I JUST GOT A NEW WINDOW (and the left windshield pane replaced) at long last!! As simple as it is I’m super excited because that felt like a big roadblock for moving forward with anything at all. I dropped the truck off with Able Glass Services just a couple blocks away, and picked it up the next day, easy peasy after a bit of a wait for the weather to be good.
oohlala! It's the same size as one of the windshield panes.
I’m now focusing on the framing and insulation. I am planning to insulate wall, ceiling and floor, with the bulk of the insulation on the ceiling and floor. I will go with smaller lumber on the walls to help the weight and the width of the walls (precious interior width), as well as to fit the thinner/cheaper wall insulation I’m thinking of. For the floor, I’m framing it because I assumed I wouldn’t be able to walk on insulation board alone - won’t it compress or something over time? The current floor is indeed plenty sturdy… Need to ask some insulation experts.
WALLS
I'm framing with 1.125” x 1.5" (I’m not familiar with the baffling difference between standard lumber sizes and actual measurements, so I’m just going to use the actual measurements.) These are placed for two reasons: holding up sheathing, and to make studs for some of the furniture that should be attached to the wall for stability.
I’ve made a frame around the window to make a little windowsill, but I’m unclear on whether this is necessary since I just don’t know much about the insulation: do I need the wood? can I just cut a nice hole out of the insulation and put a thin piece of wood/aluminum around the opening to cover it?
Polyiso foam board seems to be the way to go, so I’m thinking 1” in between studs and 1/2” over top to combat thermal bridging, then some kind of sheathing (still haven’t researched what’s cheap/not hideous that doesn’t off-gas - recommendations welcome! I’d prefer something wood-ish rather than plastic, but I’m flexible)
Below: passenger wall with framing, then passenger wall with framing and basic furniture placement. The left are shelves that I already own, fit nicely over the wheel well, and need to be bracketed to the wall to make sure they're stable. They'll serve as a secondary surface for tossing a bag or things waiting to be put away, as well as some storage. My 4 big batteries will sit on top of the wheel well, under these shelves. The right object is my sink (the black part) - it's a simple rectangular basin that was under-mounted previously. I'd like to under-mount it again, but don't have a construction plan for that yet.
Below: Driver wall with framing, then driver wall with framing and furniture placement, then another view to get a better sense of the sections on the left. I'll have a long standing desk for my workspace (keeping my imac here safely is a whole nother concern - it's my main work tool and I can't not include it). To the left of that is my main paint storage - a roll-out shelf based around an ikea shelf that I just purchased. I'll need to cut it down to fit on top of the wheel well, which is why it sticks up right now. There will be a 'wall' on either side of the shelves to enclose them while driving - these will be attached to the framing for stability. Next to the left is some more shelving in front of another 'wall'. This wall sections off a small area accessible only from the rear of the vehicle which will hold my small scaffolding, ladders, painting panels, etc. There will also be a small set of shelves just behind the drivers seat at the end of the long desk, to hold books. That's what the close-together framing is for at that end, to secure that to the wall as well - I haven't addd it to the model yet.
FLOOR
Currently modeled with 1.5” x 2.5” framing, no specific insulation plan yet. Apparently the real question is whether I need framing at all?? I’m guessing I should talk to some people that sell insulation. The dark gray block on the right is the pedestal for the driver's seat. The wheel wells will also be insulated.
CEILING
I got no modeled plan for the ceiling yet - kind of figured I’d get the wall and floor frames done, then make a ceiling plan before any insulation/sheathing. Currently it seems to have about an inch of insulation above a thin aluminum panel, along with two cabin lights. I assume the rivets in horizontal stripes about every 2 feet along the ceiling denote where the c-channel bracing is.
Rather than remove all of it, I’m thinking I’ll just take the lights out and cover the whole mess - my walls only go up 90% of the way because of a little curve where the ceiling meets the wall, so I’m thinking bulk the ceiling out to there by attaching insulation and some kind of cover to where I know the c-channels must be. (pretty tin ceiling? the row houses around Richmond are covered in the stuff and I have a crush on it)
Soon (this week? tomorrow??) I'll be talking to Thom about double checking my plans and starting construction, and B&C about building a back door....! Go Go Go!