We are getting very confident with this window fitting. One of the things I decided early on with this van converting is that I wanted us to do everything and not put certain things out to companies. When we fit the gas and electricity items I will get a professionally qualified person to check it out afterwards but I want to fit it. Its so I really understand the process behind everything.
Back to the windows and this is how we bought them
You cans see where I have pulled part of the aluminum sheeting back. We then went to Norms excellent workshop and set up a pressure system with wood and clamps.
Turning the pressure up on the clamps pushed the window frame out. You have to be really careful as the sealent really does not want to give in. Once out we then dismantled the rest of the caravan wall to reveal once again the wooden frame which we then used in our van to set the window into. After careful marking we used masking tape to protect the van and then cut the aperture out for the the window to fit into.
Once in we then used more clamps to pull the window in. It was a really cold day and eventually we found we could not get the mastic to compress anymore. When summer comes I will possible have another go to get the bottom really flush, at the moment there it is a fraction out. I am talking about a fraction and its not open to leaking but perfection we want, if we can get it.
I then had to shoot off to do some photo shoots and I forgot to take a photo of the finished item. A week ago we were kind of delaying fitting windows due partly to uncertainty. We fitted this knowing we only had a four hour time slot to do it. We had the window fitted within two and then spent another hour fiddling. Learning how to do things – there is nothing like it
Yesterday we fitted our first window, it was a fantastic feeling to see it in place. When we did the insulation we left the spaces we knew we wanted the windows to go free. We bought the windows second hand. Even so they were still quite expensive, cost after some fierce negotiations £425. One of the advantages of being second hand was that the breaker we got them from simply cut them out of the doner van leaving part of the wall intact. This meant that we had a template for cutting the hole in our van.
Removing the window from the old framework
At first we thought this might be quite tricky but the aluminum sheet of the old doner van simply peeled off. As I disgarded it I pondered how at some, or many points in history that piece of now disgarded material had been part of someones bride and joy. We then pulled away all of the of the insulation, not high density foam like we have used but flimsy stuff from a time when caravans were for summer only. We now had just the wooden frame, ideal. Before we did this we had taken the actual window frame out of this wooden frame. It had been held on by 10 metal angle metals and screws. The actual plastic of this window had been sold to us out of the frame and later on in the day, after we had bonded the frame to the van I remarked to Norm how we had failed to make sure it fitted. Would this prove a mistake? You will find out later.
So this is what we started with
And this is what we finished with at the end of the day, complete also with the 240 volt inlet
Fitting the window
We carefully worked out where we wanted to fit the window. Its inportant to visualise the job the whole way through. You need to ensure that everything is going to work and fit. We offered the wooden frame to the inside of the van and then drilled some small holes through the metal. Then on th eoutside we positioned the frame to these holes, making sure we liked the position, which we did. We want the windows high, this is so they correspond to the seating on the inside. Then Norm drew around the inside of the frame which was our cut lines. I then drilled four holes in the corner and Norm started with the jigsaw. I noticed the saw was marking the van so we replaced the tape on the bottom of its plate. I held the metal from the other side to stop it bouncing as it was cut.
Once out we made sure everything fitted. We had a “moment” when we thought we had cut the hole too big but it was simply due to the window frame having different levels and it actually fitted like a glove..phew.
I then gave the wooden frame a good bead of sikaflex and offered it back up to the van wall. Norm screwed it into place from the other side. I then used the bedding mastic placing it to the van side on the outside. I discovered that if I carefully took it off the white backing paper before positioning it contoured to the aperture a lot easier. We had first cleaned the van and heated it. You could use any heat device I guess but we used a heat gun, the type for removing paint, so be careful with it.
The window frame frame was then put in and clamped allowing us to then use the metal angle and screws to hold it. We spent quite a while adding pressure and then more pressure to these clamps until the window frame was as tight to the van as we felt it would go. This then left us with bedding mastic squirting out and so needed to be tidied. We tried different ways but the best was scribing carefully with a stanley knife and then peeling away.
If the weather is good today we are going to have a go at fitting the windows. Its not quite light yet so its hard to tell. So we are impatiently waiting for sunrise. Although the insulation part is vital and I looked forward to each day I could make available to do the conversion it was a bit chorish. Fitting skylights and windows though is something else, its really exciting.
