A Bathroom for the Spatially Challenged

I'm a very visual person. I know that some people can lay out entire floor plans for multi-level buildings in their heads and know the exact dimensions of every room, where every wall will go, and how the end result will look.

For the record, I am NOT one of those people. I can't envision what something will look like. I can't imagine what the final result will be. I need to actually see it plotted out in black and white. Or in living color, if that works.

So how does one's husband (notably: MINE) go about explaining the thought process behind installing a bathroom on a bus to someone who is spatially challenged (notably: ME)?

They create a makeshift bathroom using chalk lines, bamboo poles, and paper. Of course.




I was having trouble figuring out exactly how much floor space that was going to be required to build the bathroom and the exact location that Jim had in mind for it. So he used bamboo poles and the paper we had covering the windows when we painted the ceiling to build walls and create the exact way that the bathroom enclosure will look.





I also couldn't quite wrap my mind around the exact positioning of the compost toilet and how it was going to work, mostly because it will be placed on top of the wheel well. I just couldn't understand how there would be enough room for us to sit, do business and clean up afterwards in that small of an area. The toilet (bucket) will be built into a squared off platform that fits over the wheel well.



He was even kind enough to demonstrate that there will be plenty of room to take care of all the business we need to take care of in there. Sure, it's not like we are going to be hanging out reading the Sunday paper in there, but who really does that anyway?




Then there was the issue of a place to shower. We intend on having a solar shower system in place and honestly didn't expect to have much room at all, but I couldn't quite figure out if there would be enough room to move around, wash hair, shave legs, etc. Truth is, we did have to adjust the length from our original plan. Otherwise, there would not have been enough room at all.


Jim wants to get the bathroom done as soon as possible so we can start going places in the bus sooner rather than later. That means we have to be sure about the placement and size of the area, especially with the plumbing and tank placement being somewhat permanent - ya know? So now I feel better about the whole thing. I now have a good understanding of how it's going to be built and what it will look like. That will make the next step much easier, which is trying to figure out what to line the shower stall with and how to set up the compost toilet and where to run the plumbing and set up the tanks.

Oh, what fun!

Making our Mark: the Ceiling

We spent the better part of yesterday on the bus, finally making our first mark and claiming it as ours. Up until now it's been all about the deconstruction: removing the seats, pulling up the floor, taking down signs, etc. But we finally spent some time working on the first "project" that would allow us to officially say that she is ours: we painted the ceiling.


This is what we started out with - the factory painted "kind of funky green color" ceiling. While it may not look like it in the photo, we had spent several hours with scratch pads to remove a lot of the glossiness so the new paint would stick to it.








We really wanted to use a low VOC paint since it is going to be inside where we will be spending a lot of time in close quarters. Jim did some research and found out that Sherwin Williams carries several kinds of low/no VOC paints. We decided to go with the SuperPaint, flat white. I was concerned about the price, considering the fact that low VOC paints are usually quite pricey. This is where knowing people comes in handy. I just so happen to know the asst. manager at Sherwin Williams and she gave us the "contractor" discount, making a gallon of paint that normally runs about $30/gallon come out to a cool $17/gallon. Score!



We ordered some ThermaCels for insulation and they arrived via FedEx in just a few days. Some people refer to them as "ceramic beads". I was quite shocked to see that it really just resembles powder and not at all ceramic like or bead like. We ordered enough to do 5 gallons of paint, hoping that it will be enough to do both the inside and outside.


Jim took one of our 5 gallon buckets - intended for a composting toilet in the future - and mixed the ThermaCels and paint together.


Here it is, all mixed up and ready to go.


It was definitely a group effort to get the two coats painted on to the ceiling. Once mixed together, the paint and ThermaCels form a liquid that has the consistency of sand or grit.



Two coats later, this is what our newly insulated ceiling looked like.



Once everything was dry, Jim started on our sky ceiling. The idea is to have a fading day sky (in the front) to night sky (in the back). We bought 4 quarts of various shades of blue paint - low VOC of course - to combine and create the transition that we are looking to achieve. Once the sprayer was hooked up to the air compressor, we were in business. We started in the back since that is where we started with the insulation coats and it was the driest.


