CO winter's got me worried!!

[AKTrainum]

Hey skoolie community!

Between working long hours as a nurse and traveling over the next month or so I will only have a handful of days to get work done on my Skoolie. I still have to do some work on the walls/windows as well as fill holes and paint the metal floor. Then comes electric/plumbing before insulation and building the interior. I'm worried about the temperatures here in CO during these next steps. On average, it will be anywhere from 15-50 degrees F. Will this cold weather require me to put some of these steps on hold for a while or can I work around it? I greatly appreciate any and all feedback!!

[musigenesis]

A lot of paint requires temperatures above 50F, so that will probably be the main limiting factor (along with your intestinal fortitude) for how much you can get done.

[Biscuitsjam]

Certain chemicals (paint, foam insulation, caulk, etc.) need warmth to function properly. Everything else depends on your comfort level.

Last winter, I spent days working on my bus at temperatures between -20 and -10 fahrenheit. I installed propane tanks and lines, mud flaps for the tires, underbus storage boxes, etc. I just wore lots of long underwear and took occasional breaks to warm up. At -20, your tools can freeze solid, a lot of materials get brittle, and you can get contact frostbite, but it's workable.

This winter, I'll do it again. I have 3 weeks in North Pole, Alaska to get my bus ready to drive the ALCAN. Average high that time of year is 0 fahrenheit and average low is -20. I'll make it happen.

At 50 degrees? Positive 15? Just buy some warm clothes and a hat.

[brokedown]

Pretty much any chemical process is gonna be affected by the temperature. paint, adhesives, rust converters even... Some of those things take multiple days to complete their process so even warm days with cold nights could pose a real problem.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Pretty much any chemical process is gonna be affected by the temperature. paint, adhesives, rust converters even... Some of those things take multiple days to complete their process so even warm days with cold nights could pose a real problem.

Hmm, I need to go look at just the storage requirements for the stuff I'm using, paint, ospho, sealant etc. It's all just in my unheated shed right now.

[Biscuitsjam]

Originally Posted by AKTrainum

some work on the walls/windows as well as fill holes and paint the metal floor.

You can strip rust off the floor, but you probably need to wait for a few days of warm weather for the rust converter and paint. Filling holes depends on the technique. Caulk won't set up properly if it's too cold (check the label), but welding is probably fine. Riveting could work also.

Then comes electric/plumbing before insulation and building the interior.

No issues with electrical.

You are probably fine to install plumbing also unless you're doing something really interesting. Testing plumbing just requires that you pick a day above freezing (or use nontoxic antifreeze).

Foam insulation requires warm temperatures. XPS/EPS boards can be cut in any weather, though glue could cause problems if you want to use it.

Building the interior is fine too for most techniques. There's no issues with carpentry, mounting appliances, etc.