The state of play

The countertop for the kitchenette is almost done. The legs and structure need some work now. The idea is to get the kitchenette to be 65 inches wide and 20 - 35 inches deep and 31 inches high which is the height of the window bottoms. A nasty thought came to me that I had forgotten to make space in my plans for a fridge underneath the countertop. Thus, there will now be a slight redesign to accommodate a dorm fridge.

Today I spent an awful lot of time weighing up using metal or wood for the internal structures. In the end, wood won out by virtue of being cheaper and a shade lighter though harder to work. Most of my problem is tied to the lack of a vice. I managed to cut the wood today by bracing it on the remains of the back shelf that I removed from the bus a while ago.

There is a toilet seat available but not quite where its final location will be. I can put the toilet together fairly quickly but after the kitchen is completed. I can simply slap doors on for the insurance photo and afterwards take them off and replace them with drawers. As far as I can tell, it's only the presence of a toilet and a kitchenette that's needed. If they want a bed and a shower later, they're much easier to put together. In fact, the original steel bed frame can be used, from the original installation. The shower is even easier - plastic sheeting and a wide, long shallow container. None of this has to look as if it's made by a professional.

I misted the windows where the toilet and shower will be with a frosting spray. With any luck, that should work. I also sprayed some of the kitchenette with yellow paint but the yellow is a little too severely yellow. That needs to be redone with a more muted yellow. It's not quite school bus yellow but it's somewhat vomit-inducing. All this though is procrastination. I've been holding off carpentry because I didn't have a decent saw until today. Today on my trip to Lowes, I got a nice saw for $10 that really rips through OSB in no time at all.

Tomorrow - as I have been saying for several days - I will have to get down to building the rest of the kitchen cabinet. The heavy point is the side where the microwave will be. That will need more support. For that, I need to measure the fridge that I removed from the first incarnation of the bus. There will have to be a cupboard under the sink. There should be drawers in at least one section. These will eventually hold crockery and cutlery. Food will be stored underneath the seats in the dinette.