Shelby Demolition: Day Three Ripping out walls and planning ahead...

Demolition day was Sunday. Time to rip out rotten walls! I'm so pleased that the demo part of Shelby's renovation is almost complete. It's getting close to the uphill process of beautifying our lovely camper. New readers: Shelby is a 1973 Shasta Compact. Matt and I are turning her from an old camper into a mobile boutique for Sally Ann. We will be construction the interior such that all of the clothing fixtures  are removeable and adjustable, so we'll also be able to take camping on a very basic level, with Matt, Zeus, and I. So far, we've ripped out all the cabinets, beds, gas and electric lines, and kitchen. To back track and catch-up from start to now, click here.

Hello handsome. Matt making a silly face. And the front wall before demo. Notice the nasty ceiling hanging low. All this was removed. The worst part was the insulation. It was so itchy and we still somehow inhaled a little bit of it, making us gag uncontrollably. Gross. 

Using a saw on my dremel to cut into the wall. We had to be careful not to bend the windows when removing the rotten wood walls.

First, we cleared out all the junk we didn't get to throwing away last week, taking her over to our friend's workshop and using his dumpster. Then we got to ripping away the front wall. The window seals were so old and cracked, water seeped in and rotted all the wood. We stripped that all away, very carefully, and next week will rebuild them. Because we are going backwards with the construction process, this will be tricky to rebuild. For instance, when campers were built back then, the wood frame was assembled first, then the aluminum exterior was mounted on top of it. So we can't attach the wood to the aluminum. Instead, we'll use a staple gun at the corners, and liquid nail to hold the supports in place against the aluminum, and then a thin sheet of plywood over the supports, and our beautiful new woods walls on top of that. 

The back wall, before and after. The tail lights wires exposed. Those will have to be rewired before the walls are closed up. Matt is in charge of the exterior lights. I think we may use the original light fixture still attached to the back side, but the wiring needs to be replaced. 

The worst water damage of all came from the sunroof. This needs to be rebuilt and reframed into the ceiling. Half of the ceiling on the front side of the camper was rotten and will also be rebuilt soon.

I'm so excited to share this project with you and all and especially to spend time on it with Matt. May sound a bit chummy, but he's awesome, and we are working so well together. I read somewhere that couples that work out together, stay together longer and have stronger relationships. Well, if we can do this camper restoration together, as well as working out at the gym, sharing out passions and lives with each other, I think we're pretty much unstoppable. Yay for Matt! 

Do any of you have dreams of someday owning an old camper? Tell me about it!