This pine cladding is too white. I want a boat look rather than a sauna look. I’m after a glowing semi gloss sheen effect but it was really difficult to find a product that would give me the image I had in my head. Finding the right wood finishing product is confusing and finding the […]
van conversion
Installing the Shurflo water pump – reduce the noise
Today I installed my Shurflo water pump straight onto the wall of the van but when I switched it on, I couldn’t believe the noise coming from this thing! it transmitted around the full van. I realised that, ideally, these pumps should be mounted on solid floor or on any solid structural members to prevent […]
Storage and boiler flue
No major update but the completion of this cupboard really makes the van start to look more complete. I’ll now start to run the pipes for gas and water.
Rust proofing and undersealing the van
Many older vehicles (especially vans) don’t have much protection against rust on the under side where it’s exposed to the elements and harsh conditions. I used the Hammerite underbody seal (this one) on all of the underside floor panels of my van, including the wheel arches. The example below just shows the wheel arch. The […]
Soundproofing my van conversion
My LDV Convoy van is very noisy! Any speed over 20MPH and the sound system becomes useless. If a sound meter is anything to go by, I measured 82dB whilst idling sat in the driving seat and well over 90dB on main roads. An idling bulldozer is around 85db and loud enough to cause hearing […]
Making the kitchen cupboards
I found this nice hardwood ply and I HAD to find a use for it so I made the cupboards and draw for the kitchen unit. I didn’t really want the normal camper van look with loads of laminate material and boring hardware so here is what I did whilst keeping things as simple and […]
An extending bed in my DIY van conversion
I got the idea of this expandable bed from the deep red motorhome website but this is my version that I made it up as I went along. Check out the finished van! and if you want to see how the bed is pulled out, you can see me doing it at the end of my ‘day […]
Building the shower enclosure
A stud frame was built for the bathroom enclosure and then fitted with water resistant wallboard on the inside and finished with cladding on the outside. In this post I’ll cover: Building the stud frame for the bathroom/shower enclosure fitting waterproof wallboard fitting toilet fitting shower/bathroom door 12V light Note: this was updated on 15th May […]
Fitting the Thetford c200 shower tray in my van
I bought this shower tray from a local caravan fitting shop (picture below). The shower tray has a recessed cut out to fit the type of cassette toilet I’ll be using (the Thetford c200) and measures around 1025mm by 670mm, but it can be trimmed to a slightly smaller size. These shower trays do not […]
Cladding the side door
After cladding the walls and ceiling (see post) I went and did the side door. Note: This post is backdated. Added 15th May 2015 1. Fit cladding to door I screwed the cladding straight into the metal of the door making sure that each piece lines up with the cladding on the wall so the […]
