Give me the heat!

As the temp dropped I figured I had better get my work space inside the bus livable too. So it's time to start the insulation process. I've decided that being that it is a good thing to layer your warm clothing it must be a good idea for the insulation layers too! I've decided to start with a double foil backed thin reflective insulation. The R factor is not that great but I wanted to get a protective layer between the outer skin and the main event in the insulation. Although you can see a bundle of PINK, that's not the main insulation. That is mainly to plug holes and block off the cold areas while I work.

Basically the wrap is nothing more than foil backed bubble wrap!

But she goes in slick. Believe it or not, this is all temporary. I will be using the material in the final application, but I want to place an adhesive on the backing before putting it in place for good. Problem is it was -16C this day and the PL 2000 wouldn't set against the outside cold skin in those temps

Closing in

Damn, sometimes I love this site and sometimes it drives me crazy. For that last 15 min I have been trying to begin my "narrative" above the first picture. Seems simple...I've done it before... but for some F#@#** reason it refuses to let me do it tonight. I know I know, I can actually hear my own voice in my head saying the same thing I say to Michelle when she starts cursing at the "stupid computer", (I'm paraphrasing the 'stupid' part) "Now sweetheart, the computer is just fine it's usually the operator !"

This usually is where she bestows a look on me that will freeze 40 proof alcohol. But yet I digress.

After a few weeks of crazy busy, I had a chance to spend some time on the bus last Friday afternoon and Saturday. As you can see I finished the east wall...got to keep Fillmore comfy!

I then went to work on the back wall. 1 1/2" angle iron gave me my vertical supports.

 

My welding is getting better, still not the prettiest, but I'm not going for the Olympics of welding, I just want it to work and be functional. (I think that is what every novice welder says in a defensive tone) 

In the end the rear wall is up, being that the mercury dipped in the high minus 20's I decided it was time for a heat source. The propane heater is still on hand but I thought it was time to get an electric source heater with a fan to help warm it up and circulate the air a bit. With the new windows in she's a little more air tight, Michelle would kill me if I ran the propane heater and died from CO poisoning!

Now where were we?

 

The time has flown by, and yet it feels like forever since I have worked on the bus. For those of you who have been following, Guatemala was another great experience, we worked harder than last time and saw so many people who needed our help....and yet we left so much undone. I have to keep reminding myself that we can't fix everything, what we do seems like a drop in the bucket...but every  drop helps.

Hmmm, nice segway into there is so much to do for Fillmore too!

 I was able to get a little bit done here and there, I came back from Guate and immediately went into show chairman mode for the concerts we put on the following weekend. By the Sunday of the show weekend I was done, exhausted....but I managed to drag my arse out off bed and do a little work on the shelter. It was now mid November and lucky as we were I knew winter was coming, and soon!

 Ha! A little sooner than I thought. I built a end wall for the shelter, partly for roof load support and partly because I want to enclose the ends. Soon enough the snow fell, about 8-10 inches in the first go around.

 Although there are a billion jobs to do, I decided to pick one and try and stay focused on it to completion. Not so surprising I find myself looking at a bunch of jobs that I have started and not completed because I get side tracked by something else, another small job that will "just take a second"

The job at hand today, amid the school bake sale, the dance lessons, play dates, meals dishes and laundry (Michelle is in Winnipeg) was to build the rear wall separating living area from engine room. Yesterday before the Daddy-Daughter date of dinner and the hockey game (yay Flames won 7-2) I was able to do a little welding, getting the vertical supports ready for the rear wall.