everything on the early Casitas is held to the FG walls with rivets. These will need to be drilled out. Mine had just under two hundred! If you size your drill bit properly
(I had three different size rivets) and keep your holes from blowing out, than I suppose you could try to line everything back up and reuse these holes with new rivets.
I would be more concerned with what you are going to find while you’re there. Any 1983’ Casita has developed some serious funk. There is a really, really good chance the floors may be rotten like mine were. I had giant holes in the FG floor and side walls at all corners. These may not be apparent now and may not even be issues you need or intend to fix, but once you open that can, it can be difficult to work around those worms.
All the tear down threads I have read, even the ones that say “Newbie” or “Novice” in the
title, all seem to have pretty good mechanical understanding and seem to have and know how to hold a tool. They are all very helpful, but always seem to leave out the parts it would seem to me would be the hardest for a novice. Same holds true to home remodel and DIY shows on tv. You see them demo a bathroom and put it back together in a couple days. What you don’t see is the stream of plumbers, tile guys, flooring, electricians and painters they have lined up in the front yard.
I am a contractor and have a fairly broad skill set I’m starting with. I also have a shop and just about any tool you could need. This project is kicking MY butt and I remodel bathrooms for a living. It will eat the next two months of weekends and cost ~$7500 by the time I’m done. I would highly recommend you do it, but also recommend that you maybe read up some more and see if it’s something you really want to tackle.
If you really only want to remove the carpet than maybe consider starting in the back area around the bed frames, and cutting around the cabinets that are riveted down. Or maybe just start with the door. I think you will know real quick if you will want to continue down the path. If you do it will be super rewarding.
Something to consider though is that the finished walls should not be a secondary thought. The insulation is important for more than just retaining/deflecting cold and heat. It also acts as a moisture barrier and helps control condensation that will destroy your trailer. The carpet was good at absorbing this moisture and when it’s gone...
consider REFLECTIX. it’s relatively inexpensive, easy to install, works great as moisture barrier and is available at all the big box stores.
This forum and its members are extremely helpful. You should start a thread and keep us posted.
Best wishes!