"Paradigm Shift"

[SeanF]

Sounds like you've been busy!
Looking forward to the pics...

[Eric von Kleist]

Okey, dokey, I got computer access for a bit!

Here is my countertop:



There are a couple of close-ups here: http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Sk...ction.jpg.html

From a tile-work standpoint, this is a pretty simple project. I highly recommend it. People who have seen the finished countertop speak very highly of it (although....they could just be humoring the bus-guy... )

[Griff]

WOW ERIC! Fantastic job on the countertop! Yer a better man than I, Gunga Din! I don't think I'd have the patience to cut all BUT 1 tile! Well Done!

[captainkf]

Pretty Snazy! I like how you continued the pattern up the backsplash. -Richard

[Eric von Kleist]

Howdy! Long time no see!

Well, school has started back today, and the ceiling project that I started over Christmas Break is...not nearly complete...so the bus is a total wreck inside and I barely have room to live. GRRRRR!!!!

I'm going with my original idea of putting wood panels on the ceiling in the forward part of the bus. I'm using 1/8" doorskin plywood for the panels, and it will be separated/divided/held in place by some 2"x1/4" strips of "molding" that I ripped from some two-by material.

The doorskins have a really thin (1/32") luan mahogany (looks like it to me) ply on their good face, a 1/16" middle ply, and a 1/32" back ply. Only three plies in all. I have given them a "pickled oak" whitewash treatment that I will end up covering with a coat or two of satin polyurethane. The trim molding will be stained to a dark mahogany color, so the ceiling will be (kind of) black and white (but not exactly). The color choices may not work well...in which case, I can PAINT it.

Other than that, not much work done lately. Too much school last semester, and I'm taking one more class this semester (7 classes, 19 hours total), so it's going to be a busy one. I'll try to get the ceiling done this week so that I can post some pictures to the gallery (and so that I can get all my stuff put away!)

Ciao!

[Excalibrate]

Hey man, you are doing fine work. I just found your post and pretty much read all of it the last 2 days. It's encouraging for those of us who are still gathering the materials for more work in the spring. I didn't quite understand how the window shades work though. They look great but are they just wedged in the windows or do you have some kinda retainer to hold them in the various positions? Again, I admire your tenaciaty and determination. I know, pretty much the same thing but you probably have twice as much as the average bear . . .

[Eric von Kleist]

Time for a visit to the board, even if only a brief one. It's difficult for me to get net access on a regular basis, so it's been hard to stay in touch.

I FINALLY got my permandnt lighting installed in the front part of the bus!! Woot! I've had the parts hanging around for 2 years. when I finally got to it, the whole project took one day. It's SO nice to be able to reach up and turn a light switch and have light instead of having a 2' strip flourescent hanging off the wall.

Oh, in the meantime, I picked up 2 bachelors degrees on the way (History and Sociology - USC Upstate.) Now I have to get into law school!

I have posted project pics in the photo gallery. http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Sk...ight_Fixtures/

I have a lot of work to do in the next month because I'm moving to a different location in town, so expect a few more posts in the near future.

I'm impressed by all the work I see going on in the skoolie realm, and hope to get to study the recent additions in detail soon.

[Eric von Kleist]

Hey man, you are doing fine work. I just found your post and pretty much read all of it the last 2 days. It's encouraging for those of us who are still gathering the materials for more work in the spring. I didn't quite understand how the window shades work though. They look great but are they just wedged in the windows or do you have some kinda retainer to hold them in the various positions? Again, I admire your tenaciaty and determination. I know, pretty much the same thing but you probably have twice as much as the average bear . . .

Here it is 6 months later.....

The shades are mounted on two 1/2" CPVC pipes that plug into holes in the wooden trim piece covering the column between the windows. You just bend the pipe outward and pull one end out of a hole. then you take the other end of a pipe out and move the pipe to a different hole. You can move the top pipe down or the Bottom Pipe up. there are three adjustment positions.

You can see it pretty well here

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Sk...ethod.jpg.html

[Abbott]

It is nice to see you posting again Eric.

(History and Sociology - USC Upstate) Congratulations!

[Griff]

Hey Eric!

Congrats on the new parchments , and great to see you back to visit the asylum! Looking forward to perusing your latest improvements, and hoping to hear more from ya when ya can!

Griff

[Eric von Kleist]

Okey-dokey...

I saved much of the "pleather" from my bus seats when I disassembled them, and (3 years later) now I'm going to do something with it. I always had vague plans for an upholstered front area and dash, and it looks as if I'm going to get on with construction in the next week.

