Epiphany's Vardo

[Epiphany]

[Gold5one]

I thought about building a Gypsy Vardo- I went with a more conventional design.

[Epiphany]

I glued on the frame for the window today. I left the window shutter in so it stayed square. Hopefully I will be able to get the shutter off after it sets up.
I plan to have screens for the windows and then shut the shutters if air conditioning or heat is needed.

[Epiphany]

It was above freezing during the day when I started this. The lady at the paint department warned me not to buy some exterior paint because she said that it needed to be over 40 degrees for 3 days. I thought I would do it in the sun room, which is 60 degrees during the day. I bought a roll of duck canvas at the Surplus City north of Altoona for $4.99 a yard. I decided to cut a piece and put it in the washer. I had added some extra length for shrinkage, but it shrunk 8 inches!! and it was terribly wrinkly. After reading some more, I tested the nice and wrinkle free canvas I had bought with some drops of water. They soaked right in, so I realized there wasn't sizing on it afterall
So I put the canvas on, glued it down with TBII but didn't cut it off the roll, for fear it would shrink terribly. It didn't shrink at all though. The glue must counteract the shrinking motion sufficiently. It ended up fairly smooth.

I found some white cinder block flat paint in the garage left from the previous owners. I used that for the first two coats. Then I used the grayish color I had purchased over the objections of the paint lady at Lowe's. The wrinkles all shrunk out. Beautiful.

[Epiphany]

I had put a space heater in the sun room, to try to keep the temperature above 40 degrees. However when it got to 51 degrees I decided that wasn't going to work so I moved the whole thing INSIDE!! I didn't even take off the Christmas tablecloth off the table first. In this picture I am gluing the first layer around to the other side. I put 1 x 3 boards under it and on the chairs so it didn't dent.

[Epiphany]

This is a picture of the fancy hors d'oeurves toothpicks I was using to tack the canvas down.

[Epiphany]

I failed to take pictures of the painting process. Somehow my phone and paint shouldn't mix. But I put 4 coats of paint over the canvas on the front and back of the foam. It turned out super smooth -- just like you all described! I am very relieved.
This is a picture of the wood frame that I will attach to the wall. It is just dry fit right now. I went and bought a jig for dowel pins. It works great. Behind it you can see the other wall without canvas. I am debating about when to stain the wood frame, before or after I glue it on to the wall. It is fairly fragile right now. Possibly if I glue it all together it would be less so. Or I could stain each piece separately and then glue them together? I don't want to mess up the paint. I have some Spar Varnish that is UV resistant that I will paint the whole thing with, including the painted wall later. I will stain the wood trim a wheat colored stain and then add a red window cover, so it will match the front of the vardo. The window cover is an old cabinet door I got from the Restore. Possibly I should hinge it to the bottom of the window frame. It has to stay in the house one more day for the paint to cure. Apparently, the lady at the paint department was right!

[S. Heisley]

To ensure that you can separate glued items from things that you don't want glued, use waxed paper between the glued items and those that you don't want to glue. If, when you read this, it is too late, try using a thin putty knife or a chisel scraper (aka. a putty or paste spatula) to separate them. Don't pry. Tap the spatula straight down into the crack; remove and re-tap in the next place and so forth until you have loosened it all the way around.

[KCStudly]

I have found that plastic coated freezer paper (butchers paper) works better than waxed paper. The waxed paper is more fragile and can break down. Depending on the glue, the freezer paper can stick a little in spots, but it scrapes off easily with a paint scrapper.

[Epiphany]

To use waxed paper or freezer paper is a great idea. I use parchment paper on the cookie sheet. I should have thought of that. It didn't stick though.

[Epiphany]

Here is the trailer with the base on it. The wall will be attached to the side rails. I will add some 1 x 2's to the rail to keep the walls from slipping. However, I will not be driving down the road with the walls up. They will fit down onto the floor and the roof will be latched down to this base over all the walls. So it will be wide and short when driving.

[Epiphany]

Here is a sketch up drawing of what the trailer will look like with the roof closed. I will use 2" foam covered in painted canvas on the ends, 2" x 2" lumber lengthwise and pvc pipe on the curve. I will drill 1" holes in the 2 x 2 lumber and insert the pvc pipes. Over all of it I will put solexx panels, which are uv resistant which will be screwed in with screws and soft neoprene washers to seal out moisture. I have some aluminum teardrop trim to put over the solexx. I want to make sure the solexx panel doesn't fly off when I am driving down the road. Any suggestions? Also, should I cover it in something other than canvas for the front of the trailer where the little stones will hit? If so, what?

[Epiphany]

It's sort of like a teardrop, only sideways.