Apartment Therapy! , & Airstream Open House!

Good news.  The loft I designed and built in Oakland is featured on Apartment Therapy (.com). 
In response to a couple of the comments about the sheetrock and ceilings, I thought I would post a few pics that show the framing in progress.

This was easily the most complex thing I've ever framed.  It's basically a series of arched steel trusses, similar to a bridge, joined by ribs.  I wish I had a photo looking straight up from the floor.  That was one of the coolest views.





Obviously, my drywaller is pretty talented.

In AIRSTREAM news:

There will be an Official Open House for the AIRSTREAM the weekend of December 12-13th, which will correspond with the Berkeley Open Studios.  Conveniently enough, the open studios takes place at the Sawtooth Building in Berkeley, which happens to be the same location as our shop and the Airstream.

By the way, this blogging website has changed the way things are entered and formatted, and I can't get it to display images properly.  I'm not much of a computer guy, and unfortunately, I feel like the computer does a good job of making work that would otherwise seem impressive look pretty dumb.

Ventura California. Looking for new shop.

This week is a little slow. We're in Ventura looking for our new Southern California shop location.
In the meantime, here's a couple of gratuitous pics.

The new Deluxe Sofa Bed design, which is based on the prototype I built a couple of weeks ago. I personally designed the operating mechanism and think the bed will ultimately be one of the Airstream's highlights.
You'd have to see it in person to see why.

I hadn't included any pictures with the floor in previous blog entries,
so here you go.

Not bad.

Side table / Cabinet designed for a friend.

A lamp I designed last night.

Little X Little, the Airstream lives on.

I've gotten through most of the tedious interior work. The stuff that takes the most time, but is the least interesting (electrical, plumbing, leak repairs, caulking, hole
fixes, riviets, clean-up, etc..). I'm finally well into the fun stuff.

Masking Tape Removal

The finished paint scheme

Check out these cool coat hooks.

I hate to admit it, but they're IKEA. At least they're not particle board.

I've had trouble articulating what I was trying to accomplish with the paint scheme.

I'll let you be the judge.

What I was going for, was mid-century Space/RV/TV Sci-Fi. Not the cool part of Sci-Fi, but more like my impression of the kind of graphic design an old guy would do for a NASA office, 1965. Before Star Wars. An era when people thot we'd all be driving flying cars by the year 2000. A little bit Six Million Dollar Man, but in this case, more like Six Hundred Dollar. I also didn't want to use too bold of colors. Something simple, official, clinical and sanitized.





As much as I want to show everyone all that I've accomplished so far, I don't want to reveal too much too quickly. For now, here's a few shots of the sofa-bed prototype, which has been completed since these photos were taken.



You should also check out this cool link, which was in Monday's SFGate, the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Finally, here's a shot of the new door knob. Someone had drilled the lock out of the original one, and I couldn't find replacement parts. $160 later...

Airstream Electrical, and a little polishing

This things taking forever. I'm having a good time though. We don't really have it in the budget to polish the Ambassador, but I had to see what it would look like if we did, so I stuck a guy on the back end with a buffer. It's every bit of the process that people warn about on the websites, and 300 hours seems about right for someone who can work hard. The rest of you might end up spending 500 hours.
Juan was doing fine with the aircraft polishing compound and the equipment we had, but a couple hours into the first day a loud chain smoking hippie came by.
"Flour! You gotta use Flour!"
He spent several emphatic minutes preaching to Juan about the merits of flour, how it would save his tarnished soul. Juan stared blankly at the man, as if he were speaking a foreign language, which of course, he was. Then the man proceeded to take the buffer from Juan and began to work a 2x2 section.
"How do you slow this thing down? Here.... wipe that off."
He grabbed Juan's bicep, squeezing it while looking at me, "You gotta put some muscle into it! This guys strong" he said, as if trying to boost our confidence before the big game. "Just keep going. You guys'll get it!"
He was right. After he left I re-explained to Juan what the man had said, and his results instantly improved. The next day we had some flour, which he told us to put on our rags when wiping off the polishing compound. I guess that worked too.

And the results...

Here's a few electrical changes, such as 110v track lighting.

I modified the original circuitry. I took the four 12v circuits that went to the original "Airstream Control Panel", figured out what went where, and diverted two of the circuits to a new 110v panel. The result was that I had two 12v circuits operating off of the original battery back up, powering the original fans, and a couple of 12v lights, .
Then, with the other 2 circuits now powered by the new 11ov panel, I was able to use the existing in wall Romex to hook up new 110v lights & receptacles, without having to actually re-wire much of anything. The only thing I screwed was leaving the 2 forward 12v sconces on a 110v circuit. Instantly blew the bulbs. I'm hoping I can just wire up a 12v transformer at the sconce and the problem will go away.