I found that construction adhesive works well on the sheet metal interior, so I may be using some of that. You have to read the instructions carefully, though, as some of the adhesives will not work with foam insulation.

I have a really good design for a 12' wide x 24' long deck on top of the bus (2' fold-outs on the sides), and if I get all my other projects done, that will be my reward to myself (funding permitting.)

Also on tap...a custom woodstove.

I forgot how much I like fooling with this stuff!

[SeanF]

Cool, good to see you back & posting again.

[Eric von Kleist]

Coming soon... Interior upholstery panels...finally! I'll be posting how-to pics in the gallery this weekend. I just finished installing padded panels over the dash and the front ceiling. The project's execution went as planned, except that it took a month instead of a weekend (typical of my projects.) If you're looking for a fairly cheap way to cover some sheet metal, this is a good one.

Now I'm working on curtains for the bathroom, which I hadn't needed until I moved out of the park this past weekend. Now I'm back in an RV park, and I REALLY need bathroom curtains.

Also, I'm using the composting toilet again. Woot! Today I have to go home and stir the 5#1+ in the bucket. Gotta get used to doing that again because it has to be done regularly.

Happy Autumn!

[Eric von Kleist]

Okat, some Interior upholstery pics. I have more to upload, and they show more of the actual construction details, particularly for the upper dash, but I don't have them with me right now. SAVE THOSE SEAT COVERS! I hauled my seat covers around for three years before I got to this, but finally I was able to use them. The upholstered panels are made of 3/8" plywood with two layers of carpet padding covered by old school bus seat material. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE (it's cheaper!) Here are the pics that I have posted so far http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Sk...tered+Ceiling/

[SeanF]

Nice work on the panels!

[Eric von Kleist]

Hey, y'all!

Busy, busy, busy, and about to get busier... I got accepted to law school at the Appalachian School of Law! W0oT!



I just this week drove the bus about 320 miles (by mountain road) due north of Greenville, SC to Grundy, VA. What a blast! It took 14 hours or so of driving through the mountains on 2 lane roads (I can't go fast enough for the Interstate.) I averaged about 23 MPH! I didn't keep the best records on diesel consumption, but I think I got about 5 MPG, which is less than the normal 7.5 mpg, but not too bad for a 180 HP engine pulling an 18,000 bus and a 3,000 pound Jeep through the mountains of NC and VA. At times I was going uphill at 10 MPH, and the fastest I got to on a downhill run was between 45 and 50 (the bus WILL NOT go faster than 50.)

I haven't had reliable internet access for the past year, but once school starts up I should be able to post some pics of the bookcases I built.

Watch this space in the next few weeks....

Ciao!

Eric

[Griff]

Hey Eric!

Great to hear from ya again!

Looking forward to reading all about your adventures.

[hmcastle55]

Congrats on gettin' into Law school!

[Eric von Kleist]

WOODSTOVE INSTALLATION PHOTOS IN THE PHOTO GALLERY for Paradigm Shift (last page, Woodstove Installation.)

FINALLY!!!!

This is how I installed a woodstove in my bus. Not counting design time, I have about 40 hours of work involved in this project (which I desperately need with winter coming on!) I fired the stove last night (fresh stove paint STINKS and SMOKES!) and it will run you out of the house pretty quickly when stoked up. I banked it back and let it burn out in about 3 hours, but the stove gave off heat for a good while. The stove is in the middle of the bus, but it heats both ends quite well!

I constructed a hearth made from a plywood base topped with 1/2" cement board (for tile work), and trimmed with 1x2" firring strips (cheap). I need to put rocks down on the hearth yet.

The stovepipe and the fresh air intake were designed to fit within the existing window frame WITH NO MODIFICATION TO THE FRAME. I can take it apart and have a fully functioning window again.

I had to make 4 brackets to hold the legs down to the floor. The brackets are bent from 1 1/4" x 1/8" steel; bolted to the legs with two 1/4" bolts; and bolted to the floor with 3/8" bolts.

I built a heat shield for the wall next to the stove (photos later). It is a 1/2" cementboard 2' x 3' bolted 1.5 inches off the wall, and then there are two layers of cheap roofing steel on top, inverted on each other so as to make air channels (the steel extends past the cement board for a few inches on each end. I need to put a heat shield over the stovepipe and along the bulkhead behind the stovepipe.

[Griff]

Here ya go, Smitty!
http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Skooli ... tallation/