T-minus 6 Days

It's been an exciting time as the progress on the bus is happening fast!  We have 6 days until we are to be moved into the bus!!!  Luckily tBrother is moving into our current cabin, so we have a little wiggle room re: exact current cabin vacating date.  tBOY and I are aiming to be in by the 1st.  We are tired of this state of limbo where we're living in a we-are-about-to-move-so-there's-no-point-in-cleaning mess!

So what's new?  tCarpenter has been working on the front of the bus and it looks amazing...

The operating panel has been nicely covered in wood.
A rod has been put in for hanging coats (see hanger).

Storage space has been created above where the jackets will be hung.

The cover for the chest has been cut so that it can open all the way
(instead of hitting the steering wheel).

Here is the inside of the chest.  The raised section is the bracket for mounting the driver's seat.

The front wall has been panelled :)!

An old bookshelf has been converted into a shoe rack at the entrance of the bus.
The blinds on the right cover the air conditioning vents of the bus.
It can be opened when needed (when driving).

The exterior wall of the bathroom is being panelled.
(Once again, the talented tCarpenter)

The before-panelling (right) and after-panelling (left) bathroom wall.
Also, the door frame has been built along with the trim around it.

The switches have been covered with white plates
and wood to cover the metal.

Trim has been added along the arch of the ceiling.
Small detail, but so important for the overall look of the bus :)!
(The wood covering the metal rod has been removed while I varnish the shelves)

Trim has been added to the back wall and along the clothing shelf.

Our rented land will not have a septic tank.  Which means no flushing toilets :(!  So we have a composting toilet.  Nope.  I'm not stoked about this one.  But luckily tBOY (my love) has promised to take on the responsibility of emptying it (blah!)  tBOY did the research and the one we got has great reviews (i.e. does not smell).  It is apparently a popular model for boats.

There are separate compartments for liquids and solids.  Liquids can be emptied out in nature or into another toilet.  Solids become compost (it better!) and can be put into one's regular trash... or into the garden??? (Don't worry, not mine!)

So here it is.  THE composting toilet.
It takes up less space and costs 10 times more
than the regular toilet we initially bought.
Sigh!

As mentioned in the last post, we have decided to go with a regular shower base
(vs. metal or plastic barrels).
It looked square in the picture online, but came in this funny shape.
Can anyone tell me what the point of this parallelogram is?
The hole for the drain is not cut (even though we paid over $200 for this thing!)
and it looks like the outline for it is smaller than the standard drain (sigh!)
Thanks goodness for tCarpenter who will figure it out.  

Our gas stove :)!

Washer

Dryer

The land is almost ready.  The spot for the bus has been created.

Trench for the water pipes...

that travelled through the horses' pen.

That day, the horses had to stay in their stalls for the morning (thanks horsies!)

tBOY had to make a few runs to the big box home building store (poor guy).
But he finally got the right fittings for the pipes (phew!)

Yep.  They work.

As for tDog.
She has been hanging out in the middle of all the construction and breathing in sawdust.
But as usual, no complaints from her - ever!

Me?  I've been sanding, varnishing, filling in holes in the wood.

Happy Bus Home Owner!

More Photos!

The weather has been really nice lately and I've been spending as much time outdoors as possible...

ttDOG sunbathing by the lake

and each time I think of doing a blog update, I end up choosing to go out to play instead :)!  But people have been asking about what is happening with the big yellow school bus, so I'm doing another mostly-photos-update.

tCarpenter using creative ways to ensure that the shelves are perpendicular
(another challenge of working with the curved ceiling of the bus)

Ceiling before the panelling

Getting ready for the panelling.  Covering the appliances and countertops.

Method #1: Glueing the panels to the ceiling.

We quickly realized that method #1 was not working.
The glue took 10-15 mins to dry and required pressure to stay on
the ceiling.  It would be too inefficient to have us stand there holding it
until it dried.  So we went to method #2: Screwing the panels (with glue) on
the metal to hold panels in place until the glue dried.
(Future project for tBOY and me: remove the screws and fill the holes.)

Method #2 working well.

Voilà!  Beautiful :)!

tDog hanging out.  The back of the bus (emergency door sign)
before the panelling.

The back of the bus panelled.

The shelves that run along both sides of the bus.
Held up with metal rods that need to be covered up...

Instead of using pre-cut wood from the big box store,
we decided to go with a more natural material.
A felled tree from a nearby forest...

There it is!
And that's me holding up the panel covering the wiring for the lights.

Tah Dah!

We have decided to go with 2 of these base board heaters instead of a wood stove (for now).
Wood stoves take up quite a bit of space (in the small bus space) and it also requires
space around it.  We decided that for now, we prefer to have a couch vs. a wood stove.
We will see how it feels this winter.  The layout is designed so that a wood stove
can be put in on a later date.

The metal between the windows are covered with wood.
The metal casing for the plugs and switches will also be covered by wood (below).
Note: the grey covering is temporary. All switches and plugs will be white.

Our cast iron sink has a brand new faucet
(that I got from Craig's List for a great price!)

The bus has a real door!

Door from the inside.

This is the bench where the driver's seat was.  It can be removed so
the seat can be put back when the bus needs to be driven.

It is in fact a chest to store mitts, toques, scarves
and doubles up as a bench for putting on shoes :)!

Covering the metal along the front of the bus.

The bathroom walls have been covered up.

The inside of the bathroom has been insulated and cedar panels will line the walls
(as cedar is naturally resistant to water).

Meeting with tPlumber about the shower.  We have finally decided to scrap the barrel idea and have
 ordered a shower base.  So now we will have two planters (the metal one and this plastic one!)

Plumbing under the sink

Plumbing under the bus.

And where is this bus going to reside you ask?  Well.  A few hundred meters from our current cabin!  So moving will be made easy.

The land is treed...

So the landlord cut some trees and flattened the area with a tractor.
The bus will sit inside below the trees (to the right of tBOY).

This is what we will see when we look out the bus (you can see our current cabin on the far left).
Where tDog is, we will build a tall fence for privacy and create a closed area for our patio
where tDog can hang out.  Beyond our fence, the cows will be grazing!

Phew!  That was a lot of work!  But luckily there is always time for some lunch.

As I type this, an excavator is clearing more trees/roots to create a clearing for the bus.  It will also dig the trench for the water pipes.  When that is done, the electricians will come and build a power pole and set up for the local utilities company to give us power!

Well.  There you have it.  We hope to move in by July 1 (or before!)  We can't wait to finally settle into our new home.