Month: February 2010

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Renovation Goals

While beautifying my RV and making it suit my personality is a perk of renovating it, I’m not decorating for the sake of decorating.

Most motorhomes, unlike fifth wheels, do not have a layout suited to a full-timing lifestyle. As my friend Donna pointed when she gave me the tour of her place, her fiver has an entrance closet!

I’ve been living in Miranda almost a year and a half now and I’ve clearly identified not only what my layout is lacking, but also how I aim to remedy those deficiencies.

By the time I’m done with the first phase of the renos I hope to have:

1) an entrance area with space for a coat or shawl and footwear;

2) functional storage place for clothing and all the related accoutrements;

3) a more efficient way of dealing with dirty laundry;

4) a way of counter-acting the dampness in the loft and against the far wall of the study;

5) a home office that I don’t have to completely take apart when I drive;

6) a bathroom that I don’t have to partially take apart when I drive;

Those are the big ones. I’ll link back to this post as I cross the items off the list… or add to it. 🙂

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Curiosity…

Might be lethal to cats, but it is funny to their mothers.

Tonight’s project was to get rid of the other bedframe. To start, I had to remove the drawer affixed to the top of it. I removed the drawer from its frame, then went out to get a screw driver. I came back to this:

(pardon the dust, renovating is messy business!)

Oh, I just adore her. 🙂

Removing the frame was tedious, but it’s done! Tomorrow, I’m going to out the carpet and all the staples, then get to work on the desk since I won’t be able to reverse it as is. I’ll have to take it apart to flip some components as well as cut a notch into it because the wall on the opposite side isn’t flat. The vent pipe goes through the corner so the wall was built around it. By cutting the notch into the desk top, I’ll be able to make full use of that side of study and give the desk a built-in look. The desk was finished to fit on this side, so it won’t look as nice once I fit it on the other side, but I intend to paint it the same colour as the cabinets later, so it’s fine. I debated getting a ‘proper’ desk with lots of cubbies and storage but decided to stick with this one because it is so lightweight. Plus, it reminds me doing the initial renos a year and a half ago (already!) with my mother.

Well, it’s midnight-thirty and the night is young so I’m off to work on other projects. Days should be longer than twenty-four hours!

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Weather Frustration

In a bid to open up the rig a bit, I’m going to be doing away with some storage areas inside Miranda. The plan is to do a much needed tear-apart of the basement to get rid of excess stuff and then store there what I won’t be storing inside.

The weather refuses to cooperate for that. Even though I had a couple of clear hours this past weekend, rain was announced for later in the day and I didn’t want to risk having everything out and then getting soaked. And, no, Croft, bringing everything into the house and then back out isn’t an option. 😀

The two big categories that are going under the rig are cold weather gear and blankets. It’s still way too early in my Avoiding Winter Life to get rid of the winter gear, but I really don’t need it on hand. As for blankets, every time I think I have too many, we get a cold snap and I appreciate having them all. I should be able to get everything into the big Rubbermaid bins by doing a major purge of my wardrobe since just about nothing that’s down there is going to fit now. Working thirty-three hours a week on your feet is very good for your waistline even if you spend the rest of the week at a computer!

I also find that my tool storage hasn’t been working out and I think I know how I’ll remedy that. Then, there’s the bucket chairs that need to go, and I’d like to try an experiment: I think I might be able to get the litter box into the basement…

My goal for next winter is to spend it in a dry climate. Damp climates are hell on an RV and I bet the past two winters are going to take ten years off Miranda’s potential lifespan.

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Flooring Decisions

The flooring saga has come to an end. 😀

I wasn’t happy about the options available at the store, so I spoke to an associate. He confirmed that the pine Allure is back ordered indefinitely and thinks it might even be discontinued. He had a sample to show me and I was surprised to find that I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would have. The knots were there, but the colour was wishy-washy. That left my second and third choices, hickory and rustic respectively, both available in store. I laid out a few pieces of hickory and decided that it was way too dark. That left the rustic, which was now back up to its original price (drat it). Tibbar had made me doubt that choice enough for me to not feel comfortable paying the $54.99 per box price for it.

My remaining choices were limited. There was a dark cherry that was too posh for me, a blonde maple that was much too pale, a honey oak that was too yellow, and the one I finally picked. Get ready to laugh! Tibbar, this is your fault! 😀

cascade oak

Does this look familiar? It should!

When in doubt go with what works and cascade oak definitely works in Miranda. 😀

My decision-making process never ceases to amaze me…

It sounds sacrilegious to replace solid oak planks with vinyl ones, but the vinyl will make so much more sense since the oak is in the two wet rooms. The vinyl will also be a lot less heavy; if my math is correct I’ll be gaining about a 100lbs in carrying capacity.

Since I’m keeping the wood the same throughout the rig, the place won’t look so ‘half done’ until I get around to doing the painting.

So, now I have to install the flooring. It sure won’t be as easy this time around, not with Miranda being full of stuff!

My initial thought was to start in the lounge because that’s the room that needs the most work and is the most visible when I come in. However, I am working on a kazillion different things and need a functional study ASAP.

My current layout has been okay for casual work, but I’m now going to be working twenty to forty hours a week in here and I need to feel less cramped. I am going to achieve this by not only removing the the second bed frame, but also not replacing it with anything. This would give me room at a future date for a filing cabinet if I end up needing one.

I also want to switch the desk to the other side. I dithered back and forth about that when I put the desk in the first time and should have just gone with my gut. By putting it on the other side it won’t be as visible from the rest of the rig, I’ll regain easy access to my electrical panel, and I’ll be able to make much better use of the plugs in this room. I’ll lose my view of the ocean here in Campbell River, but will gain a nicer view in Dawson. 🙂

This is going to be a big job, but it’s going to pay off and I can’t wait to start!