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Hello from Quartzsite! The wifey decided to fly home for Xmas so I decided to remodel! SSSHHH...it'll be a complete surprise when she gets back in a few weeks!

'82 Dolphin, Rear Dinette model

Cabover redeaux......pardon my French

Done so far:

Stripped out old panelling, insulation, rotted/water stained/moldy wood. Surprisingly some of the wood is still very servicable. My hands look like I was feeling up a porcupine. I have no alibi.

New 2x4 "floor joists", ceiling joists, 2x2 studs installed with 1" or 3" grade 8 screws and enough liquid nails to glue the Federal Government back together.

Siliconed the hell out of the inside of the marker light holes. If it leaks now, I give up.

Pulled out 8,535,710 staples and just as many brad nails. I can use needlenose pliers with the best of 'em now!

In 7 days.....

Still left to do:

Scab/reinforce old 3/4" wood with more 1x3 to bring wall thickness out to match 2x4 framing. Using liquid nails and screws.

Insulate with 1.5" foil backed, plastic fronted styrofoam cut 1/2" smaller on all sides and Great Stuff foam in those gaps. Me no likey drafty Toy Home.

6 mil black plastic vapor barrier over the insulation. Trying to keep Ebola out....

Panel with 1/8" plywood to SAVE WEIGHT, HAH! Get a load of this guy. LOL!!!

Floor with 1/2" BCX plywood.

This will be our "attic" per se, and eventually we will build shelves that will hold shallow plastic tubs like drawers for storage.

I'll get more pics on here, my phone's being awesome as usual. SSSHHHEEESSSHHH!

You guys think she'll like it?

Thanks for tuning in!

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Thanks for the pic's and progress report.

What a surprise, wife comes back to a 2/3 done remodel, might want to build a doghouse with the scraps :clown2:

RV rule of thumb, takes twice as long as you figure and costs 3 times as much or is it 3 times longer and twice as much?

I have been looking for some 1/8" plywood, where did you find it?

Good luck Jim

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"I have been looking for some 1/8" plywood, where did you find it?"

I get 1/8" luan at a specialty lumber shop that deals with both plywood and exotic wood. Perhaps search specialty plywood in your area. Only problem I ran into was it was almost twice the money as 1/4" at Home Depot. Makes sense, more for less right?

A google search in Ft Meyers netted Whittelsey

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Got my plywood...you're gonna faint....at Home Depot, Phoenix, AZ, $10 for a 4'x8' sheet, I think it's called Utility Panel. I think it's interior door skin so it definately has an "A" side.

Luckily I have about 3 wks till wifey returns so I hoping to be done. Short of the "floor" portion. $42 for a 1/2"x4x8 BCX ply in Quartzsite, $20 per sheet at HD in Phoenix? Sorry small hardware store but I can eat for a week on the difference and I gotta go to Phx anyway to retrieve wifey from the airport so gas doesn't figure in.

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Thanks for the responses. Home Depot shows my local store has 22 sheets of 1/8" in stock! My first thought is its tempered hardboard, but that is listed separately. I have been in that store hundreds of times and never seen it? But will go double check. If not it is off to whittlesey.

While we are on the subject, at one time I installed some luan and covered with material using adhesive. It was a complicated job that required sewing so I paid a upholsterer to do it. Within a year some of the material started coming loose, the man fixed it and later it started coming loose again.

What I found out later doing a floor job was this type of wood is sourced from who knows where and is supplied by the lowest bidder and some of it may be a naturally oily wood. So now when doing anything with this wood that will be covered, including paint I first put a coat of a shellac based sealer such as Bin or Bullseye, cheap insurance. Jim

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Luan is commonly made from the species meranti. It is a very stable wood and while cheap, it is similar to mahogany. It is also very resinous. The place I buy wood from carries a variety of grades. The most common use is to build decks with the better grade. Stuff holds up to weather extremely well and is bug resistant. The cheaper grade has less resin and the difference in weight is startling. Any sort of sealer is a good idea.

I bought a custom mahogany door for the house (it is what the wife wanted). I made a meranti door frame and it matched up perfectly once stained and finished. Put a marine finish and it has held up extremely well to the weather.

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I live in FLorida, so between hurricanes, Formosan termites, subterranean termites, dry wood termites, carpenter ants, 100% humidity, lightning, torrential rain storms, all kinds of wood eating insects, plus alligators, rattle snakes powder post beetles (turns post to powder), old house beetles, wood peckers and carpenter bee's. I bought a impact resistant fiberglass door with an oak finish, that I do not have to coat with anything!

Jim

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Hey Don, vapor barrier, to use or not to use? That is the question...

That is a tough question. The aluminum/fiberglass skin is a vapor barrier, so if you put a vapor barrier on the inside moisture that did get in the wall would be trapped. Which is bad, also if you did develop a leak the barrier might mask it till lot's of damage was done.

I think I could argue both sides of this, but with a barrier being able to mask leaks would be inclined to not use one.

I also had a thought on you 1 1/2 inch walls, which I think is a great idea! I do not know how practical this would be but restore the original 3/4" wood and add 3/4" insulation then run 3/4" furring horizontally and add 3/4" insulation. This would isolate much of heat/cold transfer to a few small spots.

Paradise is not all it is cracked up to be. Jim

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Thanks for the compliment! Since this is gonna be our "attic" we can afford to lose a little room and add a little weight in exchange for a major upgrade in stability, cargo capacity and insulative value.

As for the vapor barrier, you have good advice as always. I'll probably ditch the barrier and just cut my insultation 1/2" short on all sides and fill up all the gaps with Great Stuff gap filler, that will add even more insulative and structural value.

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One more thing, Don, the furring strips are a great idea, however I have to K.I.S.S. this one as much as possible for a variety of reasons. I will be scabbing onto the the existing 3/4" material with 1x3 (3/4"x2 1/2") that will bring the existing window frames and studs out to 1.5"

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jj, I've never been to Florida, it sounds just marvelous! I didn't know you had to have such large brass you-know-whats to live there. I bow with respect.....

Went to go to Ft Myers beach yesterday. 2 mile traffic backup for the bridge! Decided to skip it. Jim

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Search this on Home Depot's website: Utility Panel (Common: 1/8 In. x 4 Ft. x 8 Ft.; Actual: 0.106 in. x 48 in. x 96 in.)

$9.97

I checked the website and shows 2 different 1/8" plywood panels. Stopped by the store and sure enough they have 1/8" plywood, I have never seen it before! Course I never looked for it before either. They did not have 2 different types only the utility panel, but good enough for what I am doing. Thanks Jim

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