A.K.A. Getting Down and Dirty with La Famille
Late autumn brought more than just beautiful leaves, it brought a welcome visit from family. Since they follow the blog and listen to endless Bessie stories on the phone, my parents were not content to merely sit around over their weekend stay. They were eager to get involved in the restoration.
Not ones to turn away free (captive) labor, Brie and I decided the best use of everyone's time and effort would be to tackle the kitchen counter. The plan is simple: replace the formica counter top with Marmoleum, an upgrade in both function and style. Like most Airstream projects, this simple task requires many preliminary steps: removing the kitchen sink and stove top in order to remove the formica, for example. Guess how many screws, nuts, and bolts that involves? Get ready for an avalanche of photos, here we go!
The Kitchen Counter
The day begins by carefully removing the stove top and sink. We had no idea how the sink was attached. And we had no idea if the counter top itself was worth salvaging. Lots of evidence of superficial water damage along the aluminum wall - perhaps the wood is rotten... Can you see all the fallen leaves?
The stovetop pulled right off. Below is a photo showing how the stove was covered in aluminum foil. I suppose this precaution was to protect the original metal from grease stains over the years. I think it was a good idea, cuz it's dirty.
Next Dad and I pulled the sink out. Since the trailer isn't huge, Mom worked outside priming some pieces of wood that I forgot to prime. Meanwhile Dad and I deconstructed the sink-to-countertop attachments circa 1959. We took precautions to save the nuts and bolts. Who knows if they even make these designs anymore. Look, no more sink!
Next step, remove the formica, and cross our fingers the wooden countertop is salvageable. We pried the formica off the counter with a large flathead screwdriver and a claw hammer. It just popped right up, and thankfully the wood beneath was in great shape!
After she finished priming the wood outside, Mom found the kitchen sink abandoned and strewn on the lawn outside Bessie. she picked it up and started working her cleaning magic.
She has skills.
With the sink out of the counter, I focused on cleaning the bottom of the stove - the part still embedded in the counter. I removed the aluminum foil and found the interior metal to be dingy, dirty, and caked with grease. It could have been much worse.
See, the wood looks okay. I chose to keep the clean up simple - I don't like to use heavy chemicals unless they are necessary so I used water and Dr. Bronner's soap. I know, I'm totally a hippie, but that and a simple kitchen sponge scrubbed off the decades of dirt.
Meanwhile Dad shined up the gas burners. In the photo below, that's not the camera flash that makes the new burner look that good. It's the skills.
See? Shiny!
I like the shot below. I work all day at those saw horses during "Bessie weekends", so it's funny to see my Mom there instead! Yeah, I know I have to fix the torn tint in that window, but what a cool shot! Finished work in the foreground, the saw-horses where all the carpentry happens in the staging area, the autumn leaves in the background, and Mom busy at work!
She looks at home on the saw horse, although it must be decades since I've seen her working on one!
Dad started putting the burners back into the stove.
So I started cutting the Marmoleum down to size. I used a utility knife, a Sharpie, and a measuring tape. It's so easy to work with this stuff. Eco-friendly too? I'm sold. I'll let you know how it holds up to wear and tear, but I hear it's as tough as it is purty.
(Yeah I know I'm not stylin', but those are my work jeans!)
Looks like the inital cut fits...
Looks like the second cut fits the sink...
And the next cut gives us a place to put the stove. Can you see the late sunlight? The day's getting long.
The glue goes on pretty easily. Especially when you have help to keep the Marmoleum out of it.
Here comes the instant gratification. The color! (no, we didn't use Nancy's yogurt to glue the Marmoleum down. It's not that eco-friendly!)
Sometimes, you have to sacrifice your body for the team. Here's Dad, a little stuck.
A little more trim work on the large cuts and we are ready to drop the sink back into the counter.
When putting it all back together, remember not to skip any steps. Water damage can be irreparable, so make sure you prevent it wherever you can.
The sink takes twelve, yes twelve, different nut-and-bolt clamps to stay in place. As the twilight faded into night we took turns holding the light for Dad as he performed yoga to put the clamps into place.
Whew. Is it done? Time for pizza and beer.
Here is the before-and-after pair...
(oops forgot to remove the old formica sink cover for the "after" shot)
As my Dad so aptly phrased it, the four of us spent all day working so that we could essentially change the color of the countertop. Sigh. Such is the way of the restoration artist.
Mom and Dad, Brie and I can't thank you enough for helping us finish the kitchen counter. There were so many steps that happened all in one day, it would have taken us at least two weekends or more to deal with all the fiddly steps and clean everything up the way you did. You saved us so much labor, so much time, and working next to you was so much fun. Thanks for spending the time to hang out and help make Bessie beautiful!
A world of thanks to you both!