I also moved the "Airstream Control Panel", as you can see in this picture, and the one below. I temporarily mounted it on a piece of OSB approximately where it will end up once the new cabinetry is installed.

I added a couple more receptacles using surface mount "Wiremold" above where the new desk will be. When all is said and done, the trailer will have two 12v circuits, six 110v circuits, and one 220v circuit to operate the new electric on-demand water heater. I'll include the schematic I drew up in a future post, just in case it helps any owners of a 1968 Ambassador Twin.

New Item - Picture Frames, $50 each

I had a request for some custom picture frames. The client wanted 40, simple, white box frames. I've had requests from others as well, so I think I'll put together a frame package, based on the same design. I'll have to work out the details, but they'll probably end up around $1000 per 20 custom frames ($50 each), depending on size & finish. It's a lot of labor.

I didn't take any photos during the milling and assembly stages, but here are some assembled Poplar frames, prior to finishing.

Inspecting the surface and joints.

Another pass through the surface sander.

Frames in the finishing room. These received 3 coats of a Shellac based primer (sanding between coats, of course) and 2 coats of Satin Lacquer. Nothing but the best.

"And Voila!", as Gerard would say.

...and in the gallery.

1968 Airstream Retrofit Window Installation

Our 1968 Airstream arrived with 4 Jalousie windows that I believe, because of the wooden frame, were not original. They were dilapidated, falling apart, and none of the hardware was operational. After looking into replacement windows for an Airstream I realized we might vastly improve the original single-glazed window with a modern dual-glazed, insulated window. We were lucky because our 1968 Airstream was the last year before Airstream switched to the rounded corner window, thus allowing us to use a modern aluminum frame window designed for a conventional building.
I began by removing the Jalousie window sashes, wooden jamb, and then cut away the aluminum fins all the way around the window. The exterior side at the top had a hinge that ran the width of the window. From the inside I sliced the hinge from end-to-end, removing the articulated half that attached to the glass. I used a Dremel tool at the ends where the corners were too tight for my grinder to fit. I left the remaining piece of the exterior hinge in place which served as a typical Z-bar or window flashing.

Cutting the flange

I used a file to clean up the edges; an easy task with the relatively soft aluminum.

Here's a step I should've photographed more thoroughly. Because the new window was 3/4" thicker than the original I had to attach an additional piece of aluminum to the window where it would protrude inside past the original frame. I used a piece of 1" x 1/4" channel, cut to the window height, and attached it with rivets, in keeping with the original Airstream assembly techniques.

After removing the sash from the new window, I insert the frame. I had measured it close enough that the frame fit snugly with just enough room for minor corrections if the rough opening (which wasn't really rough) was out of square. I removed the top screw on the jamb side of the awning hardware.

The original awning hardware screw

I drilled through the hole where the original screw was through to the original window frame. I can't remember what size drill bit I used, but it was big enough for a #8 screw to thread into tightly. Check out my huge Popeye forearm.

I replaced the original small screw with a #8 x 1" Stainless Steel screw that went through the new window jamb and into the original frame. I did this on both sides, at the highest and lowest screws on the awning hardware.

Near the bottom of the window I drilled another hole for the #8 screw.

I tapered the hole with a countersink.

The tapered hole.

By the way: I wouldn't bother trying to level the window as you would in a typical house installation, since the trailer itself may not be level. However, I would try to make it square. Also, you may want to put a couple of additional screws at the top, but they need to be much longer, because there is a larger space between the new and existing frames. Do not put screws in the bottom, as this increases your chances for leaks. The weight of the sash hangs on the side frames. The top and bottom bare no weight.

I inserting the sash.

Both the sash and frame get masked, for clean caulking lines.

I can't remember exactly what caulking I used, but it is from the Sonoplast family. I used the aluminum color, of course. I caulked the entire perimeter, leaving a small weep hole at the bottom left and right corners (which, because of the angled wall, may not work).

The tape has been carefully removed while the caulking is still a little wet (after about 1/2 hour). A beautiful, insulated, dual-glazed window with modern awning hardware, that works great!

The window is an IWC 21-1/4" x 39" Aluminum Block Frame Dual Glazed Low-E Glass Awning Window, approx $300 plus installation.

Etsy Handmade Moment Video