One of the first things we wanted to replace in our camper was the trim, the lovely fluted trim, especially the part with the padded blue inserts. (I know--don't you just love it? Who dreams up this stuff?) It HAD to go!
It appeared to be attached to a backer board that supported the rubber seal, so it didn't appear to be structural. Not having a clue at the time how it was attached, I started out with the claw of a hammer trying to pry the corner trim pieces off ... I worked that sucker for the next couple of visits, and finally split it--and discovered it was screwed on from the back side! Oh.
The lovely fabric-and-wood trim was held on with a few pin nails and--oh joy--double-stick tape. On the next trip, I brought a huge spatula (I used to do wedding cakes), which worked nicely to work through the tape enough that we could pull the trim down. It looked better already!
For the next corner, we ran the slide in just enough to get a drill behind it and unscrewed the corner.
When we tackled the other slide, we could NOT get the screws to budge. Not with a power driver, not with a hand screwdriver. Nuh-uh, not gonna move. Okay, sucker, I got your number. I know your weak spot!
We pried the lovely trim off first this time, then worked together with a pry bar and one of those scraper/do-anything tools until we got the corner block to split.
Then we just kept working at it. The one on the other side was more stubborn, but not as stubborn as me!
After scraping the worst of the tape off, it was finally time to put up our new/old reclaimed wood trim!
The living room slide is sloped from front to back, losing several inches and requiring a slight angle cut. I didn't do so well in geometry, so we put up the side pieces first, cutting them about an inch longer than we needed so we could mark and cut the angle, minus a small overlap because the reclaimed boards were a little wider than the backer boards.
We cut the "header" about an inch longer, so we had a small overlap on each side, then attached it with finish nails (I just LOVE my nail gun!). We probably should have used glue as well, but ... we're hoping for the best. Worst case scenario, we have to pop it off and add glue down the road. Literally down the road. But there will also be a shelf (for the cats) on part of the top secured with brackets that will be screwed through to the backer board, and braces on the ends and center.
What a difference!
I added a little beveled piece of reclaimed wood to the post to support a brace (because when I positioned the post, I neglected to account for the added thickness, but I think it looks kinda cool). Then we stained the post to match (that was in my last blog. Obviously, the second picture below was taken before we stained the post, but it shows where the brace will be.)
Then we did the other side--much easier because it doesn't slope. It's amazing the difference it makes! I can't wait to hang some baskets and pans!
We still have lots to do before we move in furniture, artwork, curtains, etc., but most of the major work in this room is DONE!