Instead of just switching colors, we mixed them so they blended together more seamlessly. Check out that homemade funnel action we had going on.


Here I am, hanging out at the picnic table while Jim takes a turn at spray painting the ceiling. Since we only had one respirator between us, the one not working had to take a break outside while the other worked. It was a nice way to break up the day.


This is the view I had from the picnic table.


Here is the end result of day one on the sky ceiling. This is the view from the middle of the bus looking to the back. A moon will eventually go on that back panel and some (glow in the dark?) stars will be added, as well.


This is the view from the middle of the bus looking to the front. A sun will eventually go somewhere on the front/top with rays shooting across.


This was all we had time to complete before we ran out of daylight and realized the lamps we had hooked up weren't going to be enough to finish completely. As I said, we still have to add a sun and a moon and some stars. Some of the areas need a little touching up to make them look like we want them to. And we have yet to really use the lightest color of blue on the front to finish it off. So we still have a little work to go on the ceiling, but it really has turned out like I envisioned it. We are all super excited with it and can't wait to finish it up and take our next step to further claiming Resurrection Fern as our own.


Check out the video:








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Edited to add:

We had a really hot day yesterday. The sun spent an entire day beating down on the top of the bus while Jim and I were at work. In the late afternoon, we both went out to check the ceiling temps - just to see if the ThermaCels were doing their job. I'm happy to report that we could actually touch the ceiling and even hold our hands in place over the metal ribs without developing severe burns. Which, by the way, was impossible prior to putting the two coats of ThermaCels on. So, while it's not a scientific and definitive conclusion, it is our opinion that the ThermaCels are working and doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing.

A little something every day

Jim and I are both working a 40 hour work week. Two days a week we both get home at the same time. The other three days I am home around 1:30 - 2:00 in the afternoon and he follows around 4:30pm. We both have the weekends off. I think it's important to point this out early on, as it becomes hard to make a lot of progress throughout the week. Hopefully we can continue to work as much as possible on the weekends and feel like we are making a dent in things. Right now we have managed to get at least a little something done every day, even if it's going to Home Depot to pick up some "goo" remover to take off the sticky mess left behind by all those tacky school bus stickers - which is what we did yesterday.

Since my last post, we have managed a few little things. Here's the short list:



We went ahead and pulled up the rubber flooring on the steps. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it all looks good, with the small exception of a tiny rusted through hole in the very right hand corner of the lower step (not visible in this photo). It's easily fixed, though, so no worries.


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Jim spent a whole day last weekend with the grinder and the bus floor, steadily working away at the larger rust areas that were a bit pitted and deeper than just a mere surface rust. Jim then applied some rust inhibitor with a roller, which did an excellent job once it set overnight and was pressure washed out. I was amazed at the amount of rust that was just ---- GONE!

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Once it was completely dry (another 24 hours), Jim rolled it with some primer. We actually had two different brands and the color varied just slightly. So when looking at the floor afterwards, it appeared to still be wet in areas due to the color variance. Seeing as how this will soon be covered with a subfloor, it is of no concern. Naturally.

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I didn't take photos, but we also removed all the stickers on the inside of the bus and scuffed up the paint on the ceiling in preparation for painting. It took both me and Jim (with a little help from the kids) a couple of really hard scrubbing hours to complete. My shoulders and hands are still sore/aching.

In the next couple of days we plan to cover/tape up the windows on the inside and put a layer of primer on the ceiling. (The plans have changed for this, of course, and I'll discuss it once we get to it.) The ceramic additive we ordered should be delivered today or tomorrow, allowing us to possibly get the ceiling painted by this weekend.

That's where we are and where the next phase is headed. There's a little movement each day and with each day we get closer and closer to having her ready to hit the road.

Stay tuned ...

