Roadtrek reno

[ratfink56]

A new thread with updates on the mods to my Roadtrek.

I built this to replace the wardrobe which completely blocked the window. Will hold three 7 gallon water containers. More than doubled the counter space. I like to cook.

[Cammalu]

I heard you on the counterspace. No fun cooking without it!


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[Blacktank]

what did you use for the top? i used 2 pieces of unfinished 1x12 fir and it's there but the boards cupped and are sucking up every stain they can so an upgrade would be nice

[rvpopeye]

Many options...
Hand planer (manual or power)
Belt Sander.
KD boards.
Get a big cutting block.
Pour a finish (self leveling ).
Re-use a top from something else.

One other source.
I used to install kitchens long ago...
On all the remodels there is usually an old counter top nobody wants.
These usually have sections that don't have damage or sink /stove cutouts.
They usually got tossed in our dumpster..
Find people that do this.

[ratfink56]

Home Depot 2x4' birch plywood. In the lumber project section.

[snikwahpn]

Gary, wide boards will always be more likely to do that--the wider, the more likely. And the wood available since the spotted owl controversy in the '90s caused reduced logging of old-growth timber that makes it even worse--"juvenile" wood from young trees warps even more. (I have worked in the building trades for over 32 years.) Before particleboard took over, much furniture was made of narrow strips of wood glued together, then a veneer of oak or walnut on top.

Some of the home centers and lumberyards sell shelving made of narrow strips of pine glued up. Plywood mostly stays pretty flat. You can get it with oak or birch veneer, or just buy A-C grade--still pine or fir, but one side is higher quality. Most of the cheap stuff ("sheathing grade") is rated CDX--the lowest quality veneer, lots of knotholes, but exterior glue.

The other thing, if you have a nice straight piece, is varnish every square inch. Not just the top, but both sides and all edges. Moisture getting into the wood contributes to warping. And the odd thing is that most bare wood absorbs more moisture in cold weather than in hot. You'd think it would be the opposite--warm air holds more moisture--but it's one of the weird things about wood. Wood also expands and shrinks according to moisture content. A 2x6 can vary in width by half an inch depending on whether it is green or seasoned. Lengthwise change is not as much, but there is some. We once installed 16' pieces of crown molding in a dentist's waiting room that had been sitting on a concrete floor in an unheated warehouse, then brought to us to put up. Two weeks later, every piece had shrunk and gaps opened up in the joints--about 1/4" of shrinkage per 16'.