Slow Sat. / Sun. . .

Seems like both Sich and I were feeling a little worn down over the weekend so progress was slow but steady.
Access panel behind toilet was made and fitted prior to putting in toilet pedestal as there really isn't much room once everything is installed.
It only requires water to be connected (the little cutout in the access panel is for the hose to come through) and a last little bit of waste pipe to be obtained and fitted and it will be functional!!
It is a shame but you can only buy it in 1000mm lengths - and all I need is the 100mm from the end with the O-ring seal - I'll have to get that Monday.
A trim seal can then be fitted around the pipe as it goes through the floor to neaten that up and it'll be done.























The shower base still needs the last of the fibreglass release agent cleaned off but that is also ready to go - almost.
The kitchen sink waste will end up joining up with the shower waste so I am going to wait to see just where that ends up before I connect it as I ended up installing the toilet and water pump twice as getting pipes where you need them in the restricted space is not all that much fun!


















Lastly the fan and light electrical connections were installed and tried out.
The light is actually more yellow than pink but the camera white balance hasn't been adjusted for this photo - but you can see the temporary battery connections for the test.























Monday will see the shower head and tap unit installed and then I need to solve the hand basin situation - but it's getting closer . . .

Silver (well White really) Linings . . . .

Well with the ceiling in it's time to start on the walls.
The rear shower wall is started first with a template cut to size and fitted with plastic edge trimmings to make sure it will all fit when the time comes.























And tried again with the proper sheet just to be sure, to be sure, to be sure.
At $100 / sheet it's best to be sure !!























Liberal adhesive applied again and then the sheet fitted and propped in place with the bottom well secured as the only thing it can do is slide down.























24 hours for that to set and start on the side wall.

A template is not quite so important here as the sheet can be cut slightly oversize and marked while fitting then reduced in side for an "exact" fit.
As there will be silicone involved a gap of 1-2mm will be acceptable.
The trick here is making sure the edge of the sheet is adequately chamfered so that it will slip easily into the plastic corner moulding without drama !!























Another 24 hours and the other side can be fitted























and fixed























In the mean time the wall behind the toilet with access panel and basin cutout can be laminated and fixed while staying away from the side walls.























All the props are then stripped out and all the joints without plastic fittings are siliconed to help prevent moisture problems.























Next is wiring for fan and lights (all 12Vdc) and shower fittings (which are a bit overboard but I couldn't resist) . . .

Cappng It Off . . .

Final arrangement of bathroom cupboard, air-con return ducting and water heater maintenance access panel cutout.























On the other side of the bathroom wall the air duct has been continued along the top LHS of the wall so it can be directed further into the "bedroom/dining room".
The return air duct has been cut out for the grille screen opening, bathroom wall has a cut-out panel for fitting water tank gauges and the body of the first cupboard making storage space above the ducting.























At the other end lining with insulation has been begun.


















Insulated underneath and final lining of 12mm lightweight ply completed at the dining end.


















In the bathroom a template is cut to test the fit for the laminate panels as templates are cheap - laminate isn't!


















The final laminate sheet is cleaned and scuffed by sanding for the glue to get a good grip, the ceiling is covered with a very generous pattern of "Soudal" adhesive and the panel lifted into place and propped in place.


















More props are added to try and keep the sheet flat.
This laminate is 3mm thick so a little bit stronger and flatter than the normal 1.2-1.6mm thickness used in most domestic situations.


















More props are added for overnight support while the glue sets.
























A more conventional view from outside the door.

(Air) Con Duct Becoming

Back to the interior . . .
The doorway and an adjacent panel temporarily placed in position to work out just how this would all go together in practice.























and taken out again to start creating the ducting for the air conditioning.
I didn't realise when I arranged the position of the air conditioner that "orientation" was all important!!!
The air intake is at the back of the unit on the right hand side (RHS) (when viewed from the back) and the outlet consists of three 60mm diam. circular ducts in the middle of the RH end.
On the side that I have it mounted the outlets point forward into the corner - you'd end up with a freezing loo but that's about it !
It also appears that this thing is specifically designed to be mounted at floor level to facilitate the return air inlet.
Altogether a not very convenient arrangement where I have it mounted - so here has been a lot of head scratching to make it all work.
The return air is on the wrong side of the bathroom wall so a large section has been cut out to create a duct opening.























This opening is then boxed in and a grill will be set into the front of it provide for the return air.























At the same time the outlet air is boxed in and directed into the space between the shelf above the air conditioner and the air conditioner box itself which forms a duct.


















A slot was then cut up through the shelf into the hollow wall which has been left short on this side. A further duct will be built along the ceiling level to accommodate several directional outlets.























