New Floor, and a Bunk Bed!

Greetings and Salutations loyal citizens of the Empire!

Last time I left us at a freshly painted interior to the koffer (van body), and ready to put in the linoleum.  So, that's exactly where I will pick up once more.  However first I needed to attend to one small detail before I got down to the business of making the floor look pretty.  That was the minor issue that the 1/4" plywood I had purchased as the base of the floor was coming up in a few places.  Two to be specific.  Directly over the rear set of wheels the floor was a metal plate, basically the top part of the wheel well.  I had tried to put down enough construction adhesive that I had hoped it would glue it into place, but it was sadly not to be the case.  Thus, I had to come up with a solution - and fast - before I made the problem much, much harder to deal with.

Bolt securing the floor

After some consideration, I decided to keep it simple.  I drilled a couple of small pilot holes through the plywood floor, and through the steel wheel well beneath it.  I then went to the hardware store (I am getting to know them all by name at this point, and I am developing likes and dislikes for the various hardware stores in town) and picked up a few bolts of the appropriate length, a few rattle proof nuts, and some Locktite.  Grabbing the Makita cordless drill, the problem was dealt with rapidly, not counting the rapid trip to to the store.  That problem dealt with, I was finally able to move on with the floor.

Drop line in place, first tile down

I had bought the linoleum from Home Depot, whom I know I am supposed to despise, living in Santa Cruz and all, but the truth of the matter is they have a knowledgeable helpful staff, are laid out in a logical manner, and have a great selection.  So there, I said it.  Anyways, I decided to buy the "top shelf" linoleum at just under a dollar a tile (which are one square foot).  With the interior space being basically 8' X 12', that meant I had 96 sqr/ft worth of  tiles to buy.  Erring on the side of caution, I bought about 106 tiles, and called it a day.  I also picked up a blue drop line so that I could stand a remote chance to making the thing vaguely square.  Another thing of note.  Large stacks of linoleum tiles are surprisingly heavy!  I had somehow convinced myself that since they weren't the "real thing", they would be somehow lighter and flimsier.  Not so!

Traffic Master, mastering your traffic
since 1901

The actual laying of the linoleum tiles is very rewarding.  You get the joy of laying down tile, without all of that annoying grout, tile saws, and so on.  You also get to feel like a little kid playing with over sized stickers, as you peel off the wax paper backs and hold a one square foot sticker in your hands.  And hey, who doesn't like stickers?  I also learned that placing your very first tile is probably the most important aspect of the entire job (outside of laying the drop line perhaps).    I did a pretty good job lining it up, and didn't think much of it at the time.  I was probably within 99% of getting it exactly right.  However, that 1% over twelve feet of tile can add up.  Not much, but it does.  Another thing of note is the decision on how to lay out your tile.  After consulting with Cricket, I followed the general convention of starting with the first tile right dead center of the room, and working out from there.  Yes, I would have to cut "tile" on both sides of the room now, but those areas would be hidden under tables, lockers, bathrooms, and so on.  So, after a lot of setup, the actual tile laying went really fast.  I was assisted by my ninja daughter Indigo, and things went pretty fast.  It was still dark by the time we finished, but only just.  At the end of the day,  I had about a 1/2" drift over the 12' length of the koffer.  I was cutting tiles for 3.25" on one side, and 3.75" on the other.  Not so bad, and as I mentioned, all of this will most likely be hidden under desks and bunk beds and what not.

Indigo Ninja approves of this floor!

After the floor was in, I went inside to spend some time with the family, then collapse for a while.  In the morning I woke up refreshed and revitalized, ready for more action.  Cricket showed up with a bunk bed from Ikea - the same one my inspirational Canadian used in his build - as well as the 'under bed'.  Bright shiny new day, we got down to opening up the massive cardboard boxes, reading the wordless Ikea instructions, and then putting the thing together with the provided generic Ikea Allen wrenches.  Things went pretty well, with Cricket's help (officially in charge of the Procurement Department from now on), as it required having someone hold parts of the thing while it got screwed together.  All in all, it went together without much fuss.  At this point in our lives, we had both put together plenty of Ikea furniture, and after a while, they all start to look the same.  After an hour or so, we had the bunk bed built, but not bolted in.

Well, that about sums it up for that weekend.  Mission accomplished.  Floor was down - the bed was made, and the back was generally coming together.  Next week I would face my first real challenge.  A challenge that could kill the project before it even really get off the ground.  A challenge so deadly most everyone has a horror story of their own to share.

The DMV.

That's right, I still had to get legal.  At this point in the timeline of the vehicle, I had already been to the DMV twice, but this third and final trip would be the deal breaker.  Is it an RV (Motor Home), or is a commercial vehicle?  You decide.  I wish.  I will give you a full run down on the "Imperial Entanglements" of the legal system and how it relates to purchasing old military vehicles next week.  I can give you a sneak spoiler though - it all works out eventually - otherwise I most likely wouldn't writing this blog.  My body would be found hanging from inside the van body.  ;)  I leave you with this moment of domestic bliss, as I, your fearless Captain of the Imperial Car Destroyer and the Head of Procurement share a moment in the midst of building Das Bed.

The Captain of the Imperial Car Destroyer
and the Head of Procurement sharing a moment