and.... repeat

so... you are probably thinking "what the hell is that?".
and... if you answered "it's a 1959 Sctosman travel trailer" then you would be right.

of course we thought... "isn't that cute and just the perfect size"

The back is nice and simple with a large window and just the two lights

There was very little damage for a trailer that is 52 years old.

Cute as a "muffin"

A big part of why we purchased this particular trailer was that everything was included and it was all original.
And the stove and icebox being turquoise is completely fabulous.

The rear needs the most love and the previous owner had removed some of the rot .  We will have to replace the whole back sheet of plywood to make the trailer strong again. 

The original gas lamp in the front of the camper. 

This is hands down the yuckiest part of the trailer.
and with that... we work.

After making some drawings, taking pictures and writing down a few measurements we start by ripping out the dinette.
Our plan is to put the dinette back exactly how it was.  Of course all plans are subject to change (sometimes on a moments notice) :)

There was no way to get the kitchen out in one piece so we took it out a piece at a time. 

The roof has no vent but had a sag so the paneling has to come down in order to see exactly what is going on there.  We found a couple of broken spars and a few spars that were attached to nothing (you read right... nothing).  

I am pretty sure my husband is standing there thinking "baby, you made a big mess in here" :)

Under the stove and icebox looks like someone spilled their entire ashtray.  

We were supercareful not to ding the metal backsplash.  It was actually very shiny when it was new and I would like to keep it and polish it up. 

one of the tougher things is how to get the last sticks off the wall as they are nailed in from the outside before the skin is put on.  Steve has a cutter tool from Harbor Freight that works wonders for cutting wood and nails off flush. 

Of course sometimes you need a sawzall.  

The final cabinet comes down in one piece and very carefully because we might want to reuse this one. 

We figured if the ceiling was in that bad of shape in the back that it only makes sense to remove the skin off the entire ceiling and build the spars back again.  We are hoping to avoid taking the skin off completely but want to make the trailer strong enough to last another 50 years at the same time.  

Yes.. we burned the trailer parts we didn't need and the fire was lovely. 

The last thing out is the original linoleum.  I am sad to see it go but it had a few tears in it and was not salvageable.
So, it took part of Saturday and all of Sunday and the trailer is stripped and ready to be rebuilt. 

Window Moldings

It's been a couple of weeks but here is a pic of the craftsman moldings being installed.

We decided to go with a knotty alder moldings and baseboard to match the cabinets in the kitchen.

With the wood blinds, the window molding and the baseboards it really finishes off the room.

All of the molding still needs to be clearcoated but at least it is installed and just in time for the appraisal which was this past monday. 
(the skunk ... well he lives here with us!)

Carpet installation, spreading gravel and reclaiming the garage

The carpet installers came this past week.

They worked quick and in no time had the carpet cut and in the bedrooms.

It's wonderful to finally have some plushy carpet to stand on when we get out of bed.

Kitten spent the entire time on the kitchen counter with this disgusted look on her face.

Dot hid behind the fridge.

I called the gravel guy on Wed, and sure enough, on friday he came to deliver 10 yards of gravel for the driveway.

Before he came we smoothed out some of the rough spots and my wonderful husband installed some 2x4's to keep the gravel in the driveway.

We were lucky that he knew how to spread gravel which made the "work" easier for us.

It only took a few hours on Sat morning to finish spreading the gravel.  It's so nice not to have to park or walk in the dirt on the driveway.

We picked up this buggy on Craigslist.  It's like nothing we have seen before but it's "cool factor" is huge.

OMH.. what happened here?

In an effort to reclaim the garage we built some 16"x8'x8' shelves in the garage.  The plan was to get the buggy in the garage so it doesn't get rained on.

It took all day and we still aren't finished but we made great strides.

I am amazed at how much crap we have...

At the end of the day, mission accomplished!

Moving back inside....

It rained last weekend so we made a "punch list" of things that needed to get done inside the house.  The goal is to be able to get the house appraised and refinanced by the end of the year or asap.  One thing on the list was moldings.  We have purchased knotty alder molding for the doorways and the baseboard.

Of course it has to be clearcoated but it matches the kitchen cabinets and compliments the hardwood flooring as well.

We got a really good deal on flooring installation which enabled us the luxury of not having to install the wood flooring ourselves... YEAH!!

The floor is absolutely beautiful.

The installer started at the fireplace and layed straight thru the kitchen all the way into the pantry.

Hardwood floors installed... check!

Something old made new...

We have been working on make a garden shed in the back corner of the property.  There was a reallysuperold shed roof and we figured it would be well served to house the gardening impliments (as it were)

We had alot of the utility grade 1x6 left over from building fences on Perry road, so, we made a little lap siding.  Part of the idea was to make the shed look like it's always been here.

We wanted knot holes and crooked boards. 

The roof was a little rotten so Steve cut back the yucky part and we added new plywood.

Still need to finish painting and put a metal roof on.  The door?  Well, we have some old single panel doors. We are going to put 3 of them together and make a sliding barn style door. 

this was the old shed