Today I started the hatch door. To begin I traced out the rear curve on a paper template, which I used to make the first beam out of 1/2" plywood. I then used the first beam as a template for all the others. I cut 7 beams.
I then clamped all 7 together and sanded the edges so that they were even.
While I was working on the hatch frame, Dwayne started insulating the roof with polystyrene insulation. He had some 1" thick sheets of it left over from when he insulated his garage. Once I finished the hatch frame, he helped me test fit it and its hinge. It sits very nicely in the rear opening, and moves well too. It binds very slightly at the bottom corners when closing, but I should be able to solve that fairly easily with the sander.
Ella tried out the cabin. I think she approves.
Costs to date:
Last Total: $462.54
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(1) Sheet of 1/2" ply - $20.99
2x2's - FREE (I ran out, so Dwayne donated a few 2x4's which we ripped to 2x2)
polystyrene insulation - FREE (also from Dwayne's stash)
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Subt: $20.99
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TOTAL: $483.53
I also noticed that so far there has been very little scrap accumulating from this project. Most of it has come from the hatch. I had to space the beams out about 1" from one another on the sheet of plywood, so there are a lot of crescent-shaped bits of plywood scrap. Still, there is probably less than half a trash bin of total scrap so far. I think this is a testament to just how economical the design really is.
you should have cut the doors before standing the sides vertical. Also, i would go with the old camper window. Another option may be the old small sliding window from a mobile home. Maybe check out the junk yard. how do you plan on holding the rear hatch open?
ReplyDeleteSince the plywood I used for the wall wasn't perfectly square, I had to cut the doors with the walls up to get them square with the rest of the trailer.
ReplyDeleteThe scrapyard is my next stop in the hunt for windows. I'm sure they'll have a few rv's and/or truck caps that would have the right size of windows.
Rear hatch will be held open either with a metal rod on either side that I'll clip into place when the hatch is raised, or lifter-type shocks like on a passenger car hatch.