I've lashed out on new carpets for the caravan in leafy North Yorkshire.
Medium domestic quality, thick underlay - nice and snug.
Looks the part, too.
A side effect is I need to take a centimetre - at most - off the bottom of three doors.
I've done one door with this palm sander:
tinyurl.com/2usgdo7
It took rather longer than I would like, even using 40 grit paper, which seemed to be the coarsest available.
I will probably just persevere with the other two doors, but does anyone have any thoughts on what tool would do a quicker job?
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if it was a ford caravan you would just need to wait for the bottom of the doors to rust.
or you could use
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/detail/offer-listing/-/B001FCM0H8/new
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Funnily enough, today I used every power tool I had. I was building a pergola/gazebo thing from second hand decking and timber the next door neigbour gave me
I used the electric hand saw, the jig saw, the mitre chop saw, the circular saw, the mains drill and the battery drill (in screwdriver mode) the planer, and the angle grinder (to cut the old screws out of the decking)
Tomorrow I use the electric paint sprayer, only the circular saw tile table has not had an airing.
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Looks like it's just me and thee on here at the minute Zero.
The rest of them are still chatting over the dying embers of their barbecues and finishing what's left of their by now lukewarm white wine.
A bit like the film Play Misty For Me.
And before you start, I bags the Clint Eastwood part and you can be the bunny boiler.
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they have no class on here, no chilled white wine - more like out of date cheap Lidl beer.
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>>Play Misty For Me.
Count Arthur Strong did a very good job on that.
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I did the bathroom door not long ago due to new floor.
Used a handheld circular saw, first clamping a piece of timber across the door as a guide.
Took about 10 seconds to cut. Cleaned off the edges with 40 grit production paper. Voila !
No need to get too anal about the cut....she doesn't crawl around the floor with a spirit level.
Sort of job that holds no pleasure for me and needs to be out of the way quickly !
Just made an 8'X 6' wooden gate with a bow top out of 1"X 4" T&G timber . made it look like two gates from the front with some very old ' ring ' type handles and decorative framing. 20" Scotch T Hinges and lockable from the garden side.
Used a similar range of tools to Z, even down to the angle grinder.
A much more pleasurable job...in the sun with the radio on and no criticism from 'Er.
Did you get your gate done, Pat ?
Ted
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Well, I'm just enjoying a glass of ice cold milk and two melting choccy digestives....so there !
Ted
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Sounds nice Ted, but I'd have thought you might have been having a glass of beer or something stronger at this time of night.
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ifithelps.
This caravan you have is it a static?
Now im been nosey because i secretley want one do you have to buy new every 10 years to keep on a site or is it more relaxed?
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...do you have to buy new every 10 years...
The short answer is 'no'.
But as this is a question about my static caravan, and I can bore for England on the topic, there is a longer answer.
It varies from site to site.
The site I am on has no strict rule, and there are one or two vans on here pushing 20 years.
How long you can stay is entirely in the gift of the site owner.
The site here is family owned, the owner is getting on a bit, but there are indications his children may take on the business.
Where this can fall out of bed is if he decides to sell, which he could do today, let alone tomorrow, or next year.
A new owner - particularly if it's a big company - could bring in a strict age rule and there's nothing I could do about it.
It happened at a site not far from here, and one or two owners, albeit with very old vans, found themselves booted off overnight.
Caravan sites are little communities, and those who keep their heads down and noses clean tend to do best.
So my rent is always paid in full and on time, and I keep the van and its environs clean and tidy.
It suits me that way anyway, but it also suits the owner.
My van is a 2006, so I'm not expecting any age problems for a few years.
If you are looking at sites, it's worth noting the age of the vans and if there are any older ones.
This will give you a good idea of site policy.
There is quite a bit to think about/grasp when buying and siting a van, although none of it is particularly complicated.
Talking to an owner or two is a good way of doing research, as is having a word with one of the few retailers/distributors.
They are not site-specific, and can be a good source of unbiased information.
If you are serious about looking in a certain area, I may be able to point you in the right direction.
Last edited by: ifithelps on Sat 5 Jun 10 at 09:05
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Thank you..
I want something on the coast for my young son who's 2 today!, so would also be looking at keeping it a few years and let the family use it as and when.
Went to skipsea sands a bit back stayed there but not very exiting, reighton sands appeals to me but kids seem to like that place near filey that escapes me!! doh!!
Will be on east coast in good old Yorkshire as im in Leeds.
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...Will be on east coast in good old Yorkshire as im in Leeds...
There is a retailer/wholesaler in Bridlington who should have a decent selection of new vans and some valuable intelligence about sites, if they choose to share it with you.
From what I hear, I'd be wary of the big company sites with the sharp suited salesmen.
They promise you the earth, often don't deliver, and you never see the same man twice.
In some ways, statics are like cars.
Shiny and new is nice, but nearly new is cheaper and nearly as good.
There will be a number of secondhand vans for sale at every site, so it's just a matter of putting in the legwork.
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Re: the OP - I fitted a stable door last year, and I had to take some meat orf the bottom,
So I bought a Worx electric planer from Argos,
It did the job very well ~ too well in fact being I'd never used one before,
I ended up having to *Add* 10mm to the bottom of said door :)
Excellent piece of kit tho.
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...It did the job very well ~ too well in fact...
No danger of that with my little palm sander.
I'm tempted to buy an electric planer - big boys' toys and all that - but it's another tool that I am not likely to use again.
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once you have them, you do use them.
