Sky Deck Renovation
Just bought a 2003 Thor Citation Sky Deck. 34' Fifth Wheel. Came from Alexander RV in Delaware. Good people to deal with. Here it is on the lot: I just got it down to North Carolina and plan to...
Forum Discussion
BATHROOM DEMO CONTINUES...
Had 4 good hours today, most work in weeks. Sky Deck's Brother came by, along with Sky Deck's sister-in-law. I think they solved a major problem with the bathroom layout. More in a minute.
Here's the bathroom sink. Look at it one way and it's unbelievably cheap plastic, but it's kind of cool that such an incredibly lightweight, functional and inexpensive washing vessel was ever innovated, made from petroleum, no less. But... I'm not that desperate to save on weight:
The toilet was anchored so well to the floor it seemed formidable. I was shocked when I lifted it up and it weighed about as much as a plastic bucket. Shouldn't there be a law--or at least health code--against carpeting under a toilet?
What a mess:
I've got to go to the dump:
So, today was a big revelation. I guess I'm slow on the uptake, but I did not realize how this floor system is constructed. The bathroom floor (and I'm guessing all the floors in this rig) appears to be made of SIP panels (Structural Insulated Panel). At least I assume these panels meet the technical definition of SIPs. If you look closely at the cross section of floor in the hole where this water line goes, you can see how it's made: luan, then rigid foam, then luan. This type of panel is very cool, and I've been interested in them for a while. Delighted to find them in the Sky Deck. I've never worked with them and don't know how difficult it would be to find the right panels to replace this bathroom floor, but eager to learn. They are very lightweight, but also very strong. Here's a website for a SIP panel trade association: http://www.sips.org.
Here's me holding a piece of SIP panel next to the bathroom wall. This scrap was used in the platform for the shower. The cut-away panel shows the foam insulation. It's up against the SIP floor, which has metal trim (covering the foam):
That metal trim could be the most challenging part to replicate if I replace the floor. Here's a view of how they trimmed around the inside of an opening (for shower):
Here's a good view under the floor of the "joist" system, by the way. Feels strong, but looks pretty weak:
And here is the result of today's work! I had to sit down and admire this for half an hour:
One more thing, which I'll talk more about later. Even though this bathroom is big for an RV--about 5' x 6'--getting the layout I want is a difficult puzzle. Brother and Sister-in-Law suggested bumping the bathroom wall to the living room out about 6 inches to provide enough room to get the shower where I want it (along the left wall as you walk into the bathroom). I think that's the plan now. In this photo, the level laying on the ground shows how far the wall would need to come out. Not a big deal.
That's all for now...
Had 4 good hours today, most work in weeks. Sky Deck's Brother came by, along with Sky Deck's sister-in-law. I think they solved a major problem with the bathroom layout. More in a minute.
Here's the bathroom sink. Look at it one way and it's unbelievably cheap plastic, but it's kind of cool that such an incredibly lightweight, functional and inexpensive washing vessel was ever innovated, made from petroleum, no less. But... I'm not that desperate to save on weight:
The toilet was anchored so well to the floor it seemed formidable. I was shocked when I lifted it up and it weighed about as much as a plastic bucket. Shouldn't there be a law--or at least health code--against carpeting under a toilet?
What a mess:
I've got to go to the dump:
So, today was a big revelation. I guess I'm slow on the uptake, but I did not realize how this floor system is constructed. The bathroom floor (and I'm guessing all the floors in this rig) appears to be made of SIP panels (Structural Insulated Panel). At least I assume these panels meet the technical definition of SIPs. If you look closely at the cross section of floor in the hole where this water line goes, you can see how it's made: luan, then rigid foam, then luan. This type of panel is very cool, and I've been interested in them for a while. Delighted to find them in the Sky Deck. I've never worked with them and don't know how difficult it would be to find the right panels to replace this bathroom floor, but eager to learn. They are very lightweight, but also very strong. Here's a website for a SIP panel trade association: http://www.sips.org.
Here's me holding a piece of SIP panel next to the bathroom wall. This scrap was used in the platform for the shower. The cut-away panel shows the foam insulation. It's up against the SIP floor, which has metal trim (covering the foam):
That metal trim could be the most challenging part to replicate if I replace the floor. Here's a view of how they trimmed around the inside of an opening (for shower):
Here's a good view under the floor of the "joist" system, by the way. Feels strong, but looks pretty weak:
And here is the result of today's work! I had to sit down and admire this for half an hour:
One more thing, which I'll talk more about later. Even though this bathroom is big for an RV--about 5' x 6'--getting the layout I want is a difficult puzzle. Brother and Sister-in-Law suggested bumping the bathroom wall to the living room out about 6 inches to provide enough room to get the shower where I want it (along the left wall as you walk into the bathroom). I think that's the plan now. In this photo, the level laying on the ground shows how far the wall would need to come out. Not a big deal.
That's all for now...