The Making of Resurrection Fern, part 1

Subject to Change

When converting a school bus, it's smart to adopt the following motto and do it as soon as possible:

All Plans Are Subject To Change. And change again. And again. And ...

Our floor plan has changed at least three times in the last week. Our color scheme for the outside of the bus has changed at least three times in the last two weeks. We keep going back and forth about the best method for a toilet (with water or without). One day we are building storage underneath for potable water, the next day we are building a platform bed in the back and sticking the tanks underneath. Do we separate the toilet and shower or put them together?

You see what I mean.

Just call me Bendy because I am just all kinds of flexible right now.

It's all very exciting and it is so easy to jump in head first and want to attack every little thing in order to get it done ASAP. The whole purpose is to get on the road and, especially when it's been an ongoing dream and obsession for over 2 years, it's hard to pull back and breathe. And think. And consider all angles. And be practical and smart about things. It's in the backyard, for crying out loud! FINALLY! That's why it's good to have a level headed member of the family to pull you in and remind you of the reality the situation holds. Granted, some days you are the crazy one and some days you are the level headed one. And I honestly don't believe one is always better than the other. I just believe they are both necessary.

So. Discussions continue to be held. Ideas continue to be shared. Dreams continue to be had. And plans continue to change. It's all good. Really.

One idea that is taking shape and I really hope doesn't change is what we intend to do with the inside "ceiling" of the bus. Once a conclusion is reached about the final insulation method, it needs to be painted. I, being the dreamy nature, Earth girl that I am - decided that I want the ceiling to be a sky. With clouds. Kind of like this:

photo taken in my backyard last weekend

I found a great video demonstrating almost exactly how I want it to look. Jim has given me the ok to do it this way and even suggested I do a practice run on an old piece of wood or something first to get the hang of it.

Even with this, the motto applies. Soon after agreeing we would paint a sky with clouds on the ceiling, Jim comes up with the idea to have the sky transform from a day sky to a night sky as it moves from the front to the back of the bus. He just so happened to have this idea at the exact same time that I was thinking about it. (We do that a lot.) So we are going to go for it and have a fading sky for a ceiling.

Then again, it's all subject to change.

Stay tuned to see how it all works out. If nothing else, it should be interesting.

She's been gutted and washed!

"We've gotten a lot done in a week, haven't we?", I stated casually to my husband after a productive day of work on the bus this afternoon.

"Well, we've gotten some visible stuff done this week.", he replied.

I've never built a house before but I've talked to a lot of people who have. I recall them being amazed at how quickly the framing, the roof, the walls, the floor, etc. all go up once work is started. But then the smaller things - the things that you don't see immediately - take longer and seem to take forever to complete. I'm assuming this is how it will be with the bus. Because we are building a house, right?

The visible stuff my wonderful husband was talking about is mostly the gutting of our beloved new future home on wheels. Fernie - my nickname for Resurrection Fern - no longer has her insides. Everything has been removed. And today we even took a couple of hours and pressure washed her a bit.

Speaking of which, we scored an awesome Troy Bilt pressure washer from my brother-in-law for the low, low price of $150. It's practically brand new and works like a charm. We considered renting or borrowing but decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity or this deal. So now we own a pressure washer and can use it anytime we need it. Which, I'm guessing will be quite often over the next few months.

Without further ado, here we have the progress so far.


This is what Fernie looked like in the beginning. She was a typical school bus full of bus seats to carry little ones back and forth to school.


Jim and Colin are proud to show off the removal of the first seat.


We picked one side and removed all the seats and backs in order to get them ready for removal.


One side is seat free.


All the crap that we swept up after removing the other side of seats. We put the loose change in a plastic cup. I think we probably scored a buck or two at least.


All the seats are gone and the middle strip on the floor has been pulled up.


Lauren and Jim stand for a moment and enjoy the site of our new shell of a home.


We are saving the plywood backs of the seats in case we can reuse them when building the cabinets, shelves, etc.


Early Saturday morning we made our first dump run to rid ourselves of the seat cushions.


The next step was to remove the rubber floor, which required Jim to bring out the angle grinder quite a few times.


