Have I bitten off more than I can chew - I like a challenge

[Timmo]

I appreciate your honesty and openess Roy.
The chaps that we talked to last week at the horsebox place seemed to be strong advocates of using evostick contact adhesive for everything..So much so that we even asked them if they were sponsored by evostick!!!
Cheers
Timmo

 

[Digit]

When I was a newly married we purchase a house that was incomplete, the builder having gone broke in that credit crunch!
One the jobs not done was floor coverings in the kitchen.
I bought two sheets of 1/8 thick vinyl from a shop in Northampton and proceeded to cut one in to 12in squares and a contrasting one to form a panel 4ft X 3ft.
I marked out the floor then picked up the tin of impact adhesive and read the instructions.
Adhesive goes off in 10minutes at room temperature.

The next five minutes were probably hilarious to any onlooker, but resulted in the fastest operation you will ever see! Just trying to coat the floor and the sheet of vinyl in that time was near impossible!
Ah! My youth, where has it gone?

 

[Timmo]

10 mins..Wow..At least you had manageable sizes pieces to work with and not 1 big piece for the whole floor ..IF I take out the big floor to ceiling cupboard then at least that will leave a nice rectangle (ish) to apply the ply and vinyl to...Should do any harm making some bench type seat / cupboards that then sit on top of that and it will probably look neater...

 

[Digit]

Sounds fine to me. Pity you don't live near here. My local supplier is selling 18mm cabinet quality ply at £15 per 8 X 4 sheet.

 

[Timmo]

You're Shi**ing on me...Seriously?
This Horsebox place that fits them out and sells the sheets aswell wants £29 ish for them...And I am not sure if that is 18mm or not..
Where are you? At least if I need to travel and pick up I can take the wagon and get a load of 8 x 4 sheets in the back....

 

[Timmo]

OK - I see in your sig that you are in Wales..Not North Wales perchance? I am in Cheshire..

 

[Timmo]

Oh..We are talking about the stuff that is veneered on one side aren't we?

 

[Digit]

Nope! Form a queue behind me! :lol: That's inclusive of VAT I might add, the downside is I've now got to make a new kitchen for her indoors. It's fair faced on both sides, and weep, my son is using it for flooring!
I'm just north of Cardigan. If you're serious about travelling let me know and I'll PM you my address etc and book what sheets you want.

 

[Timmo]

Cardigan..oh..that is a bit far..bummer..thank you kindly for the info and the offer though...When you say "fair faced" what does that mean..veneered?
Thanks again Roy..

 

[Digit]

It does, both faces in fact.

 

[Timmo]

Thanks - found this on some wiki aswell:

Fair faced

This is a whole category of veneered and finished plys suitable for furniture making. Strong and dimensionally stable, the outer layers of veneer are usually cut from a more attractive hardwood, that will look to all intents and purposes like a solid hardwood when assembled and finished. Depending on the veneer chosen, these can be expensive (although still cheaper than solid hardwood). Note that similar MDF cored products are also available.


But still...£15...That a lot less than £29..Well half in fact (God I am on the ball today )..Like I put earlier..the owners were worried that it might cost more than £10,000 which is no where near close and £30 seemed quite reasonable until you said about this...Hell..I think the 18mm WBP 8X4 sheets of ply in B&Q cost more than that easily....
Maybe I need to find a local supplier (I am still quite new to all this and have previously got all my wood from B&Q although I find Wickes stuff is better quality!!! )

 

[Digit]

My local chap is a one off Timmo, though in the past I have found that most areas have one. He buys and sells anything that he can make a profit on. Hard woods, soft woods, sheet materials, showers, bathroom fittings, plastic construction materials, second hand machines. He's even got a coffin at the moment!

