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Old 05-05-2019, 02:46 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
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So since it was nice and warm/dry today I was finally able to do some more demo. Took off the ceiling and wall panels in hopes of getting busy sealing holes and recaulking seams, but come to find the entire interior frame of the bus is one big molded piece of plexiglass! I think...

I’ll be honest...I wasn’t expecting that. So many conversion projects involve removing panels, cleaning out old loose insulation, and then sealing and reinsulating everything. But my bus has this solid fiberglass frame backed by plywood and then an inch of corrugated insulation of some kind, all solidly glued together into a single unit. It actually regulated the temp inside the bus quite nicely and I would just leave it but I KNOW there is mold up there. The smell was horrendous when I pulled the first ceiling panel down and it’s warped where the most water damage is.

My question now is...do I need to get a circular saw and just hack off pieces of the fiberglass to I can scrape off that moldy insulation? Is this my best option?

Again, thank you all for this wonderful feedback and encouragement. I knew this would be a big, challenging project, I just wasn’t prepared for how different a shuttle bus would be compared to a standard school bus. ��

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Old 05-05-2019, 11:52 PM   #22
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I am curious. Please post a few pictures. It may also help others give advice.
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Old 05-06-2019, 02:48 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by Native View Post
I am curious. Please post a few pictures. It may also help others give advice.
Here is one photo I took yesterday. I’ll try to get more tomorrow.
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Old 05-06-2019, 06:22 AM   #24
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First and foremost, you need repiratory controls when working with fiberglass insulation. Doubly so dealing with a black mold infestation! All that crud overhead, raining down on you..? BLEH!

A paper dust mask is, in my professional opinion, wholly inadequate to the task. Get you a half-face canister APR. Pine Environmental or a lab supply house can get you set up. Safety First, please!

So... is that caramel colored surface is the ceiling, or the inside of the exterior shell, taken towards the rear of the bus? (Just curious about orientation) If that's all that keeps the inside from being the outside, sawing out slabs makes no sense, less'n I'm missing something.

It appears to be roto-molded, so the body is likely one big, hollow, (probably) open-ended fiberglass box.

I know about acid rain, never heard about hard water rain. Looks like the start of a cave in there: give the calcite enough time to accrue and accumulate, you might start sprouting stalactites!

Get a fungicide, and spray the beejeezus outta the black mold (yet another good reason for an APR, with chemical canisters for this application...). From that textured surface, scraping would be ineffectual, at best. Soapy, wet rag to scrub the smut off, clean water to blot the effluvium away.

Sorry about your sorrows.
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Old 05-06-2019, 08:16 AM   #25
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More photos.

Here are more photos of the interior.

When I stepped into the bus this morning the smell of mold and old cigarette smoke was thick, so I’m guessing I’m gonna have to tear everything down to the outside fiberglass layer.

The photo of the window ledge and the emergency hatch show the kind of layering I’m dealing with.
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AC81BDD3-DDFB-4C2E-ADCE-088439965B02.jpg   7CD63B8F-6E55-4C66-B7F1-B09C047F992F.jpg   080E7F33-B86C-4322-AB34-0B2404757099.jpg   02BD2E9F-D85B-4957-B2AA-F17439B427C8.jpg   BED8F614-49DA-49BC-B35E-11C9586728BF.jpg  

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Old 05-06-2019, 09:08 AM   #26
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Yep looks like a corrugated fiberglass sandwich to me.
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Old 05-06-2019, 10:35 AM   #27
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Mmmm-MMM!
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Yep looks like a corrugated fiberglass sandwich to me.
Pass the mayo, please.
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Old 05-07-2019, 01:02 AM   #28
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If it's a corrugated fiberglass sandwich, does that mean its possibly been leaking (and growing mold) inside the corrugations of the walls too?
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Old 05-07-2019, 01:30 AM   #29
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If it's a corrugated fiberglass sandwich, does that mean its possibly been leaking (and growing mold) inside the corrugations of the walls too?
My total guess would be yes. Is the roof skin metal or more fiberglass? Based on your earlier posts, I would think it is ALL fiberglass. I think you are right in that you are bound to rip it all out and build out from there. However, that fiberglass structure is also "structural" ... so be careful and reinforce the skin.
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Old 05-08-2019, 03:45 PM   #30
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Dear Discouraged,

Grab a bottle of single malt and contemplate your purchase after two small drinks.

Next, buck up.

IMNSHO you did OK. Rusted somewhat? So what, it's not a show pony but something cheap to go live in. Big deal.

All that claptrap about blasting the metal just gives you clean rusted out metal. You have to cut and remove the cancer and replace it with new metal. it's cheap and not too hard. Buy a $100 wirefeed welder at cheap Chinese tool store, buy a bench mounted lever operated sheet metal shear, and a 4" disk grinder and go at it. You'll never get something you care less about to practice cutting out rusted metal and welding in patches. Rattle can prime and paint. Move on to the next spot. Remember, YouTube welding videos, masking tape, and cardboard templates are your friends.

