Demo continues

So it's been quite a few days since the last post.  That's mainly because we've been lazy.  It's starting to get cold here in Atlanta and we just felt like not doing anything.

However, the last two days Brittnie and I have gotten our motivation back and went full steam into demo.

Our nasty old cabinets before

Our nasty old cabinets getting stripped

Our much better stripped cabinet doors.  They are getting wall paper and paint on them and will be finished off with Oil Rubbed Bronze cabinet knobs.

Britt has been destroying the kitchen (in a good way)

We are keeping the sink but ditching the stove

The main job yesterday was ditching all the garbage walls, ceilings and insulation

So today, we are off to get our floor and backsplash tiles and our fridge.

We have most of everything else we are going to need.

Next couple days, walls will start to go back on and paint will start to be put on!

Disgusted and Proud

The last two days of renovation have been...interesting.

So continuing the saga of the water input system, the last two days of work have finally gotten us inputs we are quite proud of.

If you remember, this was our water inlets before.  Quite old and rusty.  We found out why...

WOOD ROT!

This will also require us to re-stud the floor before we lay down new plywood and floor tiles.  This, however, was not a shock to us.  In the end, we weren't that butt hurt.

After removing all the rotted and soggy wood, we studded the walls and attached our new inlets!

Might not be the best job ever, but believe me, we are quite proud.  We're also not concerned about the colors as they will be painted matte black.  As will all accent features on the exterior.

The top one is the new gravity water inlet for the fresh water tank.  The bottom is a pressure regulating city water inlet (i.e. garden hose) for the direct water.

The pressure regulating is in case of massive water build-up or pressure from the source (not our camper).  It will purge the excess pressure and keep our plumbing lines from exploding randomly.  I see this as a plus.

During the process of exterior renovation, we decided we needed to remove the old and probably non-working heater.  We plan on using the small plug in kind anyways.  The heater has a venting system to the outside, hence why we had to start that part of the interior as well.

We found out (after some fun prying) that the heater was bolted to the vent chute to the outside.  Which we couldn't get to, except from the top.

YAY! More inside work to finish the outside!

Brittnie took out the fridge and the shelving that used to be there...

The original fridge used to run on propane.  This of course means it has a venting system to the roof.  This of course means it was never correctly repaired by the previous owner.  This means we get to do it.

Yep.  That's rotted insulation, wasps nests and maybe even a bird nest.  All empty for quite some time.  All, thanks to my gorgeous wife, now cleaned out.  Even the look of it in the picture makes my skin itch.  Nasty.

During our fun today, the UPS guy came.  He knows us by name now.  He delivered our new bathroom vent cover and hood.

Removal of the original commenced

It then quickly ended when it became obvious that Amazon sent the wrong vent.  However, this is actually a good thing, as Britt and I decided to go with a skylight above the shower.  Much nicer if you ask me!  Plexiglass is all we need now!

The next project we worked on was the small damage to the front of the camper where someone ran into a gas station post (is my guess).

Two bad parts about this. 1) I have never done body work. 2) That's the VIN plate.

So I just cut out the mashed part of the sheet metal shell of the camper and we intalled basic flashing from Home Depot.  It's not pretty, but again, it will look better once painted matte black...

The flashing on the front is aesthetic to make the sides seem deliberate.  It will also help deflect rock impacts from roads.

Although not normal and quite unique of a fix, I'm proud of it!

Tomorrow looks like rain, so I think all we are going to do is finally rip out the heater and finish the wall studs behind the water system.

Then, we should probably go register the camper so we have a Georgia Title and not a Florida Sale Title.

What a day!!

Renovation: Day 1

Although not technically day one, this for sure was the first day of major renovation.

Last week we started minor renovations like starting the sticker removal and resealing the side trailer lights that don't work.

This morning we went to Harbor Freight Tools here in Lilburn, GA to pick up some cheap tools.  Since we moved from the UK a year ago, we haven't gotten around to replacing all our power tools.  A camper renovation requires such tools.  We decided to go to HFT to get cheap tools, well aware of the fact that  they may die in a year, but honestly, we wont need them then.  All tools are coming out of our total renovation budget, so cheap is fine with me.

I'd rather have a new shower, then a Makita Cordless Drill.

With the addition of our tools and a quick stop at Peco Camper in Turner, GA to pick up a couple things, renovation went full force this afternoon.

First off: little things on the exterior.  Once these little things are done, the paint can go on!

The new patio light and the old patio light.  Can 'ya see why we wanted to swap that out?