One side of the floor has been successfully removed and it was time to for Jim to go pick up the pressure washer. The plan was for me to just straighten up the bus and we would do the other side on Sunday.


Like any good and obedient wife, I didn't listen. While he was gone (about 2 hours), I pulled up the other side. All that remained was the wheel well and what was underneath the heater and vents.


We are keeping the seat frames because we plan to reuse them to build storage frames for tanks/storage/etc.


We also kept all the hardware from removing the seats and floor because you can never have too many nuts, screws, and bolts.


It's all gone now. The seats are gone. The floor is gone. The heater and vent housing is gone.


Jim powers up the pressure washer for the first trial run.


After making sure it worked as needed, Jim let me play around with it for a little while.


Then Lauren got in on the action.


A thunderstorm crept up on us and we had to call it quits for the day. But this is what Fernie looks like right now with all her guts removed and her first inside bath.


Notes:
* Seat removal wasn't as difficult as we imagined but it did require a good bit of angle grinder use (a lot of screws were stripped and/or crusted over with goopy, sticky stuff and just wouldn't budge at all) and two people (one on top and the other underneath the bus). Total time to remove seats: Approximately 8 hours.

* Rubber floor removal was a little more difficult than the seats. We had to use the angle grinder quite a bit more to get all the screws removed and it took a lot more physical exertion to pull it up and get it out of the bus. Total time to remove floor: Approximately 8-10 hours.

* I am ever so grateful that there was no sub-flooring, just metal, under the rubber. There is a bit of surface rust but otherwise solid. We made sure to check both the top and crawled underneath to check the floor from the bottom.

* Our pressure washer has already paid for itself after the first use. I don't even want to imagine all the elbow grease it would have taken to remove all the sticky, gooey mess left behind from years of children sticking gum in every nook and cranny.


So there you have it - one week down and many, many more to go. Let the adventure continue.

Behind the name

Every Skoolie needs a name, and ours is no different. It took several days of thinking about it before we - as a family - agreed. Ok, truth be told only two of us really like the name. Jim (the husband) and I thought it was perfect. Lauren (the daughter) thinks it is corny, but still somewhat likes it (if you ask me). Colin (the son) is 12 years old and really doesn't care one way or another. Since we like to think that we live in a somewhat democratic household, the majority ruled and so the bus was named: RESURRECTION FERN.

I didn't even know what a resurrection fern was until I started listening to the glorious sounds of Iron and Wine. ("Resurrection Fern" is one of my favorite songs of his.) Discovering and exploring information about them was great for me because their story is very intriguing. As a survival mechanism, they wither and dry up under periods of drought and stress. To the outsider, they appear "dead". But when it rains, they rise from the dead and once again spring forth with life and beauty.

The human spirit is a resurrection fern. Our hopes and dreams are a resurrection fern. Under certain conditions, we may seem to be defeated and dead. But all it takes is one thing to change and we rise from the dead and spring forth with life once again. Such is the story of this journey for us. It has been in the making for a couple of years. Despite the desire to do this, life has seemed to get in the way and push it down. But the chance spotting of a school bus by my husband was all it took to revive it for us. We are once again full of life and pursuing this dream of ours.

Please join us on our adventure. It's sure to be full of ups and downs and round 'n rounds.

And for the record, she is definitely going to be painted GREEN.

Starting Point

I suck at first entries. Always have. So instead of a bunch of nonsense, I am skipping right to the meat of the project ---- THE BUS! On July 4, 2009 we brought her home and parked her in our back/side yard.



My brother-in-law gets ready to help direct my husband in backing the bus up into the driveway.




Trying to get lined up to enter the driveway but a ditch on the other side of the road poses a little problem.




Despite the obstacles, the bus makes it safely into the backyard. The school bus was retired and then purchased from a church, as so often happens. Then the church didn't need it so they sold it. We got a killer deal on this sweet baby--- $750!




And this is how she looks in the yard from the front. I can't help but wonder what our neighbors think about all of this.