More Kitchen and Bath "disassembly" & Appliance Placement

This past Saturday I spent finishing the kitchen & bath tear-out and spent time test placing the new power supply/converter and water heater.

I also pondered the plumbing and electrical requirements at length taking many measurements so that I can put it on paper prior to buying any supplies.

I've decided to go with PEX for all the fresh water and will utilize the push in type quick connect fittings.  This system looks like it was made for inexperienced plumbers like me! We are not reinstalling a shower (literally folded the aluminum in half to remove it) inside the trailer and may purchase an outside "on demand" type down the road.  We figure we will always be staying where a shower is near plus the one that was in the Fireball was TINY.

For plumbing I have the sink in the kitchen, hotwater heater, toilet and waste water to do... the black/gray tanks will need to be small so under 10 gallons for each is what we are planning.  I do not anticipate any heavy usage because, again, we plan to stay mainly where there will be facilities to use.

The wiring of the power converter looks straight forward as well, the present wiring is in great condition although it is not plastic sheathed (Romex) type but early style sheathed in a metallic fabric.  I've looked it over closely for burns, cracks and fraying and have found none so will leave it in place adding any new circuits as needed..

Placement of a battery box and the 12 volt wiring will take some planning; the batteries will need to be vented outside and accessible for maintenance... lighting, the 12V water pump, a stereo, furnace, water heater etc. will need to be wired so stay tuned-

Tools Explained:


Belt Sander- An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch up jobs into major refinishing projects.
Pliers- Primary use is for rounding off bolt heads; often used in the creation of blood blisters.

Pictures from the weekend of 11/20:

Here we have the toilet "stall"...not very inviting -where do you put the magazines?!

The shower stall is equally ugly and is coming out....

Of course it was installed and the cabinets assembled around it

The tin floor must have been chilly - it laid right on top of the framing

Lori's demolishen kit...

Working under a tarp inside a shed in the NW winter is less then ideal - but I'm grateful to have it under cover

Okay just the pan left...suffice it to say that the shower stall won't be reused for showers!  I will use the aluminum to shore up the tin wheel wells later 

This is what greeted us under the shower pan - lotsa dirt 

Another view

This is one of the best tools for the removal of rusty fasteners!

This is the bath wall on the street side with old paneling removed

Here is the location of the old water heater and where I plan to add the new one - the difference is that the original only worked with a hook up to shore power - new one is propane

Some of the plumbing after a "remodel"... I think it's actually automotive heater hose they used for the city water hookup! YUK!

Another view - hot/cold went from here to the sink

Here is the customized water hook up - nice work Joe Bob!

Underside where plywood was put in place of whatever was here before - this is gonna go and the black/gray water storage tanks will be mounted here

The undersaide of Kat is in pretty nice shape - I'll wire wheel the frame and use a rust encapsulating paint prior to undercoating 

This is under the kitchen area and is a drain for a water tank stored under the oven - yah I have no clue why

Heres the tank from the top side - why is it located under the oven?

Here it is removed . it appears to be galvanized

Anyone have a clue what it was for?  I have a large cylinder shaped fresh water tank that we removed during the work on the front

 Some work on the kitchen area: 

All the old Formica and trim removed

The structure of the cabinets is very solid 

Heres a good view of stripped down kitchen area

And the bath with everything stripped out
New stuff for the old girl...

This is the power converter I'll be installing

AC/DC power and battery charger will be a great upgrade from....

....this.

Here is the main breaker box wiring which appears to be in great shape

The new water heater will be nice... I plan to fab a front cover fascia that more closely matches the siding - maybe louvered hot rod style....

Placement of the water heater is just ahead of the old shower area

Trying to place the new Suburban furnace will require some trial and error fitting- it takes up a lot of room compared to the original

Bringing Up The Rear

My awesome helper is back! It was great to have Lori helping me again this weekend, besides a huge help she's my best friend and we have fun together!

Lori worked at dismantling the kitchen area to address the overall deterioration of the surfaces and cabinets; we will be replacing the old, beat up Formica. We need to build a table for the trailer anyway and decided we should match the counter top to the table.

We removed the bunk-beds, the back wall entirely and the paneling on the street side rear...this time I measured the distance between the cross framing on the ceiling that rolls down the rear as well so the framing will be easier to replicate. I will be installing the Birch paneling from the top side so I think the rear will progress much faster then the front did.

I also got a bit of a look at the plumbing for the bathroom....still trying out figure out if there was/is a black holding tank and we are debating the shower.... which will be coming out at least to inspect the floor area more closely. The toilet drain is all cast iron and looks like something you would see in an old house...

We removed the furnace and refrigerator to clean and repair everything as needed. I'll be locating the newer furnace, hot water heater and power converter at this stage (thank you Brittany and Jay!) so I bought a book to help figure it all out... "RV Repair & Maintenance Manual" which received great revues.... we will see.

Second Installment of "Tools Explained"

"Wire Wheel" Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench at the speed of light.  Also removes fingerprints and hard earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes to say "Oh sh_ _!

The latest "progress" pictures:

I rolled the siding up on the roof, should have just removed it from the onset but have no good place to store it

The corners are the only really deteriorated areas so rebuilding this should go relatively fast

Upper corner on the curb side

Mid section - which is also several pieces of plywood nailed together

Floor looks solid but the lower framing will need replaced...the bumper is coming off, it's bent due to someone attempting to lift the trailer with a bumper jack

Better view of the upper corner

The street side is about the same condition as the curb side

The plywood seemed to act like a sponge - very rotten where as the rest of the framing is in good condition 

Took photos of all the measurements for frame placement AND made a drawing - I R edumecated!

I wonder if the plywood had been sealed with paint if it might have held up all these years....

You get the idea, the plywood soaked up the moisture and saturated the adjacent wood - framing and paneling both

My bestest pal removing some screws on the bunk to get it out of the way

Looks like a much better way to accomplish repairs, next time (HAHAHA) the roof comes off...

She cut the paneling using our very handy multi tool and cutting blade attachment, nice clean cuts - she's awesome and really loves this stuff!

I thought I would find a black water tank here...was grateful I didn't see eyeballs looking back at me!

Look at that cast Iron! The shower pan is just ahead of the drain and should allow good access once removed.

Here's where the potty was - elegant huh?  The shower is an aluminum surround with provisions for a curtain - located just ahead of the toilet area.

This is s section view, it will be interesting to see what is behind the panleling on this side.

Going to modern plastic plumbing should lighten her up a bit....

Lori is taking no prisoners on the Formica removal, kinda hokey the way it was installed really.

Cool pattern and color...too bad there is nothing similar made anymore.... we will be going with Formica Retro "Aqua Boomerang" pattern

It was put up in several pieces for some reason; I'm gonna try to install the new in larger pieces without seams

The Formica is badly stained, has many screw/nail holes from added gadgets over the years and is just too tattered to save

More of Lori's handy work, found and removed all the anchor screws for the refrigerator - which we took out for repair and painting

So here we are as of Saturday November 6th.... The disassembly went smoothly and revealed no surprises...the 1x2 and 2x2 framing wood used is very nice wood - clear and solid. You just can't find wood like that anymore so I bought some reclaimed studs and a planer to make my own....stay tuned for the adventure!.


The street side paneling and shower removal are next.