Working On the Details

The days have been very windy here making it difficult to work but I switched gears and worked on some finishing work in the galley.  Disney Imagineers have a term Walt would use when they went above and beyond what anyone thought was possible he would say they, "plussed" it.  Well that's what I've done with the galley.  Since I used a burl wood it had knots and holes throughout and instead of filling them with wood filler I took the opportunity to use a turquoise resin which is UV reactive to fill in the cracks and knots in the wood.  Once I sanded them down I followed up by adding copper veins through the wood and turquoise resin.  The results are stunning and at night glow!  While I worked on this I took my blue painter's tape and walked through the galley tagging everything that needed to be finished or touched up.  It felt so good to step back and see a completed project..... the galley is done, finally.

The resin glows a beautiful blue at night.

The resin poured into the cracks and knots smoothly.

Copper veins made the grain and the turquoise pop.

I insulated the area the cooler rests in including the floor, hopefully it will help keep the ice from melting fast.  I cut and bent a piece of tin to cover the stove slider for easier clean up.  The galley took time but it was time well spent and I wanted it done right not fast.

The metal makes grease or spill cleanup easier.

All the walls and floor are insulated in the cooler space to help keep things colder longer.

The labor of love took over a year but it's done right.

The stove and cooler sliders make camping life much easier.

I may at a later date upgrade my counters to the copper I originally wanted.

I'm so please with how everything came together in the galley.

Time for the "Before and After" photo.  Crybaby/Surfside Trailers gave us a wreck of a galley.  The drawers had 2 1/2 inch gaps between each other, the cabinet door was warped and cracked, the flooring didn't go all the way through the galley, the shelf was broken, and they never installed the pullout for the cooler.  We won't get into the leaking galley lid that is another blog post all in itself.  Now everything has been rebuilt, we have moved the speakers from where they were originally put in the back splash, the sinks is closed off so it cannot leak on the battery or stove, new pullouts have been added, and all the cabinets and drawers have been replaced with ones that fit. 

The before and after you would never know it's the same trailer.

Now that the galley is out of the way I turned my focus on finishing the cabin.  It was time to tackle the leaking vent.  Remember way back when the galley and cabin leaked?  I ordered a new vent to replace the one Crybaby/Surfside installed.  The vent was never right, not only did it leak but when we would travel down the road it would open and we couldn't get it to stay closed.  Well I found out why, the crank box was broken, no surprise they used the cheapest materials they could.  Upon removing the vent we found they ran a bead of the glue I provided them to use on construction instead of sealing the vent properly.  This glue is a permanent glue not meant for this type of application, it was designed for boat building to ensure a permanent watertight seal which I wanted for the seams and joints on the trailer.  I swear he used it everywhere but where it was suppose to be used.   So after my husband spent two days removing the old vent I came behind him to remove the rest of the glue, clean it, and install the new vent.

The old vent, notice that it doesn't close and it has yellowed.  We requested the smoked vent because the sun here in the desert is harsh.... we got this vent instead.

I had to throw this in I have no idea what this was, it was a tape of some type that was just left and not even cleaned off.  I just found this when we climbed the ladder, it only took some goo off to remove.  I would have never given someone a trailer that wasn't cleaned and polished.

The broken gear on the vent.

This is the vent once we removed it, notice there isn't any sealer on it..... wonder why it leaked.

Here is the glue he put in attempt to seal the vent.

Along with a putty knife and hammer we used razor knives to remove the old glue.

Once the glue was removed the area was thoroughly cleaned with denatured alcohol.

The new vent was prepped with butyl tape before it was screwed into place.

The new vent in place and the excess butyl tape was wiped up before the final steps.

Silicone was used over each screw and along the edge of the vent to ensure it is completely sealed.

Sealed and drying.

Love this low profile metal vent.  It has a beautiful rain overhang so you can open you vent without the rain getting in.

The new vent looks perfect and fits much better than the old vent.

You can hardly see the vent.  It works beautifully.

After the work was done I made a new flag pole bucket, this time I painted the concrete before adding the sea glass and pebbles which I resin in.

The resin is a little lighter than the concrete and holds the stones better.

Yes I did use the glow resin for this too.  Now we can see where the flag is at night.

With some of the extra turquoise resin I created a watchman for the trailer.  This little gargoyle you may recognize, this is one of the gargoyles from Disney's Haunted Mansion.  Not quite sure where he will go but every trailer and home should have a watcher to protect them.

This weekend I am finishing the back wall and building cabinets.  It's nice to see the light shining again at the end of this tunnel.  The project list is getting smaller and the trailer is finally looking the way it should have from the beginning.  Until next time, stay safe and enjoy your camp!