Seeking Salvageable Something
We completed the cleanup of all the trash, dirt, bugs, bodies, and refuse. It only took three trips… Now we get to review the remnants of the original design. Sadly, there is extensive water damage from leaking windows, poorly sealed gaps, corrosion holes in the skin, and missing or broken vents in the roof, and body damage from unsuccessful parking attempts by previous owners. The seals under the windows are crumbling to pieces at the touch of a hand or tool, and glass is missing or broken in almost every window. The cabinets are delaminated with the surface peeling apart and the joint pieces of the drawers are falling apart when we pull them out to see what is in side. We had hoped to be able to salvage some of the structure of the old cabinets but the damage is too pervasive to remediate. Conclusion: pull it out and start over.
Even as we begin removing hardware and deconstructing the cabinets we are finding more problems. Invasive bugs have eaten into and made their homes in every possible cranny and nook. Electrical wires have had their insulation rubbed down to the bare wire in a number of locations we would otherwise have never seen. Then there is the haphazard wire splicing someone did to add lights in closets with mismatched wire and improper wire bundling. No screw caps, no junction boxes, just wire on wire with tape mostly covering the pairings. If we had applied power to this mess, it would likely have been a short-lived project for sure. Of course, the shore power input was missing as well, so no chance of that anyway.
We are taking time to preserve the metal grates that were installed in the upper cabinet faces so that we can try to find a home for these once again in the new installation. I have also pulled off the hardware for handles and hinges in case someone is planning an original restoration that may want to try to salvage these parts.
Before the cleanup
We have decided to keep this shower, sand it down, repaint it and then install it back in place.
We will be salvaging the shower stall, which is the only intact part that was still in the bathroom when we found it. It is actually in good shape and just needs some cosmetic work to make it functional and presentable. The faucets, and the pipes leading to them, are being replaced. Pvc was used to create hard connections to some external source that was cut out long ago. All we had left were pipe pieces that ran down through the floor and went nowhere. There is no water tank, grey-water tank, or black water tank in evidence under the trailer, which leads me to believe the previous owners had this hooked directly to septic and outside water sources. Although, once again, I can find no additional evidence of plumbing other than the shower pipes. I found no plumbing under the kitchen sink, and no plumbing for a sink in the bathroom. Just holes in the bathroom floor. I also see no evidence of where a water heater would have been located previously.
The challenge of the shower stall is that it will not fit out of either door. As such, we are forced to move it from side to side or front to back in order to work around it and clean out the trailer. Fortunately, it is very light and easy to move, given its size.
We have successfully removed all of the cabinets, walls, ceilings, and all insulation as of this entry. We discovered in short order that removing all those screws by hand is no fun at all. Thankfully there was some allowance for tools in the budget and we went to Home Depot and bought good quality cordless drills (Dewalt) and extra batteries to allow both of us to work without waiting turns for the drill or bits. I also had a reciprocal saw (18v) from a previous tool kit, although all my 18v batteries were dead (like no recharge life dead) so we also bought a 20v converter and were able to use that to power the saw and remove some of the more stubborn wood pieces.
Speaking of tools, I would recommend to anyone planning a similar activity to make sure you have some of the following:
- Cordless drill with screwdriver bits
- Wire brush drill attachment
- Work lights (battery powered)
- Shop vac (large capacity)
- Lots of trash bags
- Stiff putty knife (metal for scraping)
- Wire brushes (detailing and cleanout of hard to reach places)
- Hammer
- Cut-off tool
- Reciprocal saw
- Heavy duty wire cutter
If you do not have easy access to a power source via extension cord, you will want to have a generator handy as well. This can then be used to provide power for lights as well as charging of batteries, and powering the shop-vac. Not to mention you will need this generator for future boon docking opportunities if you should choose to venture out. I will be discussing generators and selection in a future post, most likely. I realize some will say “duh” to my tool list but never assume anything. I have owned several cordless drills, but when we started this activity, I could not find any of them, hence the purchase above. Know where your tools are and organize in tubs or totes at your work site if possible to save you the hassle of running back and forth to find things resulting in time lost. This is just for the cleanout portion of the activity. More tool recommendations will be involved in upcoming activities.
