Redos and Yahoos

Another update on Ol' Mabel. 

The roof vent had to go. It was old. It was rusty. It was crusty. But perhaps its worst offense was that it leaked real bad. Because of this leaking, the boards around it had warped into a bow shape allowing water to pool on the top and only make the leaking worse. 

I filled the extra holes (there were like two sets of screw holes) with metal filler. I then sanded the area down and cleaned it up. I then installed the new vent with fresh putty to seal and adhere it and RV "goop" to further weather proof the screws.

We've had plenty of rain since then and not a leak yet! 

This is the underside. I replaced the shorter side boards that frame the vent. I doubled the wood and added a layer of wood to the bowed boards also. Now water runs off and away from the vent instead of pooling at the top and seeping in. 

Still gotta replace the paneling.....soon! 

 We removed the eye sore of the newer lights above the original lights - we'll be patching those left over holes soon. We then took out the original lights, removed as much rust as we had patience for, checked the bulbs, replaced the gasket rings and put in new plastic. Eric spent a whole Saturday getting these things wired - and we're now road ready! 

Eric has also been diligently working on cleaning up the backsplash in the interior. I love how it ISN'T shiny. It gives it a little bit of that industrial look. 

He's also been cleaning the windows! 

 Almost like new! 

Our big task this last weekend was getting the back paneling replaced. We had some issues, and it's not perfect, but it feels so good to get that done! One big step closer to what I'm really excited about....painting the interior! 

Before

After

Remember when I took out, reframed and reinstalled that window? Well, after some rain storms it came to my attention that it was still leaking! What's the point of putting up new framing and paneling if it's going to just leak. After all the research we've done I determined I had to take that thing out AGAIN, remove the silicone I had previously used and install it again using the same putty I used around the roof vent. So that's exactly what I did. It was super annoying, but I feel 100 times better about it. 

And that's about it for now. 

I've been working on the ice box - so I hope to have some pics for you soon. 

My next goal for Mabel is to get the ceiling paneling installed and ready to paint!