Brittnie hated the fact that the outdoor plug cover had been broken off.  So that went on next...

As always, our daughter was so helpful during our hard work

She enjoyed some sunshine and obviously way too many cookies.

The next "little" fix up turned out to be quite a lot larger project then we expected.  The good news is that nothing is quite that big in a 24 foot house on wheels.

This is the fill port for our water holding tank.  It's gravity fed by a garden hose.  Not a big deal right?  Buy a new one, swap it out.  Bingo bango.  Wrong!

Once out, we found a good deal of wood rot.  The rot was there because of a small tear in the hose that goes from the port to the tank.

This means we are starting the interior demolition a little early.

Much to the delight of my gorgeous wife, who donned her respirator, eye mask and screwdriver with the giddiness of a kid on Halloween night.

We always knew we had some work for the inside.  Didn't expect it to be today.

Brittnie ripped out the fresh water tank, tore out the wall panels and started cleaning up.  Job for tomorrow is to remove the wood rot, and re-stud the walls with some 2x4s my mom has laying around her carport.

Most of what you see is already gone and in the trash.  I made dinner while she worked.

I picked the perfect wife.

1987 24' Terry Resort by Fleetwood

$1,000 cash and a trip to Tallahassee, Florida.  That's how much this adventure cost us to start with.  Note, I said START with.

 Our new home needs work.  That's an understatement for sure.

BUT! Most young couples with a small baby end up buying a house.  And most likely that house is older.  And anything older, needs a little lovin'.  Our new home is no different.

The only difference for us is that at 24 feet, our house is MUCH cheaper to fix, clean and update.

Because of our unique requirements, a typical camper did not make sense.  We have a baby, two dogs, a cat and two 20somethings to fit in this thing and make as comfortable as possible.

Right off the bat, we need a crib.  Most campers don't have cribs!  Most full-time RVers are retired or hippies or retired hippies.  We are probably pretty unique.  So we figured, "why buy an expensive camper when we'll have to rip stuff out to fit a baby area anyways?

This camper is like a blank canvas for us to make it our own.

Most important parts work: plumping and electrical.  From there, 24 feet of remodeling space, shouldn't test our marriage too much.

First step: EXTERIOR BEFORE

She will be getting a custom and unique exterior paint job with good 'ole Rustoleum.  Matte Desert Sand with Matte Black Trim!

She also needs a new door (previous owners attempted to make one), a new air conditioner (ours works, but it's old, dirty and loud), new tow lighting (ghetto rigged backwards and not working, again thanks to the previous owner), a new vent hood on the bathroom roof, a new stove damper on the side and relocation of water heater.

She also needs all stickers removed, a few little holes filled, to be lightly sanded and all window and door seals will be re-sealed with new exterior caulking. 

Brittnie is also making stained glass looking windows for the beedroom area.  I'm excited for that!

After the outside is done and painted, the hardest part will come...the 1980's interior update.

Stay tuned for posts during remodel!

A Change of Pace

So the Little's have decided to do something out of the ordinary.

I guess, however, if you ever asked anyone about us, they would tell you that we are very unique.

We like simple.  We love the planet earth.  We like a slow pace in life.

Besides raising a gorgeous and brilliant daughter, we only have three real goals for our lives:

1) Live in a camper trailer and tour this gorgeous country

2) Move to San Antonio, buy some land and build a self-sufficient Homestead

3) Buy a Catamaran and sail around the world with our daughter

Neither of us really have an interest in being slaves.  By slaves of course I mean cubical slaves.  Fuck that.  Life is too short to spend it in a carpet box, gaze out the window longingly, and spend so little time with your family and with yourself.

This blog will be about our adventures with goal #1

Living in a camper trailer.  A life without bills, mortgage, lawn maintenance, dead-end careers and 2 weeks of vacation a year you can't afford to take anyways.

A little about the Little's

Mike and Brittnie were married in Annapolis, Maryland on Halloween in 2010.

Amarna Katana joined our lives on February 21, 2012.

Mike and Brittnie both spent the majority of their adult lives serving our country as Soliders in the United States Army.

While stationed in England at the same time, they met and the rest is history.

After years of service, both Mike and Brittnie are now Disabled Veterans and are looking forward to finally seeing firsthand, the country they served for so many years.

The Little's have furry kids as well:

Castor (right) and Pollux (left) love their little sister and are incredibly protective of their play toy.

Aphroditie doesn't care about much, except playing outside and eating...