Day: March 23, 2010

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Renovating: Lessons and Thoughts

Lessons

The house I owned taught me a lot about how to NOT renovate your home. I don’t think I did a single thing right with that place! I’ve been applying these lessons in tackling Miranda’s makeover:

1) The Structure Comes First

Before you do any cosmetic work whatsoever, including changing floor coverings, make sure your structure is sound. Address leaks, dry rot, mould, or anything else that needs attention.

2) Don’t Start a Project If You Don’t Have the Money to See It Through

Before starting on a project, I figure out what I’m going to need and then price everything, right down to the nails. Then I add 25% for contingency.

3) Don’t Rip Anything Apart Unless You Are Ready to Replace It Immediately

One of the things that slowed me down in doing the floors was having to stop to take things apart. It probably made people wonder why I didn’t gut everything last fall when I wasn’t busy. I didn’t want to do so until I knew for sure I would be able to complete the projects for which I was gutting. Living in a half-demolished house is one thing, traveling in a half-demolished RV is another!

4) Don’t Mix Up Renovating and Decorating, and Renovate First

Some folks will surely disagree with me on this one, but I consider a renovating project done even if it’s not painted or the hardware’s not on it. The makeover was planned in two stages. The first was making all the changes I needed to the layout. The second was to personalize the space and make it pretty. Imagine how much easier it is going to be to paint when all my projects are done and my stuff put away in its forever home.

5) Have a Vision and the Courage to See It Through

I lived in Miranda for a full year before I started to renovate her. That was more than enough time to think about what I wanted to change and how I was going to do it. Even when things were at their most chaotic, I knew exactly where I was going and this vision helped me weather many a crisis. It also kept me from listening to people who don’t live here and who aren’t me who had negative thoughts about my new floor plan and/or the fact that I was going to ‘rip apart’ a beautiful RV.

Thoughts

It’s pretty obvious by now that I like using ‘found’ materials in my renovations. It’s not just about the money, although that’s a nice perk. I like scrounging because 1) my reusing things makes up for what I throw away and 2) it inspires me. I think it was watching all that MacGyver during my formative years that taught me to love having a problem to solve and seeing what I have around me that I could use as a solution. Sometimes, the monetary savings are substantial and enable me to treat myself to nicer hardware or the like and sometimes making a silk purse out of the proverbial sow’s ear is reward enough.

The renovations have thus far cost me only cost me about $500 and the only super costly thing I’m missing is the trim. By the time I’m done, I’ll have spent less than $1,000, probably closer to $700, and this includes the new Allure throughout. Sure, I could have spent money on carpenters and solid oak panels and whatnot, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying. I especially like that I reused a lot of the materials from the bed bases and dinette benches and that Miranda is still Miranda, just a new form of herself. She is definitely no longer the RV I bought! Some would say I ‘ruined’ her, but I feel that I am simply making her even more perfect for ME.

Standing in the kitchen this evening making dinner–chopping veggies on the new counter, adding dishes to the dishwasher as I worked, grabbing things from the over fridge cabinet instead of having to walk the furthest overhead pantry cabinet–I really got a sense of how my life in this RV is going to change, of how I am going to start developing routines that will hold whether I am stopped for a few months or on the road for a few weeks, of how I am finally making a home here instead of living in someone else’s space. I’ve been living in this RV for a year and a half now and I feel as good about my purchase as I did back in August of 2008. Miranda isn’t perfect by far (dual pane windows and enclosed tanks would be awesome!), but she is without a doubt the best RV I could have bought within my budget. I could have had my pick of anything in North America and I am still convinced that Miranda would have been my final choice. I am renovating with a ten year ownership plan in mind and I am certain that when the time comes for me to move to a new RV, I will mourn my beloved Royal Classic.

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I Forgot Something!

I also installed my new sewer hose this morning! Doing so was a surprisingly big job. I had to cut away the vinyl around the threads of the connector then snip the wire. In theory, I should have been able to just unscrew the connector, but it was in tight. Hooking up the new hose was much easier.

Installing the new hose, which is obviously of better quality, only became a priority today because I needed to dump. Not a fun job, but it needs to be done!

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Regrouping

Today, I decided to take a break from the hard core renos and instead reclaim my kitchen! I did all sorts of little things that will make the kitchen easier to use and I also did quite a bit of cleaning, tidying, and organizing in the front room to prepare myself for the next phase of the renovations.

