The Good Ship Anne Marie

[eyedeal.ink]

looking great, I really like the new running lights. That little space saving woodstove is cool, looking forward to hearing how it works out for you.

[somjuan]

Thanks for the photo kudos - I bought my first camera around the time this project started, and I've been learning along the way. Also, you have no idea how excited I am to run that woodstove - we're only about two weeks away.

Passive solar update: yesterday saw a high of 45 F outside, and we hit a little above 80 F in the bus by early afternoon. If I was in an area with a clear Eastern exposure, I imagine it would peak even sooner.



We started attaching our ceiling to the bus ribs. It overhangs a little, and we're going to trim it to fit just right, but that's down the road a ways. We worked our way up one row at a time, using screws to secure the boards where they needed it. The boards, 5/16th" T&G wainscoting from Lowe's, didn't need quite as many screws as we originally expected. Many boards only have one or two screws keeping them in place. Because of this, we actually had no trouble covering up the LedgerLoks or the carriage bolts we used to secure the roof deck in place.

Our method was to fit a board where it was going to go, pre-drill through both the wood and the metal, then countersink the hole, then secure the board with a screw (1.5" #. It worked very well, and they're not very visible unless you're looking for them.



We added the insulation as we went. Most of what we used was the stock insulation we had kept from when we took the sheet metal ceiling down. The stock insulation originally spanned the ceiling in three parts - one long part covering 80% of the span, and two shorter lengths to either side. We broke this up into five or so segments, and added the insulation above us as the boards progressed.



This wasn't a particular difficult part of the conversion, but it took some serious time. The ceiling took the better part of a week (with lots of trial and error, of course, along the way).



The wiring that runs the length of the port side of the bus will be hidden away in a little channel we build, so the only wires that remained above the ceiling were for clearance lights and turn signals.



The finished (or very nearly) product. Like I mentioned above, we still have to trim the boards to fit the windows just right, but the vast majority of the work is behind us. I'm very pleased with how it came out, and even more pleased to be done with the insulation. At some point in the future, we'll seal it with a flat or satin poly finish, leaving the natural color.

Next up, cutting a hole in that perfect ceiling for a chimney!

[bansil]

sweet, great job

[lestock-kay]

Great work! I am hoping to do something very similar for the roof and its great to see it turn out so well for you guys before i dive into it

[Accordion]

Awesome looking ceiling.

[sdwarf36]

That is gorgeous!

[eyedeal.ink]

love the ceiling, should hold more heat for sure.

[ferroequinologist]

I looked at that exact same product yesterday and thought, "that would make an awesome ceiling"

And now I know it will! Great job! really coming together now!

[somjuan]

I highly recommend it. But be forewarned - these come prepackaged in sets of 6, and many of the pieces in our packages were damaged, split, warped, or otherwise too ugly to use. We had no trouble cutting around some boards with only minor imperfections, and Lowe's was totally cool about taking the rest back (in sets of 6, of course). They look great, and fit together well, but you're not able to pick the good boards like you are with other lumber.

[ferroequinologist]

Yes thanks for the heads up, I did notice that the first two 'packs' I picked up had some damage. I might have to pick through the stock at the Lowe's near the house and go by the one near my work to get enough good material.

Did you just use self tapping screws?

[NilesSkoolie]

Looks amazing great job!!!

[somjuan]

Thanks, all.

Originally Posted by ferroequinologist

Did you just use self tapping screws?

Normal #8 1.5" sheet metal screws, not self tappers. We pre-drilled our holes through both the wood and metal with a 1/8" cobalt bit, and used a #8 countersink bit to get the heads nice and flush.

I don't know whether this will be a problem for you or not, but very very occasionally, we'd drill through the wood right into a hole in the rib where a rivet had been. Sometimes, the screw we put in wouldn't hold at all, other times it would. Either way, at this point you're faced with either leaving the screw in and doing the next rib down the line to be sure it stays in place, or putting the whole board into the scrap pile for when a shorter piece is called for.

[ferroequinologist]

Yes, that has happened to me when I put up 1x2's just to temporally put up some insulation (it's been cold here! we had snow for only like the 3rd time in 125 years here in early Nov!)

I'm curious to see if it will warp any in your instillation. I have a section in the back where the roof slopes down to meet the back, and I am trying to figure out how I'm going to do that part. I've even thought about steaming the wood first so it is a little flexiable.

I need to do something though, as the insulation I have up now is just covered over with heavy plastic and staple gunned up to the 1x2 stringers.

[bansil]

ferroequinologist (good one )

I was expecting some exotic other world scientist or doctor

sorry for hijack

[somjuan]

Originally Posted by ferroequinologist

I'm curious to see if it will warp any in your instillation. I have a section in the back where the roof slopes down to meet the back, and I am trying to figure out how I'm going to do that part. I've even thought about steaming the wood first so it is a little flexiable.

Even that is probably unnecessary, since they're so thin, they're really quite flexible. It would need to be a pretty sharp dip to require steaming.

As far as warping, I expect a little, but I doubt it'll be too bad. The screws will keep them from doing anything too dramatic. I just expect the usual expansion/contraction. Though the air was pretty dry when we put them up, many of them were warped enough that they aren't crazy tight, and I don't expect any buckling or the like when it gets humid out. But I guess that remains to be seen.

[profbrady]

Whoah that ceiling looks amazing. Nice one!!

[ferroequinologist]

Originally Posted by somjuan

Even that is probably unnecessary, since they're so thin, they're really quite flexible. It would need to be a pretty sharp dip to require steaming.

As far as warping, I expect a little, but I doubt it'll be too bad. The screws will keep them from doing anything too dramatic. I just expect the usual expansion/contraction. Though the air was pretty dry when we put them up, many of them were warped enough that they aren't crazy tight, and I don't expect any buckling or the like when it gets humid out. But I guess that remains to be seen.

Ok Thanks. I took the wife to Lowe's and showed her the boards. And I showed her the pictures of yours. She likes the idea but we are low on funds so getting the insulation up and covered with plastic is taking priority. I will probably start on the ceiling after Thanksgiving.

Thanks for answering my questions! It is always easier to dive into something when someone else has already figured out the depth and that there isn't any rocks or washing machines in the way!

[somjuan]

Happy to help. I was pretty surprised by the lack of documentation both here and elsewhere on wooden ceilings. I've seen a fair number of conversions with them, but can only remember seeing one or two topics here that touched on them. And of course when I went back to find them, I could not.

[ferroequinologist]

I was looking at the packs again and have been trying to get a good idea of how many I need. My bus is probably the same size as yours or close. It looks like a pack will do a 2ft wide section 8ft long. Is that about right?

[somjuan]

That does sound about right. I believe we went through a little over 30 of those packs.