And the remainder of the wall can then be closed in.
This portion of the wall will be used to mount several gauges and switches for monitoring fresh water, grey water and black water tank storage levels and turning on and off hot water and air conditioning units.
The space above the air conditioner will also be turned into a deep narrow cupboard opening to the RHS.























On the other side the inlet ducting is cut off at an angle to provide a little more room for the toilet seat (currently out of the way to make it easier to work).























Then the back wall of the bathroom is paneled in leaving quite a large space for cupboards above the hot water system.























The cut out below that is for quite an ingenious arrangement that I saw somewhere else which is a pull out hand basin. It is out of the way while using the toilet but can then be pulled out to wash your hands.
Below that a doorway has yet to be cut to allow maintenance access to the hot water system.























All the wires for gauges and controls are currently hanging out the wrong side of the wall until all the correct openings can be cut on the opposite side.

Belts and Braces . . .

With the bathroom partially framed up it's time to put in more insulation and work out from the shower corner.























While at that I decided that the floor where the toilet is to go needed extending by about 30 mm to meet the framed wall that will continue right across with a (very narrow) door for entry.
The easiest way to deal with this is to cut a new floor piece and to fill in the front of the step at the same time. You may remember from earlier comments that the toilet pedestal seat needed raising to be at a comfortable height - hence the step.























After this is all done the next sheet of 12mm ply can go in trimmed to match the floor and shelving.























Next day I had to attend to matters dealing with buying and selling buildings but in keeping with my friend Sich's philosophy of "Do something every day - no matter how small" I decided to deal with a little matter which has been put off too long.
The rear torsion mounts had been up to this time been held on only with U-bolts fitted with plain nuts and mild steel washers. Not the intended method.
Bolt holes had been provided for in the mount itself but never drilled through the chassis and bolted.
Time to fix it . . .























So - drill out the holes and fit grade 8 zinc plated hi-tensile bolts and hardened washers on the outside and























hardened washers and zinc plated "nyloc" nuts on the inside.























At the same time replace the mild steel washers and plain nuts with hardened washers and nylocs on the U-bolts as well


















A spray over with rust resistant black paint to match the chassis and "voila".


















Quite satisfying for a small amount of work - and potentially much safer - the way it was intended to be . . .

Soudal is Your Friend . . .

Having put all (there are sure to be some I have missed) the electrical wires in place it's time to start covering them all up.

After much searching for different types of insulation I discovered this flexible foam cell sheet with "aluminium" foil coatings on each side.
The sides are slightly different so there is a directional characteristic with "silver" on the outside and "gold"on the inside. It's better at keeping "things" out than in . . .
It also works best with an air gap on the "outside"and has an R factor of about 2.8 when used in this manner. Polyurethane needs to be about 50+mm thick to achieve the same rating and is not self supporting, unless bonded in between two panels it will disintegrate over time.
Not cheap but then nothing is.

So starting in the shower corner (which will determine a lot of the other dimensions) the sheet is cut to length and then held in place with 9mm thick x 50mm wide strips of ply screwed about every 200mm. This leaves a 25mm air gap in between all the structural components which are thermally isolated from the interior wall.























A sheet of 9mm thick ply is then screwed over the top of the battens for a ceiling and the appropriate cutouts made for exhaust fan / vent and lights and the cables pulled through.























Additional sheets of 12mm ply are then screwed over the top of the battens for the walls in the corner.
In addition if you look "real close" you can see the walls have had the lower portion routed out to make the shower base sit flush with the wall so a sheet of "melamine" can be overlaid and sealed to form the waterproof walls and ceiling.























The drain fittings are then installed to the shower base by cutting out with a hole saw and applying the appropriate sealer / adhesive to the fittings


















Taking care to mask everything off with tape


















So that when it's finished and cleaned up it looks like this


















from the top and like this from the bottom


















As a bit of "comic relief" the junction box for feeding the wires from the solar panels was also fixed to the roof and the the wires fed in from underneath. Care is taken at this point as the roof can end up being a bit of a "swimming pool"with a 3mm edging all around.














Once all the fittings are dry in the base a cutout is made in the floor for the drain to go through, the wall recesses and the base of the shower are also Soudaled (?) ( the base of the shower was previously leveled with various thicknesses of timber Soudaled in place).























This is then placed in position and screwed around the top edge to get the inside if the shower base flush with the wall so that that the melamine can go over the top and make an effective seal.























With the shower base in place a third (internal) wall can also be constructed out of 12mm ply rebated for the shower base.























This wall is framed in 40mm x 19mm thick straight strips of timber which will have another sheet of 12mm ply over the other side. The hot and cold water pipes will come up through the floor in the middle of the wall and the shower fixtures can then be mounted to the inside wall.























With the wall now (partially) framed its time to extend the insulation further down the roof and walls before continuing the bathroom fit out.