To be perfectly honest, I've decided that renovating our RV isn't all that different than creating a painting.
Okay, so I will admit that from a technical standpoint it differs a great deal. After all, there are a great many mechanical issues to tackle.
I guess what I mean to say is that I've definitely discovered similarities between our reno and my art both in approach and basic design principles.
You see, before I begin the fun of blocking in my design or mixing color, I spend considerable time building a strong foundation.
And the further we have progressed with our reno, the more we have seen the necessity of correcting our RV's foundational issues.
Sure, the completion of quick paint job and decor update would make a huge difference. But from the outset of this project, we have hoped for so much more than giving our RV a facelift.
In fact, we dream of breathing new life into "Van Go."
With this in mind, we tackle our reno as if we were designing and building a "tiny home." Thus, after the initial repainting that Tim did, we decided to strip everything down to its bare bones.
And while our progress at this point may not appear very exciting, the all-consuming projects of the past few weeks have laid the groundwork and toned the "canvas" upon which I will complete our overall design.
In fact, what you see pictured here are the repairs and changes that we have made to the critical "planes" of the vehicle. Much like the tone and value for a beautiful painting of Nature's "Cathedral"--the sky, ground and tree planes--the primary planes of our RV also required care and attention.
CEILING
Tim, in fact, devoted hours to stripping the "header" or lining that covered the ceiling of the living space of the vehicle. The liner itself had begun to sag and as Tim removed it, we discovered the cause.
The foam insulation had begun to disintegrate. Fortunately, unlike the "popcorn ceilings" of the 1960s and early 1970s, our insulation did not require moisture to enable its removal. A simple scraper did the trick.
The big question, then, remained, "With what should we replace the liner?" We could, of course, taken the vehicle to an expert who could have simply replaced the insulation or liner. Or we could DIY...
You guessed it. We decided to take the DIY route. We opted to use sheets of lauan plywood since they are both lightweight and flexible. Tim glued and in some places screwed in the lauan. It looked rather plain.
You betcha...the artist stepped in with another of her "brilliant" ideas. And yes, my gracious other half sprayed the entire RV ceiling with an "orange peel" texture before he painted it.
An unnecessary step? Perhaps. But I felt that the "orange peel" would simulate the plaster commonly found in French country homes and lend visual interest. At the same time, the thin, flexible texture will also be more or less resistant to cracking as our vehicle moves down the road.
Next, we have covered the seams between the lauan panels with a product that we purchased from Lowes' Home Improvement that is similar to one made by Inteplast Group Building Products. We purchased the PVC accent planks (that are actually meant for ship lap type projects) individually but they can also be purchased in sets of 15-sq ft. We selected a mid-tone brown color from the variety of available colors.
What I love about these products is that the depth of the planks are comparatively narrow and unobtrusive, and the material is fairly flexible. Thus, they conform to the curve of an RV ceiling well. They are also very lightweight... perfect for an RV.
WALLS
Not only did the ceiling of our "tiny home" need repair, but so did the walls. Over its 26-year lifespan, "Van Go" had faced the elements. And with age, the seals around various windows began to crack. It isn't surprising, then, that moisture soaked into one particular area between the fiberglass exterior wall and the interior.
Such water damage required that we remove part of the interior wall and "re-laminate" the insulation to the exterior fiberglass wall. Correction: Tim removed part of the wall. I cheered him on from the peanut gallery. Ha!
After re-lamination, new pieces of wallboard were patched into the old and, of course, taped. Then, came more texture in an attempt to camouflage the resulting imperfections. However, if you look closely, you will nevertheless spot areas that remain uneven.
Undoubtedly, barring the removal and replacement of all of the interior walls, perfection in a 26-year-old vehicle remains illusive. But we are not professional RV renovators. This is our first reno. So, I think neither one of us is willing to open Pandora's box at this point.
However, I will say that the uneven walls do lend a bit of French farmhouse charm. A little bit of imperfection makes a place homey.
But if I find that the uneven surface disturbs Tim, I will find a way to further disguise it. I think perhaps that since I plan to use thermal lined curtains, I might consider adding some sort of sheers for daytime privacy.
Although sheers don't block cold or heat, we will be using a reflective covering to take care of that in addition to our insulated curtains. The sheers, then, would simply provide daytime privacy and serve to camouflage the imperfections of the wall. And sheers would disguise more of the wall issues than simple blinds would.
It's worth a shot.
FLOORING
Finally, we decided to replace the carpet with an wood laminate product. We opted for a floating,snap and lock style that we found on clearance at Lumber Liquidators.
For all you handymen and women out there, the boxes actually labeled the product as "Garden View Walnut" in 7mm 5G Click.
We did have some uncertainty about how the floater style floor would respond to the shifting of the vehicle that occurs on the road, but our initial test run has gone well. So far, everything has stayed in place without the application of any glue.
Of course, if we have problems down the road, we can always glue the floor down. But for now, we'd prefer not to do that since it limits any further remodeling of the vehicle should the flooring become damaged.
And so it is. The sky, ground and vertical planes have been reclaimed, the foundation laid. Next on the agenda? Hanging our rebuilt and redesigned cabinets. But that's a whole 'nother post. See you next time!
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