Alrighty. Now to bring you all up to speed on our current status. 

The kitchen is coming along nicely. The cabinets are painted and the sink is in! The countertop is still the original green but, not for long. I was seriously tempted to leave it but, it simply isn't an option with the cabinet color. We bought the countertop paint from Rustoleum and will be working on that next week (since we now have more time before we move). If you ask Rob about putting the sink in, he may make a face. It wasn't easy. You'll see in the photo below that he had to slide his upper body into the small opening under the sink to hook up everything and put the clamps on. He was very glad to be done with that part of things. The new faucet was a Craigslist score for $40. It was a floor model and was in great shape. I may have to move it into the new house when it comes time. It's so nice! Check it out: 

I painted the cabinet, as I've said, and picking a color was really hard. In the end, I wasn't able to get the color I had in my mind but, we like what we got. Beachy, coastal, fun. Definitely a welcome bit of color in an otherwise neutral area. What do you think about leaving that one strip white vs painting it, too? I can't decide if it's too retro from me.

And then there's the big news: the floors are in and they look fantastic! When we got the floorboards from Lumber Liquidators we were a) surprised they were single boards (not in boxes), b) slightly disappointed that there was a fair amount with defects that had to be cut off, and c) realizing how soft pine really is! We had to make 2 trips to Salem (about an hour roundtrip) to get it all because we stupidly though we could just put 250 sqft of pine boards in my van. My van is a beast... but not a truck. Oh well. And yes, my son slept through it all. Driving. Loading. Everything. We got home and he asked me when we were going to go get the wood. I said, look around kid. You slept through the whole thing! Haha. 

 Once the guys get to work putting it in it really started looking good. I'm totally in love now. It really looks great. It's got that cool beachy feel to it since we left it natural (only used clear poly) and it's nice and clean looking. It was definitely several days of work for Rob and we were SO thankful for James, who came to help get Rob going since he knew what he was doing and Rob had never done it before. I really think the floors make the Airstream look "legit"! 

                                      

Before poly.

After!

Before poly.

After!

Rob's parents come down again to help us out and while they were here Rob and his dad installed all new gas lines. I guess they just decided to play it safe and replace right off the bat. It was an all-day job but, by the end of the day we had a working heat furnace and stovetop! The oven doesn't work yet and we're not sure if it's just the burner or what. We still haven't gotten around to checking that and I can definitely live without it for a while. The water heater doesn't work either and that's more of a problem. No hot water for showers is a deal-breaker. We're going to have to take it apart and clean it and see if we (Rob) can tell what's going on and if we can't fix it we're going to buy a new, tankless water heater. We found this one and it's pretty cheap! I was sketched out at first but, it looks like this company has been making these for a long time with decent reviews so, we might go for it. Here are some shots of the new lines going in. 

I also want to mention that Rob built shelves into the closets so we would have more efficient storage. Yay! Storage space is crucial! I'm really hoping I'll be able to store everything I need in there... not that I have a choice or anything. I think we'll be good, though. See that shelf liner below? That roll is a whopping 4ft of liner. FOUR feet! What a rip-off! It was nice because it was wide enough to cover the shelves but, it cost the same as the other rolls of liner I bought and they had 24ft! You better believe I won't be buying anymore of that white one. Seriously. AND I have to tape/glue it down since it's not self-adhesive. Bah. I will be glad to have nice clean shelves to put my things on though. I'm probably going to get out there and finish putting it in tomorrow. I was going to do it tonight but, I think I'm going to sew the hallway curtain and clean-up in the house some instead. I'll post about the hall curtain when it's done. 

Well, that's pretty much it folks. For now. This week we'll be doing more to get ready to move in so, hopefully there will be some good progress there. If you live local, feel free to contact me to come see it. It's really shaping up! See ya next time!

A story and a trip to Charlotte.

So, last night Rob was out working on the Stream and I was inside packing up books. I get a phone call from him, "I need you to come help me." Ok. Sure.

I go out there and he's in the bathroom, crouched down, and he says to me, "I'm gonna move and you need to put your finger right here." Hang on there, buddy... right where? What's going on? And then I see it... the water all over the floor. He explained to me that he had turned the water on to test some things and then turned it back off and that in the process of doing that the water heater filled up. Now, said water heater was draining out gallons of water right into the bathroom. Fantastic. So we switched places and I plugged the pipe with my finger.

Rob says, "I have a plan!" He comes in with a length of Pex pipe with a shark bite connector and we try to do a quick switch and put it on the open pipe. No go. It didn't fit and now there was more water on the ground. I re-inserted my finger and asked for a bucket. It's an extremely small space so we had to use a trim paint pail (about 5"dia x 10"deep). I filled and dumped that thing about 20 times before the water finally slowed down and Rob was able to get in there and clean up and get it fixed. >phew<

Filling the bucket... again.

At least this drain is functional.

I tell ya what, this whole thing is a wild ride.

To top if off, both of our cars were in the shop this week which set us back in precious funds. Surprise! Oh well. It's all good.

We also went to Charlotte, NC on Tuesday to get a few things. We scored a toilet for the A-stream and saved about $80 on it. We also got a futon from Craigslist. I had searched long and hard for this particular Ikea futon with a particular mattress. Before we went down, I asked the woman selling it to confirm that it was the mattress I wanted and she said it was. We go, we buy, we drive away. I later check the tags and BOOM! Wrong mattress! I'm pretty sure I shed a tear. I was really upset. There are 4 grades of Ikea futon mattresses and I wanted the "Havet" one. It's more like a regular mattress. What we got was the cheaper "Lovas" one. NOT AT ALL what I wanted. >deep breath< We will survive. We'll probably just grab a foam topper and be fine. It was just so disappointing to drive that far for a let-down. Oh well.

