Hi-Lo Renovation Day 1

So work begins this week on the 61 Hi-Lo. {You can click on any photo below to make it larger}

Setting up a work space
The first order of business is to move the trailer into the carport so I have somewhere to work that is dry in case it rains.

Removing Seams
Next I had to remove all the seams. This means unscrewing a ridiculous about of screws and some of them being more stubborn than others. Which of course is testing my patience. So why am I removing the seams? Why not just go straight to installing subfloor, flooring, painting the exterior, etc.,? Well, mainly because I need to see what’s under the skin and how much rotted wood I’m dealing with so I can replace it.

Oy! Silicone yuk!

Removing Windows
I kind of feel like I got off easy with removing the windows since there is only two of them. I also removed the drip caps above each window. Tip: When you get all the screws unscrewed, use a putty knife to loosen the window from the trailer so you can remove it. It’s handy to have a second person there to hold the window just in case it drops. With these I actually had to peel and pry them off as the putty and silicone was pretty strong.

Here is a quick video…HA! I didn’t realize Biggy was playing in the background.

Removing the Skin Hmm, not too bad right?

The top half of the door was removed by accident when I unscrewed some aluminum. So I guess by default the door and hinge would of had to come off anyway. So the wood isn’t too bad however, there is usually a surprise and here it is at the bottom lower corner just to the right of the door. Yikes! This is what it looked like AFTER I picked at it and basically was tearing it up to see just how far the rot went.

I think what I’m going to have to do is cut off about 12 inches up from the bottom of that panel and replace it. It’s challenging to replace the entire thing because of the way this is built. It’s not built like a house where you have studs every 16 inches. So far I’ve only seen that on the curb side but not on this side of the trailer. Odd I know. Anyway, so that rot will all be cut out and replaced. See why I wanted to take the skin off and have a look?

Removing the Roof – Part 1

The curb side skin is giving me a heck of time! It’s a challenge to remove it because you have the electric box on that side. There is quite a few more screws on this side as well. Two screws in particular I unscrewed only to find out that they were holding the guides! Oops. The guide fell {The guides are what basically guides the roof up and down into place. Not to be mistaken for the cables}. So I had to mess with that for 20 minutes trying to get them in place and screwed back in. Once I had them back in I took a flashlight and peeked down in between the skin and the wood. This side has studs. Interesting. I couldn’t see any evidence of rot that needed my immediate attention so I thought there is no way I’m attempting to remove this side skin completely. The challenge though is on this side the roof edging hangs over the side and then is stapled with these itty bitty staples. So how to get all the staples out with the side skin in place is the challenge. I’m having to pull the skin out away from the top edge and little by little take out the staples that are holding the roof edge down. It’s painstakingly slow. I also have 6 rusty screws in the rear that won’t budge that are holding that roof on. Uhhg! I tried WD-40 and no luck so I may have to try and cut them off. Anyway, by 6pm after putting in almost a full day I have decided to call it good for today and start again tomorrow.