Got to thinking that these posts could be confusing in terms of timelines. So, we should clarify about the Van Renovation or Remodeling posts. We are not currently doing all of the projects shown. These posts are merely a series starting from the beginning (almost two years ago) up until the present. Once we get caught up we’ll try to keep things more up-to-date and current.
At some point early on Nicole learned that the van was missing a key component. Unable to track one down in an auto salvage yard she decided to create one. This was meant to be temporary but it does the job so it’s still around. Has curiosity gotten the best of you yet?
Yes, it is a drink holder. The slots attached to the circles are for handled coffee mugs. They also conveniently double as a place to put our phone.
And, back to the interior renovations stuff…
When we hit the road the van pretty much looked like the above photo (plus upper cabinets and all of our stuff). After living in it for a few months, we were able to make some practical decisions about what we needed in terms of more storage and everyday use options.
Since we were not using the rear dinette set-up, a countertop of some sort became priority number one. So, we framed up a nice long one.
At close to 50” long it gives us plenty of space to leave our two burner propane stove out and still have room to do prep work for meals. Here’s a shot of the completed countertop which is just OSB with a few poly coats.
And here it is in place.
It has passed our basic tests of holding up very well to everyday use. It is spill proof and easy to clean-up. Plus, if it ever gets to looking to bad, we can just sand it down and add a few more coats of poly.
While we also framed an area for our clothes.
Here’s our clothes storage / window seat with the sides on.
And put on the hinged top (same as our countertops).
For this task, we recycled one of the the piano hinges that came off of the original bathroom door. Those little black spots in the next photo are tiny screws.
So, it opens easily and should endure many years of use.
To be continued…