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Bus thoughts...
Dec. 14th, 2003 03:49 pmI've been doing a lot of planning/designing of the interior of my minibus - mostly in my head - over the weekend. There's a few things that may prove harder than originally planned, and a lot more work than I thought I would have to do if I want it to be perfect and last. Ideally, I don't want to have to give the bus up if I go back to uni, but if I do have to for whatever reason, I want it to be done properly inside and out so that it will fetch a good price.
So, here are the plans so far:
* Strip out entire rear interior. Including side panelling, floor and headlining. I'm not sure if I want to include the cab in this process - I suppose I should do, but that would include a lot more fiddly work that isn't really necessary so I'll probably leave it as is.
* Replace bolts in floor holes. The bolts in the floor went right through, and the resulting holes will begin to rust if not protected in some manner. My main problem with doing this will be that I may have to sheer off the heads of some of the bolts to get them out (the seatbelt bolts have a metal plate holding them in place on the outside.) Of course, I could get under the van with a pair of pliers to hold the metal plates while someone loosens the bolts from the inside. I will probably try this first...
* Cover the walls and floor with polystyrene. I know I originally said I didn't want to include polystyrene in any part of the bus, but if it's good enough for boat walls, its good enough for bus ones. I'll probably get a hold of the stuff from a boatyard/caravan builder if I can, since it should be up to a recognised standard. It will be glued onto the outer walls with either PVA or some of that wonderful 'Hard as Nails' stuff. Note no polystyrene is going in the roof however. The polystyrene will insulate the floor and walls and make a good flat surface for the new floor to go in.
* Cover the polystyrene in the walls and floor with plywood. I'll use the original floor as a template here, but I'll have to draw out the shapes of the walls - something I don't relish cutting out! I'm hoping that Chaz - who is a carpenter by trade - will let us use some of his equipment for this. I'll probably glue the ply to the polystyrene, but also I think I'll tack/nail it down.
* Put batons in. Now, here is my dilemma. I don't really want to drill holes in the roof to screw batons to it. I'm not certain that glue will be strong enough to hold it up there on its own either. So I'm thinking of making a frame work of baton pillars that run up the walls between the windows, upon which I will rest a rectangular frame of top batons - an edge around the inside of the van, and strips running across the roof. These strips will be glued to the ceiling - they will have to be cut to shape as the roof itself is slightly curved, but they will be flat on the underside - and rest on top of the wall strips, with flat brass corners screwed to them to hold them in place. Does this sound plausible?
* Put insulation in. I will use proper caravan insulation as I have found several possible sources via a caravanning magazine. This will be glued to the roof in strips between the wooden batons. Over the whole lot I will finally put plywood, screwed to the roof framework. The remaining headlining from the cab will be trapped between the final baton and the ply. I will also screw a thin wood curtain pole into this final baton to hang a lightweight dividing curtain which will screen off the cab from the back at night.
* Put a new carpet down. The current one is covered in chewing gum, ash and Gods only know what else, so it's going! I'll get a hold of a good off-cut for this - not too thick, hardwearing, but comfortable to the feet!
