Rock N Ruth Buildin like the hillbillies we are

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Just thought we would share some of the low cost home improvments we have done for those budget builders out there.

A really nice countertop for about $40.00 and a few drops of blood.



The countertop is just a piece of 3/4 sanded pine plywood coated with pour on epoxy, for a real nice wet look finish. The underside is framed with 2x4 trimmed down to 2x2. I know, Why not just buy 2x2? Because spf 2x4 tends to be straighter and have less knots, and I have a table saw.



Had a little mishap while setting the sink.
Dropped and caught the sink. Catching was a bad idea.
I knew it when I felt the sharp under edge of the sink contact bone.



Yanked the most of the windows and insulated the holes with 2" Poly foam.




We use a deep freeze and a super insulated cooler to store food. The deep freeze uses about 180W when the compressor is running. The cooler is kept cold by 1 gallon ice packs made with zip lock bags, water and diaper fill. We change the bags daily but can actualy go 3 days and still be below 45 degrees in the cooler.

So to keep it tidy a drawer for the cooler:



To keep it cold longer we built a box for the cooler out of 2" Pink Panther Foam board.




This is how we know it is past time to change the ice packs:



Not wanting to lose any interior space we insulated the outside walls instead of the inside:





We are in the process of dropping the ceiling panels, insulating with 2" Pink Foam and replacing the metal panels. We like the schoolbus ceiling. We love magnets.

Easy light fixtures: Magnet mounted LED Shop Lights.

[bus-bro]

Ow! I hate those rips in skin. They seem to happen when you think you're in a safe zone.
What is the covering that you're using for your window blanks? I know your super insulated cooler should work great, but let us know how it does in use.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

Ow! I hate those rips in skin. They seem to happen when you think you're in a safe zone.
What is the covering that you're using for your window blanks? I know your super insulated cooler should work great, but let us know how it does in use.

On the inside we covered the wall from chair rail up with Birch Luan. On the outside we covered with 1/4 inch plywood, then 2" pink poly insulation board the 1/4 inch plywood.

The super insulated cooler has been in use since December last year. We live in our bus full time. We use three one gallon ice packs. We change them daily. The cooler remains around 34-38 degrees. In the picture with the temp gauge, we had allowed it to go 3 days with the bus getting over a hundred for several hours each day and still under 50 degrees. Not by much, but under.

[Meathead]

Yep. Everything in my bus has a few drops of blood.

And sweat.

And ...I don’t cry anymore. So just foul language. [emoji38]

Carry on.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Yep. Everything in my bus has a few drops of blood.

And sweat.

And ...I don’t cry anymore. So just foul language. [emoji38]

Carry on.

Being that we live in the desert a lot more sweat than blood, though this bus has a lot of my knuckle skin. Big girls don't cry Yi Yi.

[EastCoastCB]

Yeah buses tend to crave money, blood, sweat, tears, etc.

[joeblack5]

Cooler looks great, Are you making ice with the freezer?
Instead of tearing the ceiling you could also insulate on top similar like you did the outside, We did that above our bedroom and it seems OK. If you use 1/2" with single side alu foil then it conforms to the curve , Just take three layers.

Nice, johan

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by joeblack5

Cooler looks great, Are you making ice with the freezer?
Instead of tearing the ceiling you could also insulate on top similar like you did the outside, We did that above our bedroom and it seems OK. If you use 1/2" with single side alu foil then it conforms to the curve , Just take three layers.

Nice, johan

Yup making ice with the freezer. How did you fasten the outside insulation on the roof?

[joeblack5]

I can not get to the original picture because I am on a different computer but it is in one of our build threads.
On this page...https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f32/d...t-23902-5.html.... there are some pics. let me know if you have questions.

Not very well visible but it is tucked under the unistrut. I used a SS sheet on top of center section because of the spare tire.
So these are 2 alu foil faced sheets 4x8 Ft 1/2" thick. I did not have to score the aluminum to follow the radius of the roof.

Hope that helps,

Johan

[Mountain Yawp]

Nice countertop. I've been thinking not doing something similar. What epoxy did you use? I can't find any 2 part for less than $50.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

I think it was Famwood. I don't remember what I paid for it but I'm thinking 15 bucks.sounds about right. It was a bit more than the polyurethane quart but not a lot.

[Mountain Yawp]

Originally Posted by Rock-N-Ruth

I think it was Famwood. I don't remember what I paid for it but I'm thinking 15 bucks.sounds about right. It was a bit more than the polyurethane quart but not a lot.

Thanks for the info. Did it take a quart for that much countertop? I was thinking it might take closer to a gallon.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by Mountain Yawp

Thanks for the info. Did it take a quart for that much countertop? I was thinking it might take closer to a gallon.

Just under 2 quarts. Would have been ok to thin it a bit and done it with less. Might have closed better as well. But I am happy with the first time results.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by Rock-N-Ruth

Being that we live in the desert a lot more sweat than blood, though this bus has a lot of my knuckle skin. Big girls don't cry Yi Yi.

Which desert?

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by kidharris

Which desert?

We are in the Chihuahuan desert. Just north of Mexico.