We also went to the Ikea store while down there and exchanged the futon cover that came with the futon for a different one. Blackish/grey for white. At least I can have the cover I want. We got a new sink as well. And a towel rack. And curtain liners for me to sew into the new curtains I have yet to make.

A very long, very expensive day. It was stuff we needed though and I'm glad we have it.

Once Rob is done with the plumbing, all we really need to do (major stuff) is test the gas lines and related appliances (water heater, stove/oven and furnace). The new wood floors should come in tomorrow and get installed on Tuesday (by Rob and James, my brother-in-law). Can't wait to see the floors once they're in! It's gonna make it seem so much closer to being ready! I need to finish painting the cabinets this weekend so I don't risk getting paint on the new floor. My little toddler has given-up his naps as of this week so, I don't have time during the day to work on stuff anymore. Nighttime work, here we come!

Oh yeah... and I probably should really start packing. ;-)

19 days until launch!!

Stay tuned for another plumbing post from Rob with details, for those of you interested in hearing about this monstrosity:

The New Floor!

Well, after 2 days of hard work (by the Hubs) we have a new front floor! I repeat, we have a new front floor!  (Or course, now we have to move on to the back but, let's enjoy this moment, shall we?)

It was a ton of work and a lot of time was spent trying to figure out exactly how to do this thing without compromising on the structural integrity of the body. In the end it took a little creativity and a lot of sweat but, he got it in. It's great! To be honest, I'm mostly excited because I can now prime and paint the front end! Sure, I'm also excited that the rotten, nasty wood is no longer an issue for us and we won't fall through the floor. That's definitely good. But... paint! Yay! It will be such a relief to have it starting to look fresh and clean in there.

I spent the duration of my son's nap today scrubbing mildew and grime off of the walls so I can slap a big, fat coat of Kilz on there later after he goes to bed. I normally choose no-VOC paints and primers but, this particular can of Kilz says "maximum VOCs". Good grief. I'm not going to like that part. However, the low-VOC one wasn't suitable for floors or mildew so... what's a girl to do? Those are the 2 main reasons I needed it! Good thing it's a small space and I should be able to get it done quickly and get out.

Update: I got to paint in the afternoon instead of at night and the primer didn't actually smell too bad. Yay!

Anyway... for those of you who want to see the process of doing the floor, here are the photos.

Nasty, Nasty, Nasty.

More Nast.

Here we've removed the old subfloor and the floor insulation.

He cut out "wings" to remove small spots of rot from the other section.

We sealed any gaps and cleaned surface rust. We then used Rustoleum "Stops Rust" primer and paint to seal the deal.

Burning the midnight oil... 

We have good help.

New insulation (I know fiberglass isn't the best but, we're gonna make it work).
He had to cut the front board into 3 sections to get it in place. Not ideal but, its secure.

Nailed, screwed, bolted and glued. That baby isn't going anywhere.

The wings.

We still haven't decided what to do with the floor. Do we try to use some of it or just scrap it and start over.
There isn't enough to cover the whole floor and I'm worried it might smell mildewy, even though it's newer.  

And here's the before and after of starting to prime. The before pic is also an after-cleaning the walls photo.

Before (but after I scrubbed the mildew off)

After. I still need to paint the trim and cut-in around the windows but, it's getting there.
Much more dramatic in person. 

So, that's where we are for now. Next up: more painting, replacing the back floor and our caulk from Vintage Trailer Supply should arrive early next week so, I guess we'll be working on that, too! :-)

Holy Cannoli!

(Speaking of cannolis, can someone bring me one? It's called emotional eating people. You know you do it, too.)

So, today we started ripping up the old subfloor. Yep. To quote a guy from the (wonderful) Airforums who was commenting on another guy's problem similar to ours,

"Welcome to the forums!

You're not the first -- nor will you be the last -- to discover that Airstreams are far more work than expected!"

In other words, "Sucker! You bought an old Airstream! What did you expect?" 

He went on to be encouraging and helpful, saying it's all worth it in the end but, you know... we are terrible for picking up ridiculous projects and the B-stream (Breinich Airstream) will be no different! When we bought the trailer, one of the selling points was that it had a new floor in it. I figured that was done and it would be one less thing we would have to do, leaving mainly cosmetic stuff and a little plumbing. Oops. Oh well. I guess we'll just have that much more satisfaction when it's all done. And peace of mind, knowing that our feet will not be going through the floor anytime soon. I think it's the unknown that is the most stressful part of it (that and the unexpected lack of funds). If we were replacing the subfloor in the house (which we have done) it's easy because we know how the house is built. With the Airstream it's all new. Rivots? How do you work those? A rivot gun? Nope, don't have one... yet. Crazy, rusted 1975 bolts that won't.come.out.? Check. So anyway, once we get our heads around HOW to do it, I guess it won't be too difficult. (heh. heh. riiiight...)

I'm sure it's gonna be awesome when we're done. It'll probably look like this!

Or this!

Or even this!

Ok so, if it looks like that last one when we're done somebody better come slap me. 

Anyway, we're gonna do everything we can to find the funds (praying, working hard, odd jobs), time and strength to make this thing work. I think it will be worth it in the end. Even if our house doesn't sell, we'll have an awesome guest house and travel trailer and we will have had a fun family project.  Heck! Maybe we'll even sell our cars, buy a Jeep Wagoneer, rent out our house and hit the road. Would be fun! You never know what we'll do next. ;-)

(Post with pics of the floor replacement to follow...)