* Make bed. This is going on the nearside wall, between the side door and the rear one. It has to fit over a wheelarch, will be about 6ft long, 4ft wide and sit some 4ins below the level of the window, to leave room for the mattress. There are two possible designs Erik and I have thought of for this - Erik's design uses less wood, so is preferable, but it has to work... My idea was to make a 5-sided ply box, the rear wall of which has a shape cut in it to fit snugly over the wheelarch. The inside structure would all be wood batoning again, the front wall of which will be fitted with sliding doors like a divan bed has. This allows for the space underneath to be used for storage. Erik's idea was to have a similar framework, but instead of covering it all with ply, only the top and front (sliding doors again) would be. Inside, for strength, will be diagonal strips of wood coming up from the floor on the front edge of the box to the top of the far edge (the one closest to the wall of the 'bus.) this would also allow for more air ciculation to the storage area - very important to stop mould! The only question is would it be strong enough to support our combined weight...? The mattress would be a piece of foam 4ins thick, and we'll probably cover it with a sleeping bag, or even possibly sheepskin rugs... ;-)
* Make cupboards and surfaces. The other wall will be pretty much all cupboard space. I may make a wardrobe to fit in the far offside corner, but having said that, I don't want too much of my view restricted, so we may have to do without. The cupboards will all be just below the level of the windows, with the exception of one space just big enough for the cooker. this will be a camping stove comprised of two hobs and a grill. The cupboard underneath it will house the gas bottle for it, with the hose coming up from between the walls and the rear edge of the cupboard (a hole may have to be cut for this.) The top will be lower than the surrounding area, setting the hobs at about the same level. This will be placed at the first sliding window, so it can be opened when cooking to let heat and smoke out (extractor!) The cupboards themselves will be a framework as before, covered in ply. There will be no rear wall, I will screw them to the wall of the 'bus. The top surface I intend to cover with coloured glass beads, not just because it's pretty, but because it will also be practical for setting hot pans down. A bit further back, I will cut a circular hole in the surface big enough to set a washing-up bowl into. the bowl itself will be removeable so that I can empty it out when done. I'm thinking of trying to get a hold of a small steel draining board too! Alix in 'includes the kitchen sink' shocker! ;-)
* Hang curtains. I'll probably put flat curtain strips on the walls as it will make sliding the side-door a lot easier for starters! These will be glued and screwed to the ply. The curtains will be made of red velvet - of which I have reams - and will be held close to the windows with those elasticated strips hooked to eyes screwed into the walls either side of the glass (just as they are in boats.) These curtains can be drawn out the way of the cooker/door slider/rear view as required and held in place with the elastic as before.
* Fit radio/speakers. Erik's thinking of getting me a stereo/CD player for the van for Solstice - my only problem will be where to fit new speakers!
Budget-wise? Don't ask! I have a little left from the loan, and will be able to put a little more aside each month, but we'll have to see. If anyone has any tips on places to get cheap useable stuff, or any way to improve on the designs, please let me know. I'd like to use reclaimed wood but have no idea of places around here to get it. In an ideal world the floor/side insulation would be that treated shredded newspaper stuff as well, but cost may well be the deciding factor there. I'm hoping to have it finished by Whitby so we can drive up and not have to spend money on B&Bs (but we will be borrowing showers/toilets!) I get the feeling this will be a very poor Whitby though!
Anybody out there with thoughts or experience they would like to share...?
So, here are the plans so far:
* Strip out entire rear interior. Including side panelling, floor and headlining. I'm not sure if I want to include the cab in this process - I suppose I should do, but that would include a lot more fiddly work that isn't really necessary so I'll probably leave it as is.
* Replace bolts in floor holes. The bolts in the floor went right through, and the resulting holes will begin to rust if not protected in some manner. My main problem with doing this will be that I may have to sheer off the heads of some of the bolts to get them out (the seatbelt bolts have a metal plate holding them in place on the outside.) Of course, I could get under the van with a pair of pliers to hold the metal plates while someone loosens the bolts from the inside. I will probably try this first...
* Cover the walls and floor with polystyrene. I know I originally said I didn't want to include polystyrene in any part of the bus, but if it's good enough for boat walls, its good enough for bus ones. I'll probably get a hold of the stuff from a boatyard/caravan builder if I can, since it should be up to a recognised standard. It will be glued onto the outer walls with either PVA or some of that wonderful 'Hard as Nails' stuff. Note no polystyrene is going in the roof however. The polystyrene will insulate the floor and walls and make a good flat surface for the new floor to go in.
* Cover the polystyrene in the walls and floor with plywood. I'll use the original floor as a template here, but I'll have to draw out the shapes of the walls - something I don't relish cutting out! I'm hoping that Chaz - who is a carpenter by trade - will let us use some of his equipment for this. I'll probably glue the ply to the polystyrene, but also I think I'll tack/nail it down.
* Put batons in. Now, here is my dilemma. I don't really want to drill holes in the roof to screw batons to it. I'm not certain that glue will be strong enough to hold it up there on its own either. So I'm thinking of making a frame work of baton pillars that run up the walls between the windows, upon which I will rest a rectangular frame of top batons - an edge around the inside of the van, and strips running across the roof. These strips will be glued to the ceiling - they will have to be cut to shape as the roof itself is slightly curved, but they will be flat on the underside - and rest on top of the wall strips, with flat brass corners screwed to them to hold them in place. Does this sound plausible?