 

[Timmo]

Hi Roy and anyone else reading..
I started work on the horsebox the other day which basically involved removing a load of the blue carpet lining which can be seen in the pics..I got in a bit of a mess because the cupboard and set were fitted after the walls were lined so I had to take them out to get the carpet off the walls..I haven't got any pictures yet..Removing the carpet was a doddle...removing the aluminium trim which was glued to the carpet was a lot harder than I expected, but brute force prevailed
So what was I left with...you guessed it..a load of foam backing stuck to the 9mm ply :evil: ....So off I started with a wallpaper scraper...That was as much use as a chocolate fireguard but as I was working away from my workshop I didn't have my other tools at hand...So..Today I went back armed with a decent wirebrush and that worked a treat..I also bought a replacement blade for a floor scraper and used that after I had got most of the foam off with the brush and it worked pretty well...I am just contemplating having a quick go over with my belt sander to get it nice and clean before I start trying to glue to it...Obviously I will have to take it easy as I don't want to sand through layers of ply
I have noticed some area where damp has obviously got in so I will need to resolve that before I move forward..I am going to remove the side door and refit it making sure there is plenty of sealant around it as there is currently a gap at the top..Will also do the same with the windows...
I will get some more pictues when I am next over there to show it better..
So now I am in the position of preparing to move the bulkhead between the living quaters and the horse bit...Although I have a problem I need some help with please:
The 9mm ply on the living quaters side of the bulk head needs to be removed to gain access to the coachbolts...But instead of being held on with self tappers it has been nailed on :evil: ..Now apparently these are a special type of nail (they have a "P" on the head) which works in a similar way to a cavity fixing when nailed into the steel section? I have no idea how to get them out..although I will admit to not having tried the conventional way believing that these were special nails but I guess I should try just pulling them out...if that doesn't work then does anyone have any idea how to remove them, apart from scrapping the wood or getting an angle grinder on the nail heads..I don't need to reuse the wood as I will just reply but I am sure there must be a scientific way of dealing with these nails?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Cheers
Timmo

 

[Timmo]

The "P" on the head of the nails doesn't mean that it is a plasterboard nail does it?

 

[Digit]

You've got me on that one Timmo. No idea, but if they aren't hard it might be worth centre popping them then drilling the heads off.
Do find the source of the damp though.

Roy.

 

[MikeG.]

Can you punch the nail heads through the ply?

 

[Aled Dafis]

Sorry to interrupt chaps, but can you please let me know where those sheets are Roy. I'm not far from you, and at that price, it's too good to miss.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Digit]

Pen Parc, just north of Cardigan mate.
If you want the full details PM me Aled.

Roy.

 

[Timmo]

Can you punch the nail heads through the ply?

Thanks for the replies chaps...I'll try those suggestions...I haven't tried banging them through the ply as the heads are quite big and it would take a bit of force to do that...
I tried googling for about 20mins to try and find some reference to nails with a "P" on the head but couldn't find anything..
I'll try pulling them first and then the other suggestions...
Thanks again for the advice and yes, Roy, I will find the source of the damp..I think I already have and some of it is due to the poor design I believe but I will post some pics when I get some.
Thanks
Timmo

 

[Timmo]

OK - I am hoping this question might be a bit easier to answer..
Once I get all the walls (9mm ply) nice and cleaned off I want to start thinking about the cupboard arrangement and fixing...Now, bearing in mind this is what is classed as a "stick sided" vehicle..i.e. the steel framework is visible from the outside and inside it is clad with think aluminium and then the 9mm ply..How the hell would one go about securing "top box" kitchen cupboards to the ply...I have been scratching my head about this for a few days now nd come up with the following ideas so would appreciate any help / advice / agreement as to the best way forward..:
1. It will be relatively cheap and easy at the stage I am now to "beef up" the walls by adding another sheet of 9 or 12mm ply so I will have more "meat" to screw into when it comes to fixing the cupboards..
2. After I have clad the insides with the thin faced ply I could attach some battens with to the steel frame along where I want to have the cupboards to beef up where I will be screwing the cupboards into..
3..Or is there another way that you guys recommend? Bearing in mind there is no cavity or anything like that at all so I really only do have the thickness of the 9mm ply and the aluminiumsheet to screw into before I get to the outside.. I guess the other alternative is to rip out the ply from the walls...Attach battening to the metal frame and then totally reply it...That way I can use thicker ply and build in a cavity so I could use cavity fixings...Obviously a lot more work but now is the time to decide and I want to get the job done right...I want it to look professional inside and not like a botch job...Apparently we don't have to worry too much about weight on this box because we will only carry 2 horses..
I don't need to worry about the back section where the horses are or the bulkhead wall as there is space to screw into there...
What do you reckon?
Thanks
Timmo