Insulation and the Smell of Cedar

A successful, but shortened weekend.  I wasn't feeling great this weekend, but I did manage to get a couple of things mostly finished.  I installed the insulation on the ceiling.  I used the PL 300 adhesive, which is especially formulated for foam board.  It seemed to work well, but it did not have as high an initial tack as I wished it had.  I ended up needing to brace the ceiling panels.  I suppose I could have been more methodical about it and cut specific pieces of wood to brace the ceiling, but I just used whatever I had in the workshop.

 

I let the insulation cure overnight; actually I ended up taking two evenings to get the whole ceiling done.  I did the front one night and then the back the next.  I would have liked to have done it all in one session, but the bracing that was needed slowed me down and made it kind of difficult to maneuver inside the cabin.

I had some help from my amazing daughter.  She helped me cut the material to cover the door insulation.  This was partly experimental and partly finesse work; she is much better at this than I am.  Plus, I loved that she was taking part in the process.  She'll really appreciate the doors a lot more now!  We'll use the spray adhesive to hold this all in place; it's pinned now so that we could experiment with how to apply it.

Fashionable, even in the workshop!

 

One door prototype ready for installation.

I invited my wife out to give her insight on how to proceed with finishing the ceiling.  She was not a big fan of the carpet on the ceiling.  Instead, she suggested, maybe we could use cedar or tongue and groove pine.  She was right; the finish would not have been what I wanted on the ceiling, no matter how carefully I tried to install it. 

 So, I went to the hardware store and purchased some incredibly aromatic cedar.  I wish there was a way to capture the lovely smell!  I used the 1/4" thick cedar on the ceiling and it worked beautifully!  The only thing that was a little tricky was getting it to 'stay' on the ceiling.  I was using the PL 300 adhesive for foam board to hold the strips in place.  That worked okay until I got about four strips in place and the combined weight started to pull them off.  

I purchased a brad nailer at Lowes and tried using 5/8" brads every six inches or so.  That sort of worked, but the brads were only anchored into the foam; so they didn't have much holding power.  I ended up needing to brace the ceiling, which made working a bit tough.  You can see from the images that I finally figured out that using one thin piece, which bent, allowed the pressure to be spread across the entire area being supported.

I finished the entire ceiling today.  I'm thinking about putting it in the bulkhead section too.  It would make the cabinet/closet a bit nicer and would make it smell great too!  The Fantastic Vent was going all day today and made working in the cabin bearable with the sunshine pounding down on the teardrop.

One really interesting thing I discovered this weekend.  The teardrop's temperature gauge showed that the insulation is making a huge difference.  Without the insulation, the interior temperature rose to over 114 degrees.  With the insulation, the highest it got this weekend was about 80 degrees.  It was a little cooler, but still, that shows that the one inch of insulation is making a big difference!

After letting the ceiling 'cure' overnight, I'll be anxious to add the weather stripping seals and then try out the door with the insulation.  I'm looking forward to receiving my baskets this week.  One last week of school responsibilities; even so, I should be able to do some work each evening.

Monday Evening

Was able to get a couple of hours in this evening on the Carpe Diem.  I jacked up the teardrop and was able to bolt the storage boxes to the frame.  Then, was able to install the headliner on the wheel well covers.

I tried to make the 'edges' where they meet look as nice as possible.  I think I'll add some kind of black rubber trim on each of the 'seams' to make it look a bit more finished.  If nothing else, there is a neoprene seal that goes on the bottom of the garage door that I saw and think might work.  The bulkhead is all 'finished' and looks outstanding!

I glued and screwed the right galley side board in place.  I put a dab of silicone on each of the screw holes as I screwed them in.

Was able to finish the tray that the cooler will sit in.  All I need to do now on the galley is decide on the height of the 'counter' and begin blocking it out.  I found a design that I am going to replicate.  Here is an image of it:

It comes from the Tiny Trailer Company.  I like the way they incorporated the Coleman stove into a pull out drawer that doubles as a cook stand.  I also like the two pull out drawers.  Those could be used to hold utensils and cooking tools.  My design will be a little different on the drawers and lower cabinets; but the idea is sound.

Not going to have any time the rest of the week to work on the Carpe Diem.  Will have to plan and do 'virtual work' on the additional systems. etc.

Galley Work

Very busy family weekend.  Only had time to put in some of the headliner in the galley on Saturday.  I think it looks awesome!  However, I'm not sure if it is the right material to have there.  It cleans easily, is mildew and rot resistant, but I am going to think on whether or not it is the best for this use.