Signed,
Tough Love.
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Old 05-08-2019, 04:06 PM   #31
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Dear Discouraged,

Grab a bottle of single malt and contemplate your purchase after two small drinks.

Next, buck up.

IMNSHO you did OK. Rusted somewhat? So what, it's not a show pony but something cheap to go live in. Big deal.

All that claptrap about blasting the metal just gives you clean rusted out metal. You have to cut and remove the cancer and replace it with new metal. it's cheap and not too hard. Buy a $100 wirefeed welder at cheap Chinese tool store, buy a bench mounted lever operated sheet metal shear, and a 4" disk grinder and go at it. You'll never get something you care less about to practice cutting out rusted metal and welding in patches. Rattle can prime and paint. Move on to the next spot. Remember, YouTube welding videos, masking tape, and cardboard templates are your friends.

Signed,
Tough Love.
It now looks as though rust is the least of my problems. I’ll admit, when I first posted about the rust I was reacting emotionally to what felt like an unexpected hardship, but given what I’ve discovered since then...I’m thinking about bailing on this bus and searching for another one that won’t be so difficult to gut.

I’m definitely no stranger to dirty jobs and physical labor, but the non-metal body of this bus with its moldy interior is a whole other beast.
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Old 05-08-2019, 04:29 PM   #32
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All buses with any age are going to have that problem somewhere if not everywhere.
If the mold is just in the insulation then just rip the mess out and start with a clean slate.
If you find it on the body panels after the insulation is out?
Try a product called MOLDSTAT it's only around 40-50$ a quart and is a concentrate so it makes around 70-gal. Of treatment.
I bought and used it on wood trusses and everything else I had to when repairing my house after I lost my roof, and and 3-rooms during last year's hurricane season and by following the instructions for the mix it did amazingly well even in areas of wood that had been molding for awhile and I didn't know about.
Don't give up yet your just starting to get into the fun stuff? The enjoyable stuff comes next.
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Old 05-08-2019, 06:00 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by rogerssj23 View Post
It now looks as though rust is the least of my problems. I’ll admit, when I first posted about the rust I was reacting emotionally to what felt like an unexpected hardship, but given what I’ve discovered since then...I’m thinking about bailing on this bus and searching for another one that won’t be so difficult to gut.

I’m definitely no stranger to dirty jobs and physical labor, but the non-metal body of this bus with its moldy interior is a whole other beast.


Kenny Rogers' philosophy has worked for me.
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Old 05-08-2019, 06:10 PM   #34
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Kenny Rogers' philosophy has worked for me.
You're saying he should sell the bus and open a chain of chicken restaurants?
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Old 05-08-2019, 06:11 PM   #35
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You're saying he should sell the bus and open a chain of chicken restaurants?
Hell, that's way better than my idea lol.
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Old 05-08-2019, 06:32 PM   #36
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ROFLMFO
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You're saying he should sell the bus and open a chain of chicken restaurants?
"You gotta know when to fold 'em,"

Do you think Kenny was singing about cardboard busses..? [emoji848]
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Old 05-08-2019, 07:12 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223 View Post
All buses with any age are going to have that problem somewhere if not everywhere.
If the mold is just in the insulation then just rip the mess out and start with a clean slate.
If you find it on the body panels after the insulation is out?
Try a product called MOLDSTAT it's only around 40-50$ a quart and is a concentrate so it makes around 70-gal. Of treatment.
I bought and used it on wood trusses and everything else I had to when repairing my house after I lost my roof, and and 3-rooms during last year's hurricane season and by following the instructions for the mix it did amazingly well even in areas of wood that had been molding for awhile and I didn't know about.
Don't give up yet your just starting to get into the fun stuff? The enjoyable stuff comes next.

I've done mold cleanup for insurance claims - bleach kills mold and a coat of varnish that contains mildewcide and fungicide sprayed on top seals every thing off preventing the mold from ever growing again - meets all government and insurance companies requirements
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Old 05-09-2019, 12:44 AM   #38
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Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223 View Post
Try a product called MOLDSTAT it's only around 40-50$ a quart and is a concentrate so it makes around 70-gal. Of treatment.
Moldstat : $50
Tyvek suit : $5
Disposable mop : $7
Garden Hose / source of water : Free?
Box fan : $18



Have at it, mop it out, dry it out, and see what happens.

Go by smell - after you dry it out, if it smells okay after a few more days, then maybe it's fine.

I'd be tempted to say cut your losses, but. . . .IDK, it's not the skoolie way.
What have you got to loose? $60 and an afternoon?

Keep it or sell it, at least you'll know.
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Old 05-09-2019, 02:56 AM   #39
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When I'm not totally in love with my bus I sell it and upgrade.
That's my skoolie way.
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Old 05-09-2019, 05:49 AM   #40
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She'd be hard-pressed to find a sucker, now that it's been eviscerated. Might recoup some loss by parting it out.
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When I'm not totally in love with my bus I sell it and upgrade.
That's my skoolie way.
I can only conclude, from having read about your extensive bus collection, that you sir, must be a slut! [emoji6]
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