We bought our new mobile abode May 28th, got it home the 29th and began exploring how it all works. As soon as we had a pretty good idea we started tearing it all apart! DEMO IS FUN! Mom + I started with ripping the old wall paper out and that's when we found MOLD near the windows, lots of it.
These are my "Oh man, this is really bad!" eyes.
Cliff immediately bought a mold test kit and we started taking samples. It grew, and grew, and grew! The silver lining... now we get to change way more than we'd planned! It's going to be a healthy, beautiful home!
Thank your lucky stars this isn't smell-a-vision. Old, stagnant pipes full of hair and goo and sludge. EW.
Aunt Mary took out the bathroom floor + peeled the old paper off the walls! I am so happy to see that pink floor go. Yay!
This is what the bedroom looked like the first and only night we've slept in the RV. And this is what it looks like now! We're making space for our Cal King bed! After sleeping with our feet hanging off the end we decided having our own bed was an absolute must. It means losing closet space and still totally worth it.
It's been a bit of a challenge because these babies do not come apart the same way they went together. I was on Xacto knife duty cutting carpet out of the bottoms + tops of cabinets, cutting around wall paper and trying my best to extract all the old stuff.
The cabinets themselves were a whole different story. All the screws are out of this and it will still support ALL of Cliff + Cody's weight! We all hung off of it, Cody did pull ups and still, not even a wiggle. The solution... CROW BAR + brute force. All better now. Best demo crew ever, by the way! And the right price. We paid Cody in beer. ; )
We handed her off totally gutted last weekend. Right now she's getting her windows sealed, new mold free walls, a new ceiling and new floors!
Good things ::
- Early last week Cliff had a genius idea, "Hey babe---- How about we see if the old RV paperwork has the previous owners phone number? And call him to answer our Q's!" John answered the phone and he's our new BFF! He and Cliff talked for over an hour. He was so glad to hear it went to a good home. We're going to meet up with him at some point in the journey to show him what we've done with the place. And likely get him to teach us how a few more switches, buttons and levers work in person.
- I'm remembering how good it feels to sweat til you can wring out your clothes. Seriously satisfying. Makes me miss my hot yoga days.
- I'm learning that Cliff is pretty incredible with his hands. O.k. I mean, I already knew that but there's something amazing about seeing him in action.
- We've said "we sold it in the garage sale" more times than I can count. "Hey- do we have a paint scraper?" "We sold it in the garage sale." "What about a rubber mallet?" "Sold it too." Although totally inconvenient in moments, it feels oddly freeing.
- Last week as we were working three gals who made purchases at our garage sale stopped by and came into the RV. One women squealed and said, "YOU GOT YOUR RV! We just had to stop! We are so excited for you!" It was really sweet. I love that people are driving by, seeing it and cheering us on. I love that we invited them to be a part of it all with our awesome garage sale signs!
- The neighbors have been over to see the demo in progress and have been really lovely about having a giant RV parked in the street. We've promised them post cards from the road + an open house as soon as she's ready!
What's Next ::
- We are headed to Habitat ReStore this weekend to see if we can find sinks, faucets, drawer pulls, etc. We're planning to re-purpose as much as we can to keep reno costs down. Hoping to find tile for the bathroom this weekend too!
- Cabinet restoration will begin soon. The backs need replacing from water damage and the drawer slides are old + rusty.
- Then... paint!
Over and out from RV central, Lacy
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