First of all I will apologise for not posting sooner, things have been moving forward slowly, but my laptop was not up to editing video and the weather and life in general got in the way of posting. I will let you know some of the issues with working inside a van during winter in a later blog.
On with progress, I made a start on the van almost straight away, initially it was all about taking all the old linings out of the vans load area and clearing out the dust and muck that had built up behind the ply boarding in the vans previous life.
The plyboard linings are held on by screws so it was just a matter of going around unscrewing each panel in turn to remove. Behind the lining were various plastic panels installed at manufacture to close off some of the open spaces between the structural parts of the van body. these were fitted with a plastic insert that expanded behind the hole they were inserted into. This made them more tricky to remove, ended up levering them out with a screwdriver, brutal but effective in this case.
The condition of the van behind the panels was ok, but a lot of grime had built up as it had been used by a company that installed playgrounds which required a lot of vacuuming and washing down. I also spray painted a few areas that had been scuffed revelling the bear metal beneath so just to make sure……
Another thing I noticed after I had removed the panels was that when the van had been prepped they had removed some of the external lower plastic trim and when they had refitted then they had not refitted all the clips that hold these pieces in place. These items need to be in place as without them their there it leaves holes which could allow water to ingress into the vehicle and into what will be insulation, not good so worth checking before fitting insulation. The clips only cost a few quid on eBay for packs of 10 or more dependant on how many you need.
I then decided to lift the floor and make good the screw holes that had been made when the van was panelled out, not only did lifting the floor reveal a lot of sand and dirt mixed well together with foam, but also the company that I purchased the van from thought they were doing me a favour by replacing the ply floor which was not in too good a condition with a brand new one. However all the screws holding the new floor down were in different locations to the original leaving an abundance of extra holes but some of the original screws that they did not remove had had the ply forced down on top of them distorting some of the floor slightly.
Repairing the floor took a while, managed to straighten some of the floor using a jack beneath and a gentle tap with a hammer, they were minor really and the sealing bear metalwork of the holes with some Hammarite paint then putting some sealant in the hole to fill, I will spray the underside with some underseal when the weather improves and I get under the van. The floor inside is now ready to fit the insulation and flooring when it is time to do it.
Next stage is sound deadening and starting to insulate the cavities. which identified some issues with fitting out a van in the winter - too be covered by the next blog.