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>>once you have them, you do use them<<
Affirmative ... and learn from my mistakes i.e. use the lowest setting.
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With a planer there is no substitute for power and £!
If you buy a cheapo regard it as a one off use, everything else is a bonus! Make sure it is set up square and do not be tempted to take off more than 1mm at a pass, possibly less if it is a hardwood and cross the grain. Be careful at the ends (if cross grain) as it is easy to split off chunks, and very easy to take off too much at the start and finish with the grain.
Doors are always difficult because it is better to plane horizontally - with the door clamped securely vertically, - needing either a 4' terrace 'drop vor similar.
Just finished one yesterday 7mm off a hardwood door with a cheap and nasty electric planer - probably would have been better with a good old Stanley hand plane.
Warning - electric planers are dangerous - treat with extreme care!
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When you use this planer make sure the dust bag is fitted god they make a mess.!
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pmh,
Very helpful.
I now know enough about electric planers to know I don't want one.
The caravan has a deck, so I can throw the door over the side, leaving the surface to be planed at about shoulder height with me stood on the deck.
I've no means of clamping it.
Picture the scene - inexperienced user - me - with electric planer in one hand, trying to steady the wobbling door with the other.
It's a trip to casualty waiting to happen, isn't it?
The worst thing that can happen with my palm sander is it pops out of my hand and lands on me toe.
I imagine a belt or rotary sander would do a quicker job and still be reasonably safe.
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Does the site have a handy man? safer to let them do it...lol....
If not a job oppertunity here for someone.
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I've done that needed the most taking off it.
I could leave the other two, they only gently brush the carpet, one hardly at all.
But door bottoms are not meant to brush carpets, so I think I will do the next worst now and see if I can summon the enthusiasm to do the other one later, or tomorrow...or next week.
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What happens to "leafy north yorkshire" in winter?
Can we expect posts from "cold bleak windswept north Yorkshire"?
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 5 Jun 10 at 11:44
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...What happens to "leafy north yorkshire" in winter?...
It's a holiday site so it closes for two months and we all shut down our vans.
We caravanners call it winterising.
And it is yet another thing about caravanning that is so very interesting.
What you do is....
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What about a local carpenter? I've found them quite willing to do this (or any type of small job) first thing in the morning on their way to a full days work elsewhere. Last time, about 2 years ago, I was charged £10 for one door.
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...What about a local carpenter?...
Yes, someone who knows what they are doing could do the job in a few minutes.
But I might as well persevere with my little palm sander.
At least it doesn't take enough off for me to make a balls of it.
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This was where we owned a caravan a few years a'back ~ tinyurl.com/3y3h24q
It was a Freehold site so we owned a share of the whole,
Our van was far left, bottom row - Carnaby Hacienda bought new from Nth. Norfolk.
The site is called Sovereign View, cos it had far-reaching views to said Lighthouse (Eastbourne)
Quiet site - no clubhouse - my idea was to live there from Spring 2 Autumn & spend Winter in Tenerife.
The plans of mice and men etc., etc., etc.
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...my idea was to live there from Spring 2 Autumn & spend Winter in Tenerife...
There are a few people on my site who live here for the 10 months of the year the site is open.
Sounds alright, but there are a few wrinkles.
Post can be a problem, and people will look down on you when you give your address as a caravan site.
Doesn't matter if you don't need the bona fides implied by a conventional address, but I wouldn't want to put a caravan park address on a job application.
Another thing to consider is the van itself, which is not designed for winter occupancy.
Mine is about as good a spec as you'll get - central heating, double glazing - but it's still not much fun when it's really cold, unless you want to run through a £50 gas bottle a week.
Those that stop on this site have problems with the water freezing overnight as they sleep, or even worse, burst pipes.
Then there's security of tenure - you have next to none - not ideal if it's your main place of residence.
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->Sounds alright, but there are a few wrinkles.<-
Yep! I've got a few of those,
Our address was " Mr & Mrs Dog, Sovereign View, Bexhill on Sea.
We flew back to blighty one Winter & I'd forgotten to empty the water out of the khazi, it was frozen solid,
Yes, I know now - about the anti-freeze!
There are many folk living in caravans all year round, can't have been much fun this last Winter,
Being Sovereign View was a Freehold site, we actually owned our plot, there were 21 vans and we owned a 21th,
The site was long established - some of the vans were out of the Ark :)
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...Yes, I know now - about the anti-freeze!...
For those that don't:
You can mop out the U-bend in the WC to prevent it freezing and cracking the porcelain.
But at best this allows sewer smells into your van, and at worst, sewer rats.
So the drill is to leave liquid in there, but make it so it won't freeze - I use car washer bottle fluid.
Plenty of that down both toilets, in both cisterns, in the shower, and the sinks.
You also need to pump out the pipes to the taps and shower head.
A 12 volt car tyre compressor gives plenty enough puff, and it only takes a few minutes with two of you.
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Karlton Professional Door Trimmer. tinyurl.com/39eho3z
Our carpet fitters used this on every door in our bungalow and they didn't have to remove a single door. It took about a minute to do a door.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Sat 5 Jun 10 at 13:30
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>> Karlton Professional Door Trimmer. tinyurl.com/39eho3z
That's the proper way to do it but unless you are confident with tools then I think you should save the £22 and use it to pay a chippie.
I would use a plane if it was less than about 5mm and Ted's method ( "Use a handheld circular saw, first clamping a piece of timber across the door as a guide" ) if it was more. With a guide a jig saw could also be used.
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The right tool for the job - Zero
