The biggest eye sore on the airstream has been the oversized, after-market swamp cooler. I wanted it taken off the second it hit our driveway, but removing it required the skills of a talented metal guy. That’s where our friend Hot Rod Ron comes in. Ron came over today to help Matt seal the roof up, after Matt took off the evap cooler. After the existing metal was exposed under the evap cooler, Ron used a cut-off wheel to cut the metal straight, both on the roof and inside the ceiling. They then went to go pick up 2 sheets of aluminum, a tube of silicone and a rivet gun to patch the roof. Matt cut the aluminum sheets down to size and Ron walked Matt through the patch job. We have to get some insulation before we patch up the inside, but that will happen in the next day or so. Thanks Ron for all the help today. We owe you big time!
Posts Tagged ‘1974’
Project # 9: Remove Evaporative Cooler From The Roof
Posted in Before photos, Renovation, roof, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, before photos, exterior, renovation, roof, Sovereign on August 19, 2011| 2 Comments »
Project #8: New Electrical Outlets and Speaker Update
Posted in Before photos, kitchen, living area, paint, tagged 1974, 31', before photos, electrical outlets, paint, renovation, Sovereign, speakers on August 19, 2011| 3 Comments »
Yesterday our friend Christine and her son Espen came over. They came right before a big dust storm hit, so we had to close up the airstream while the storm rolled through. This morning we worked on installing new electrical outlets and covers to continue with the crisp white updates. We also took down the 70s wall speakers and spray-painted the yellowed plastic white. The speaker grills look like little chocolate bars…I wanna eat them. We have to connect a couple wires up to see if the 8 track player works. We’ll probably work on that tomorrow.
Gucci Gucci
Posted in Flooring, Renovation, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, before photos, exterior, ikea, renovation, Sovereign, twin beds on August 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This song has been playing non-stop around here.
We washed the outside of the airstream yesterday and picked up our new beds and flooring from Ikea. Then our friend Mary stopped by to help us do some cleaning. A dance party always follows us. Meow!
Project #7: Beds
Posted in bedroom, Renovation, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, bedroom, ikea, inspiration photos airstream, renovation, Sovereign, twin beds on August 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Do you know how hard it is to find mattresses that fit in a 1974 Airstream Sovereign? Let me tell you….it’s REALLY hard. I bookmarked probably 20 different mattresses I found online, but they were either an inch to long, 3 inches too short or I couldn’t find matching depth. I needed 2 mattresses: 76″ x 29″ and 76″ x 34″.
After taking a trip to Ikea to buy laminate flooring, I decided to take their little tape measure thingy to all their mattresses and sofa beds. I struck out with like 9 out of 10 mattresses, then I came across the Beddinge Lovas sofa-bed. I didn’t need the frame, so I measured out the mattress, which is W 55 1/8″ x L 78 3/4″ x D 4 3/4″. There were 3 different mattresses available for the sofa bed. I bought the $90 foam one that comes with a gray cover. Additional covers are available for $79 each. Even though I wanted white beds, it’s not worth the extra money to get white covers. So, now gray is in our color scheme. I thought I would have to cut some of the foam out to shorten the length to 76″, but somehow the mattresses fit perfectly. They are like 2 little couches that can be laid flat to turn into a bigger sleeping space or used just as they are set up.
Check out the before and photos (I kinda staged them with pillows I already had, but the color scheme will be a bit different than this):
Inspiration Photos
Posted in inspiration photos, Renovation, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, inspiration photos airstream, renovation, Sovereign on August 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
These are some of the photos we’ve been compiling to inspire our renovation. We are thinking of a Trina Turk (Palm Springs-based clothing and residential textile designer) meets 70s meets mid-century modern theme.