As I said, it was a very, very busy family weekend.  I did get another section of headliner installed; the section where your feet rest is now insulated and carpeted.  It looks terrific.  My camera does not do well in the low light conditions in the cabin right now.

We had lots of the burnt orange paint left over from our basement remodel, so I decided to paint the plywood.  I had treated the 'back' sides with Thompson's Water Seal, and had originally 'stained' the wood in natural stain.   I was hoping for the nice 'color' that comes with birch plywood.  Because I only used 'pine,' I was unhappy with the grain and color with the natural stain.  I 'anchored' the wood to the aluminum using 3/4" stainless steel screws from the inside of the cabin.

I also completed the installation of the insulation and headliner at the 'foot' of the cabin.  I've discovered that if I 'wrap' the fabric over the insulation, it looks really nice.  Also, the insulation, when installed, hid all the screws. 

Another project that I did complete was making the 'box' to hold the cooler.  This box will be mounted with a full 'pull out' drawer slide.  It's coming together nicely.

Huge Progress!

What a great day!

My father-in-law arrived last evening.  Today, he and I accomplished a huge task:  we installed the Fantastic Fan!  This was something I had been feeling a little anxious about, to tell the truth.  Cutting a hole in an aluminum roof that had no hole in it for nearly 70 years took some gumption.  With my father-in-law there to give some guidance and advice, we measured three times, squared everything up with the sides, drilled the pilot holes and cut away the opening.

 

Pilot holes drilled.

 

Three sides cut.

With some trepidation, I cut the final side and... it didn't fit!  We had to pull out my handy new $1.99 Harbor Freight metal rasp to smooth out the cuts a little and... it fit.

It was my father-in-law's idea to put the wood across the top of the teardrop.  It worked perfectly, giving me something to lean on when I was cutting the aluminum.  

My father-in-law was mighty impressed with the vent.  The fact that it only pulls 3 amps when on high and that it moves 938 square feet a minute is pretty amazing.  What I'm thrilled about is that when I lay down and look up, I can see through the fan!  I can't wait to get out in the Carpe Diem for the first time and look at the sky through that vent!

The other major accomplishment was that I started experimenting with the foam and headliner.  I covered the bulkhead sliding doors with the headliner and then cut a piece of 1" foam for the area that is essentially the 'headboard' of the cabin area.  I was amazed with how rigid the foam became when the headliner was glued in position.  So, I covered the foam with the contact cement, then applied the headliner.  I was careful to wrap the ends and top and bottom edges.  I think that gives it a really nice, finished look.  I ended up using Locktite adhesive to hold the foam to the aluminum of the bulkhead area.  I'm not sure what is best to hold the foam to the aluminum, but it seemed to work well.  The image you see above is mid-glue.  I've got everything clamped to hold it and ensure a tight bond.  One thing I discovered though is that the clamps I purchased at Harbor Freight are great for wood, but not so good for foam.  They 'crush' the foam and leave 'dents.'  Mental note to self for future applications...

Here are a couple of views of the vent open.  It brings in a tremendous amount of light and is going to be so welcome once we get it all wired.

We discovered that the roof is rather flimsy; there are no internal roof spars of any kind in the original design.  This wouldn't be a problem if we weren't trying to install things on the ceiling.  So, we talked about how using 1"x 2" oak spars and blocking to 'frame' the hole for the vent, will add some rigidity to the ceiling.  It will also make the foam insulation easier to mount.  Rather than having one large piece spanning the entire ceiling, we will be able to have several smaller pieces.  This will make it easier to keep them in place and hopefully, it will make it easier to cover as well.

Moving on with the insulation and headliner makes me feel like I've made some BIG progress.  If I do have any time this weekend I plan to get the galley cabinets in place.  We have a ton of family things this weekend, so I doubt I'll get anything done. 

Saturday

My Wingman, Jim Tingey was back for a status update today.  He helped me jack up the teardrop in order to anchor the edges of the plywood floor which needed to be bolted together.  We also completed the bulkhead installation of the green treated board.

Next, I measured and cut the first piece of headliner for the floor.  Simply placing it on the floor of the teardrop immediately made a huge difference!  The whole space was more 'finished' and pleasant.  Unfortunately, I had to remove the storage boxes and start over with the aluminum trim.  I was too eager to have the floor boxes in place and realized that with the headliner on the floor, I would need to re-do the aluminum edging.  Nonetheless, it looks much, much better.  I didn't use any contact cement yet.  It's too cold and I'm weighing the benefits of the material I have.  I may end up returning the gallon of contact cement and going with a spray adhesive from 3M.  I'm researching that for a later date.