* Put insulation in. I will use proper caravan insulation as I have found several possible sources via a caravanning magazine. This will be glued to the roof in strips between the wooden batons. Over the whole lot I will finally put plywood, screwed to the roof framework. The remaining headlining from the cab will be trapped between the final baton and the ply. I will also screw a thin wood curtain pole into this final baton to hang a lightweight dividing curtain which will screen off the cab from the back at night.
* Put a new carpet down. The current one is covered in chewing gum, ash and Gods only know what else, so it's going! I'll get a hold of a good off-cut for this - not too thick, hardwearing, but comfortable to the feet!
* Make bed. This is going on the nearside wall, between the side door and the rear one. It has to fit over a wheelarch, will be about 6ft long, 4ft wide and sit some 4ins below the level of the window, to leave room for the mattress. There are two possible designs Erik and I have thought of for this - Erik's design uses less wood, so is preferable, but it has to work... My idea was to make a 5-sided ply box, the rear wall of which has a shape cut in it to fit snugly over the wheelarch. The inside structure would all be wood batoning again, the front wall of which will be fitted with sliding doors like a divan bed has. This allows for the space underneath to be used for storage. Erik's idea was to have a similar framework, but instead of covering it all with ply, only the top and front (sliding doors again) would be. Inside, for strength, will be diagonal strips of wood coming up from the floor on the front edge of the box to the top of the far edge (the one closest to the wall of the 'bus.) this would also allow for more air ciculation to the storage area - very important to stop mould! The only question is would it be strong enough to support our combined weight...? The mattress would be a piece of foam 4ins thick, and we'll probably cover it with a sleeping bag, or even possibly sheepskin rugs... ;-)
* Make cupboards and surfaces. The other wall will be pretty much all cupboard space. I may make a wardrobe to fit in the far offside corner, but having said that, I don't want too much of my view restricted, so we may have to do without. The cupboards will all be just below the level of the windows, with the exception of one space just big enough for the cooker. this will be a camping stove comprised of two hobs and a grill. The cupboard underneath it will house the gas bottle for it, with the hose coming up from between the walls and the rear edge of the cupboard (a hole may have to be cut for this.) The top will be lower than the surrounding area, setting the hobs at about the same level. This will be placed at the first sliding window, so it can be opened when cooking to let heat and smoke out (extractor!) The cupboards themselves will be a framework as before, covered in ply. There will be no rear wall, I will screw them to the wall of the 'bus. The top surface I intend to cover with coloured glass beads, not just because it's pretty, but because it will also be practical for setting hot pans down. A bit further back, I will cut a circular hole in the surface big enough to set a washing-up bowl into. the bowl itself will be removeable so that I can empty it out when done. I'm thinking of trying to get a hold of a small steel draining board too! Alix in 'includes the kitchen sink' shocker! ;-)
* Hang curtains. I'll probably put flat curtain strips on the walls as it will make sliding the side-door a lot easier for starters! These will be glued and screwed to the ply. The curtains will be made of red velvet - of which I have reams - and will be held close to the windows with those elasticated strips hooked to eyes screwed into the walls either side of the glass (just as they are in boats.) These curtains can be drawn out the way of the cooker/door slider/rear view as required and held in place with the elastic as before.
* Fit radio/speakers. Erik's thinking of getting me a stereo/CD player for the van for Solstice - my only problem will be where to fit new speakers!
Budget-wise? Don't ask! I have a little left from the loan, and will be able to put a little more aside each month, but we'll have to see. If anyone has any tips on places to get cheap useable stuff, or any way to improve on the designs, please let me know. I'd like to use reclaimed wood but have no idea of places around here to get it. In an ideal world the floor/side insulation would be that treated shredded newspaper stuff as well, but cost may well be the deciding factor there. I'm hoping to have it finished by Whitby so we can drive up and not have to spend money on B&Bs (but we will be borrowing showers/toilets!) I get the feeling this will be a very poor Whitby though!
Anybody out there with thoughts or experience they would like to share...?