The Renovation List
Posted in bathroom, kitchen, living area, Renovation, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, renovation, Sovereign on August 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
We have been throwing around ideas for how to renovate an airstream, long before we actually bought one. We first thought we would gut the interior and start from scratch. That would be the easiest way to get a fresh modern-looking interior. However, we don’t want to sink $5,000+ into the airstream, if we don’t have to. We figured out that we are going to try to salvage any of the walnut finishes throughout and work off that wood tone for decorating. I’m sure we’ll think of more work that needs to be done, but these are our priority items for the renovation:
Kitchen
-Paint walls and ceilings white (done)
-Clean the cooktop, sink and stove (sink and stove done)
-Clean the inside of all cabinets
-Replace ceiling light panel with new white one
-Replace the worn and broken tambour fronts on the kitchen cabinetry
-Replace the cracked countertop with a white, orange or green laminate
-Install new drapery
-Replace receptacles and covers with decora white ones
-Install a new RV refrigerator
-Install new dark wood laminate flooring
Living Area
-Paint walls and ceilings white (done)
-Clean the inside of all cabinets
-Install new dark wood laminate flooring
-Replace ceiling light panel with new white one
-Replace the front reading lights with silver ‘bullet-style’ sconce covers
-Install new drapery
-Replace receptacles and covers with decora white ones
-Replace the 8 track player with a stereo and aux jack (we’ll keep the 8 track player, in case we decide to ever use it again)
-Install a wall mounted long countertop with a pull out dining table (Matt will make this piece)
-Install a sofa bed (one that can be turned into a lounger, sofa and bed)
-Get a couple comfy chairs for lounging or dining
-Spray paint the speaker surrounds white to match the new white paint throughout
Bedroom Area
-Paint walls and ceilings white (done)
-Install new beds (done)
-Clean the inside of all cabinets
-Replace ceiling light panel with new white one
-Replace missing window screens
-Get new pull trim piece for tamboured cabinet door
-Install new center support beams for twin to queen mattress conversion
-Get bedding and pillows for the new beds
-Replace receptacles and covers with decora white ones
-Install new drapery
-Install new dark wood laminate flooring
Bathroom
-Paint walls and ceiling white (done)
-Epoxy bathtub, sink and counters (done)
-Install new large pebble, mosaic tile or retro thick linoleum flooring
-Install matchstick bath and sink skirting
-Change out the cracked amber plexiglass in shower door for new opaque plexiglass and paint brass frame silver
-Change out bathtub fixture
-Change out sink faucet
-Install new RV toilet (just arrived today from Amazon)
Mechanicals/Systems
-Remove evaporative cooler from roof and patch roof with riveted metal (hopefully happening tomorrow)
-Set up a battery charger
-Re-key the door and all outside storage bins (done)
-Install a 30 amp receptacle in our garage to provide enough power to test the AC (currently the 15 amp one doesn’t provide enough power)
-Install a missing black water tank
-Install a missing gray water tank
-Install 2 new propane tanks
-Get the old suburban heater, stove and cooktop checked out professional
-Install a new water heater
-Install new window and door seals (ordered from out of doors mart online)
-Replace burnt out light bulbs inside and out
-Check all plumbing
-Check all electrical
-Replace the awning
-Buff and polish the exterior
We’re making good progress in the short 8 days we’ve owned it.
Project #6: Epoxying the bathroom
Posted in bathroom, Before photos, paint, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, bathroom, before photos, epoxy, paint, renovation, Sovereign, tambour on August 17, 2011| 1 Comment »
From my previous posts, you’ve probably seen that plastic from the 1970s doesn’t age well. It turns yellow and stains really easily. After watching a rad tutorial online from the show Classic Rides, I learned how I could transform my tub, sink and counters with epoxy paint. We went to Lowes to find epoxy and came across one that didn’t say it was suitable for plastic, but we took a risk with it and bought it. The results are nothing short of amazing. The new finish was applied with a 6″ foam roller and a 2″ foam paint brush. 3 hours of applying two coats of epoxy and it’s ready for some pretty new fixtures.
Project #5: Painting
Posted in bathroom, Before photos, Flooring, kitchen, paint, weight loss, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, bathroom, before photos, kitchen, renovation, Sovereign, tambour on August 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
After everything was primed throughout, we painted with Olympic no voc paint in a natural white. It is amazing what a difference paint makes!
Before photos: Bathroom
Posted in bathroom, Before photos, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, bathroom, before photos, renovation, Sovereign on August 17, 2011| 1 Comment »
The nastiest room in the airstream was the bathroom. I become slightly less offended by it, as I paint over the aged plastic surfaces. Check out the before photos of the bathrooms. I had to remove a bunch of broken inserts for the metal trim and also remove contact paper from the counters, which revealed a lot of staining. We are going to be epoxying the tub, sink and counters to breathe in new life to the bathroom. We had to remove the toilet, as it wasn’t an RV toilet. We are going to replace the plexiglass in the shower door and spray paint the icky brass silver. We are also going to switch out plumbing fixtures. We haven’t done a full test of the plumbing yet because we don’t have a black water tank. Apparently, if you live in an airstream full-time and have it parked, you remove essential systems for a traveling trailer…boo! We also have plans to do a mosaic or pebble rock floor in the bathroom. I bought some dark matchstick bamboo for the bath skirt, but I might try to find something better to line it.
Project #4: Prime all the wall and ceiling surfaces
Posted in Before photos, paint, priming walls, weight loss, tagged 1974, 31', Airstream, before photos, paint, priming walls, renovation, Sovereign, weight loss on August 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I have lost 8.5 lbs in 6 days. I have only owned the Airstream for 6 days! Until we get a 30 amp outlet installed in our garage, we don’t have enough power to test the AC. So, that makes for a hotttttttttttt working area. When it’s like 104 outside, it feels like 104 inside the Airstream. I have a temperature gun….I am going to test the inside vs outside temperature to see which is hotter…inside or outside the airstream.
Priming the walls was a nightmare….2 long days of taping and priming with thick gooey oil-based primer. I don’t want to see oil-based primer again for as long as I live. Trust me, neither do you. Priming plastic tambour was a painful experience. I have to get into every little groove and ensure that I didn’t paint the sliding cabinet doors shut. Christie and Matt helped me prime, which made it go a lot quicker.
airstreamy 