In addition to 're-doing' the trim, I decided to anchor the boxes to the frame with some of the left over aluminum angle material that was left over from removing the galley.  I screwed the angle to the frame and then screwed the boxes to it.  This is a much more secure way to do the floor boxes anyway.  I should have done it that way in the first place. Well, I should say, I tried to do this.  I need to invest in some jacks to get the trailer up in the air, even a few inches will greatly increase my ability to work on it.  I plan on picking a set up from Harbor Freight tomorrow.

I showed the door hardware and the ventilation fan to Jim.  He was impressed with the fan!  One thing I discovered, kinda by accident, is that the fan's blades are clear which allows you to be able to 'see' the stars through the vent!  I'm thinking about where to place the vent in order to take advantage of this awesome design feature.

I may go ahead and cut the opening for the ventilation fan tomorrow.  It would be nice to have the additional light in the cabin while I'm working on it; plus this would motivate me to get the other electrical work started.


I started measuring the cabin for the foam that I plan to install.  I turned to Sketchup again to help me with figuring out my materials.  The end result is pretty cool, take a look:

Above you can see the 4 x 8 sheets with all the individual sections marked out.  My plan, at this point is to install the headliner on the individual pieces of foam and then install the pieces.  By doing this, I should eliminate the need for large sheets of headliner to be installed.  That's the plan at this point.

I'm getting ahead of myself.  The galley needs to be at least roughed in completely before I can start installing the electric.  

Cabin Thoughts

I've been contemplating some design concepts for the cabin.  Originally I planned to insulate and then cover the insulation with a thin skin of Luan.  One of the large considerations of this plan was that the doors are such a significant portion of the side of the cabin that 'skinning' them has some potential challenges that may make it incredibly difficult.

After some exploration and brainstorming with Jim, I've come up with a hybrid plan that I think will help make the interior finishing quite a bit more simplified.

I am thinking that I will still add the foam to the ceiling.  I will cut 'channels' in the foam to carry my wiring for the ventilation fan and ceiling lights.  Rather than put the foam on in one large sheet, I'll use 1" strips of wood every 24."  This will allow me to have 'something' solid to screw the plywood into.  I will then use a product, I mentioned way back in my original planning stages, called a headliner.  I found a product at Kendor Marine's online site.  It is perfect.  It is a mold proof, heavy duty marine grade 'carpet'-like product.  It has a rubberized backing (which is apparently unique).  I will add this, not only to the ceiling, but also to the aluminum skin walls.  I won't add any additional insulation panels however to the walls.  Here is a link to this product.  This will do many things.

1.  It will provide just a bit of 'cushion' when you bump into the aluminum wall.
2.  It will soften the interior of the cabin; deadening some of the bouncy sound that exists in it with just the aluminum skin.
3.  It will be tremendously easier to complete the interior of the cabin.
4.  The headliner will help insulate against heat and cold.

One of the things that made this work in my mind was the great find on their website of the dual reading lights that can be mounted on the ceiling.  In doing this, I eliminated the need to have wiring run to the side cabin walls, where I had planned on installing some chrome reading lights.  All of the wiring can be run in the ceiling.  Here is a link to this fixture.

(Just found out that their online store's warehouse is in Racine.  This will save me $40 in shipping.  I ordered the headliner and cabin light and will pick up later this week.)

I found a terrific deal on the LED light I will install on the hatch.  This light will swivel 180 degrees which will be perfect for when the hatch is up.  I'll be able to swivel it to cover the galley area, but also it can swivel to light up the picnic table if needed!  Plus, the one below is over 18" long.  This will provide plenty of light.  Here is a link to this fixture.

I may even add the headliner material to the underside of the hatch.  This will add a nice finished look to the hatch when it is lifted.  Here is a link to those fixtures.

Super Bright LED's had the LED Swivel light and the above 'porch lights' that I will install above the door to light the way when returning from the bathroom, etc.  (I ordered two more to put in the galley.  I intend to have them in the back as night vision lights for that area too.) They had tremendously reasonable prices.  I also found the marker lights below.  I want to use one of each color on the sides of the trailer.  The chrome will look awesome on the side of the trailer.  Here is a link to these marker lights.