Concerns About Leaks

My biggest fear with the teardrop is leaking.  I'm starting to get to the point where leaking can and will cause problems.  Once the insulation and headliner are in place, it will be very tough, but not impossible, to repair.  The roof vent is my biggest source of anxiety.  This thing is nearly 70 years old and is held together with hundreds of rivets.  In order to 'modernize' this baby, I had to remove a couple hundred rivets.  Each of those spots makes me nervous; however, I've taken precautions and things should be 'fine.' 

As I said, I used the butyl tape to seal the top of the vent hood to the aluminum.  I think I'm going to unscrew the screws so that I can get at the area where the wood and aluminum meet on the roof.  I did not apply any sealant to that area so I think I will do that and then caulk each screw hole and then again around the area where the aluminum and the plastic flashing meet.  That should be sufficient.

I guess, in the worst case scenario if we have a leak, I could always pull off the headliner and repair it.  I just don't want to have to do that.  This is another reason I am glad I'm not adding any kind of 'skin' to the top of the insulation.  So far, I've seen that the insulation creates a really nice surface once the headliner and glue are dry.  My original plan was to add a skin to be a 'tougher' surface.  Things seem to be just fine without one; this is also will prevent any kind of rot or mold from forming.   The headliner is marine grade and is actually from a marine surplus store.

I have sealed every single interior joint with clear silicone caulk.  There should not be any problem there.  Every piece of wood that is up against the aluminum has been treated with Thompson's Water Treatment. 

Another area that I'm a little concerned about is the door frames.  I am not sure how the original seal worked, but the seals I'm going to put on them are similar at best.  I have caulked the wood door frames and that should, theoretically, keep any water that makes it past the seal out of the cabin.  I feel like what I need to do is seal it up and then spray water into every single joint and surface.  Actually, I need someone else to do the spraying so that I can be inside and spot any leaks.  I may just do that with Jack once we get the door and hinge seals on.

For now, I'll have to let things be as they are.  I have a busy day and a busy afternoon.  Don't think I'll get any teardrop time today.

Making Windows

I'm amazed at how little I 'accomplished' today.  I have created wooden door and screen assemblies.  The hardest part was getting the plywood to not 'splinter' or fray.  I later realized that I needed a much 'finer' toothed blade.  Wish I had learned this before because it would have saved me a lot of time sanding.  The screen window is two parts.  One part is 1/2" plywood and the other is 1/4".  I have to give myself credit for keeping one assembly in place so that as I worked on the replacement I could keep referring to it. 

 Above you can see one portion of the window being 'traced' as best as I could.  The old window was so brittle it broke with the slightest touch.

Here you can see the old screen window and the new one above it.  I am going to paint and seal the individual pieces before I sandwich the screen and install the new window.  

 You can see the way the screen window fits in the door.  There is a gap where foam rubber is applied to allow the window to seal when the hatch is pulled down.  I'm not terribly thrilled about the way the hatch is raised, but I haven't figured out a better system yet.  That might have to come from experimentation.

Tomorrow I'll seal and paint everything and try to get things installed.  After adding the foam insulation, the windows and doors should be water tight.