We are also going to make a trip to buy a hob/sink unit so we can push on with making some furniture
The roof skylight is in. Bravely this afternoon I drilled four holes, one in each corner of the aperture we prepared last week for the skylight. If you look at this photo you can see light coming through each corner
Norman then used his metal set square to join the drill holes up with a black marker so he knew where to cut
I then used a bigger drill piece to widen the holes so the jigsaw blade would fit
Then it was the turn of the jigsaw
Its thumbs up to a perfect 40cm sq hole
We then put three layers of bedding tape, the first to level the roof runners and then two more. In then went the skylight and at the moment it its screwed into place with blocks. When we have put the final maple finish to the ceiling we will put the lower part on.
And here she is, the skylight in place
Three years ago when we went fulltiming we hired a garage to store “our stuff” in. We have finally got around to emptying it and the explorer was used to lug it all back up here. It now sits in our studio so we now have no studio. We are going to do what we should have done three years ago and that is – if it has not got a use to us sell it or dump it. Lesson learnt!
We watched a great film last light called click. It was filmed in 2006 and starred Adam Sadler and the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale. Yet despite how gorgeous she was Adam’s character put his work first, first and first every time. He is give a universal remote control which gives him total control over his own universe.
After a while he realises he can fast forward over the bad bits of his life. Sadly though most of his life is bad, by his own making and so before he knows it he is at the end of it, having not actually lived any of it. Fortunately for him the angel of death allows him another chance but for for us, in real life, as far as we know we do not get a second chance.
Its really hard to live life as we truly want to. Maybe we spend our lives trying to realise how we want to live it, maybe this is the true meaning of searching for the holy grail. Society teaches us to have a firm base, not something a fulltimer has or is that truly the case? Maybe the firm base is ourselves, not the things we have a round us or more accurately the type of things. I remember when we were fulltiming taking the time to show Jessica the first snowdrops of the year. I noticed them the other day from my bedroom window and meant to show Jessica but forgot because I was in too much of a rush to get going. We used to make times for nature walks but not in the last year and the last year is now gone.
Click is a great bit of entertainment with a subtle but very important message, try to watch it
Click Summary
Nature Walk
Driving over to Norms this morning the weather was just excellent. Blue skies and bright. As I arrived I saw that Norm’s sister in law, Fiona had parked her nice new Renault Megane Convertible on the drive. Norm beckoned me on so I reversed the long wheel base around the megane and through past the pillars on the drive lol. As we had a quick cup of coffee to discuss the day’s tasks the first heavy rain came down and that was how today went, carribean blue skies, then rain……yuk.
Despite the weather and the fact that we decided not to cut through the roof due to the weather we were pleased with our work. The ceiling is in. Norm used a router to cut the whole in the ply ceiling and the ball-bearing router bit made easy work and a fantastic job. Tomorrow, in th elight I will take a shot of the finished ceiling, well its finished bar the maple top boards. In the meantime here is a shot of the router doing its work.
A busy day. We put the last length of ply to the main ceiling and then, bravely we moved towards fitting the roof vent
We initially marked up where we were going to put the vent with the wooden frame we made last week.
Can you see the little black dots? Norm then drilled holes through the roof from below, we decided to photograph this first hole through the body work lol
Then I smeared loads of sealant to the wooden frame before offering it upto the ceiling. We put extra sealant to the metal ceiling itself. we decide too much was preferable to too little.
With the wooden frame held in place with bars I then climbed on top of the van and screwed the frame to the roof. More sealant was used over the screws. The screws were carefully positioned so that the roof vent will cover them. We then put some wooden bars onto the final two roof bars ready for the ply tomorrow. I have come to realise that this stage of converting a van into a motorhome, i.e the insulation and wall boarding is a very big part of the overall job, maybe equating to as much 30% of the total job. But its worth doing right. The van really feels warm inside and when I am driving her she is now as quiet as a car.
After a slow start yesterday, after another fall of snow and the local roads turning into a skating ring we got quite a lot done. I reached Norms at about 12 noon and we started going over the plans again. Its important to make sure we are heading in the right direction. We discussed different options for the shower room but eventually returned to the original one lol.
We then had three hours of hard work. We replaced the final wall panels and then started on the ceiling. Norm cut the 8×4 foot sheets of ply into two whilst I stuck foam boards to the ceiling. After stuffing gyprock into the gaps we then offered up the boards. They required some extra trimming to fit into the curve of the van and then we screwed them into the wood battens we had screwed to the metal cross members of the ceiling. We also dabbed big squirts of glue to bond the wood to the foam boards. We left the van overnight with supports pushing the whole thing together to give the glue a chance to set.
The insulation is almost sorted. All panels are now filled leaving us just the ceiling to do tomorrow morning. I laid the shower base down this afternoon and it looks promising.
