One of the first major things that had to get done on the trailer was insulation, we just needed the time to do it. It worked out rather nicely that spray foam happens to be Ben’s profession so gaining access to it was rather easy and convenient, not to mention a major cost saver, and clearly the best option for the job.

So yesterday started with hauling everything out of the trailer, and we started with the ramp door. Screw by screw we took it apart and moved onto the walls and interior, we weren’t quite sure if we would end up spraying that day but were prepared to sleep in the trailer stripped if needed. This project will continue to progress as time and money allows, all the while having it for our permanent living quarters, so my standards have lowered drastically.

The ramp door came apart rather easily… I couldn’t imagine before we dove in how it would work etc when Ben would explain what we would need to do. But a few You Tube videos and 5 minutes in I had no problem working my way around that trailer.

This is really my first major project of anything construction related, so I’m asking Ben all the why’s, how’s, and why comes constantly. Once we got started everything just became common sense more or less and it flowed pretty easily. AND it was a lot quicker once he found the power drill for taking down the walls!

Here you can see the ceiling of the trailer, and in the process of the interior being stripped. I think I am going to leave the ceiling as is (meaning no drywall or ceiling cover). I like the strip of wood the way it is, so I think I am just going to get some darker stain for the wood, stain it and paint the metal, leaving the bars black. I have a few other things that I will plan to tie in with the ceiling wood strip, but I’ll save that for when the time comes.

Empty and ready for foam! 🙂

I did spray one tiny spot myself, but I didn’t want to make too big of a mess so I left it to Ben 🙂

Almost finished with the roof, just getting a coating on the foam. We decided to foam the roof and not the inside ceiling for a few reasons. One I just liked the look of the ceiling… Two, the black bars had a space between them and the sheet of metal above it, and its working out to be a great use for various gadgets, nets, and hooks. I want to make every space count in this small trailer so we thought this would be beneficial to keep.

I also want to reuse and recycle as many products and pieces as possible. (There is something we took off the trailer and I’m not sure WHAT I am going to do with it but it will be SOMETHING cool!) So anyways, above you see what the manufacturer used as a “trim” of sorts for the wooden interior. We ripped all of that out and some of it we cut up into small strips. We then put them above the beams and under the metal sheet that is the ceiling, between 2-3 pieces stacked for each spot. The reason we did this was so that when we foamed the roof it would still keep that space available for hooks etc.

Figuring out how to insulate the underside of the trailer was looking to be the biggest struggle but it actually didn’t turn into that much of an issue. Not sure whether to use foam board or spray foam (the preferred choice) we saved that decision for last. It was really an issue of HOW we were going to get under the beast —  Ben managed to get a small fork lift to lift the trailer and create between 3-4 feet under it, foamed within a few minutes and presto! 😀

Next step is drywall! That might be a few days but I am a patient girl! My biggest struggle right now is deciding what to paint the interior…

PS. the insulation is making a WORLD of a difference.

Oh, and I am also exhausted from yesterdays work! BUT it feels amazing because I did it!