The first thing I did was change the hinges on the over fridge cabinet. It just needs a door fastener and maybe some trim.

I changed the hinges on this cabinet because I couldn’t make the door level with the Euro-style hinges that came with it. Door hung properly, I finally baptized the space by filling it with overstock grocery items like oil, flour, and pasta!

That done, I paused to get the dishwasher installed and then I did a little something to the cabinet to give it an even more finished look (snicker):

I still need some trim around the base, but little things like installing the furnace vent sure go a long way to making a project look more finished.

Then, I started to sort things in the kitchen cabinets when I lost my mind and decided that the garish mirror had to GO NOW.

The joke was on me. I expected the mirror to be glued to the wall or something like that, but no:

I just had to tug at the base of the mirror to un-velcro it, then lift it off the fasteners.

I then removed that piece of plywood to see what was behind it:

Cool! The shower connections! Notice no sign of leakage!

I decided to replace the plywood after removing the mirror fasteners. When I get to the decorating portion of the makeover plan, I’ll do something awesome with it, but for now it’s okay.

When I did my Walmart run many weeks ago I picked up two things for the kitchen that I was excited to install. The first I’ve seen installed in many RVs, so I know it will work. The second is a fad I swore I would not buy into, but did upon closer examination of the product.

I LOVE the knife bar! The spice jars actually have little holes in the side of them to sprinkle out or pour product, you just need to rotate the cap. I’m not sure yet that I’ll like this system and I don’t find the magnets that strong. I’ll try it out for a while. The knife bar is staying, though!

That set up, I took some measurements for the next project, the duct tunnel. That’ll be easy peasy to assemble seeing as the oak flooring boards are the exact width and just a bit too long for this project! So it’ll be a matter of a couple of cuts, some angle brackets, and, of course, trim. 🙂 I had thought for some time to use the oak flooring, but that stuff is a nightmare to screw into. What cemented the decision for me is that it’s going to look really nice.

And then, I made dinner. More honestly, I reheated leftovers my friend sent home with me and added Brussels sprouts navidad to round out the meal! I can’t remember the last time I really cooked. I threw together a lasagna this weekend, but that doesn’t really count since I used no-boil noodles and sauce from my freezer, so there was no prep work. I think that I may even bake a cake tonight, I’m feeling so domestic. 😀

Even though I got a lot done this weekend, I am a week behind schedule and starting to notice that the days are racing by. I tend to do my best work under pressure, so I remain hopeful that I Can Get This Done!

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Yet Another ‘I Changed My Mind About the Dishwasher!’ Post

But it’s in!!!!

Croft’s reaction to that was “did you check out the functions of the dishwasher where it is placed before you made it permanent?” I had to laugh because I have been testing the dishwasher in numerous positions on top of the counter. My initial idea has ended up working out just fine, only I couldn’t centre the dishwasher on the counter because of hose length.

I thought to secure the dishwasher with angle brackets and then slide it in between them, then realised that the front needed to be secured, too! The obvious answer to that was to mount the brackets to pieces of wood into which I would screw a frontal piece when the dishwasher was in. Great, there would go a few hours while I ripped plywood into suitable lengths. First, though, I went through my own scrap pile to see if I might have something better than plywood and lo and behold, I had the perfect thing, salvaged from the front of the dinette seats!

It’s definitely time for pictures. 🙂

I had two of these long pieces that were the *exact* width of the angle brackets!!! One piece was enough for the two sides and the other piece did the front. Amazing!

I had two of these long pieces that were the *exact* width of the angle brackets!!! One piece was enough for the two sides and the other piece did the front. Amazing!

Once the dishwasher was slid in between the two horizontal pieces, I screwed in the front piece. I'll fill in the previous screw holes with painter's putty.

Once the dishwasher was slid in between the two horizontal pieces, I screwed in the front piece. I’ll fill in the previous screw holes with painter’s putty.

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As you can see, it's off-centre, but the hoses are truly at their limits. Not bad, though!

As you can see, it’s off-centre, but the hoses are truly at their limits. Not bad, though!

I am very happy that I was able to orientate the dishwasher this way. It’s the best position for loading an unloading and leaves me with a lot more counter space for prep work.

The installation feels very secure; we’ll see if it passes the road test. 🙂