Blog Post 11: Teardown is Over, Re-build Commences: Paisley Gets Her Groovy Back// 1963 Kenskill

Do you know, how and when I know that “tomorrow” is going to be a good trailer day? It’s when I get a text from either of the Rauls saying “I can come tomorrow and work a full day.” My job, as project manager, has been solely to make sure that the all the bits and supplies are on site and prepped and ready so that when the Rauls appear they have everything to make their magic!

Staying ahead of them has been a challenge. I’ve painted and prepped walls. I’ve scrubbed and cleaned. I’ve laid down the flooring and put up some wallpaper. I’ve prepped the cabinets with “welp” (the little bead of molding around the cabinets); and took on the 10-step process of sewing, painting, cutting, gluing and assembling 8 different rattan blinds as window treatments. I’ve scrubbed and cleaned. I also went beyond - and had a lot of fun freshening up the bathroom cabinet with yellow paint and contact paper; also I applied a decoupage treatment to the inside walls of the closet *The coolness here is that it was done with a groovy flower print sheet that I found - IN THE trailer when I first got her. And I’ve scrubbed and cleaned.

Here are a few of the other major highlights from these most recent weeks of Paisley’s journey:

1) The roof, the roof! The roof is all sealed! Once the vents were all re-installed, it was scrubbed clean and then painted with this killer paint that is essentially liquid rubber. Base coat and then Chalo performed some ladder acrobatics to roll-on a beautiful white coating that now has sealed her up. Bye-Bye tarp!

2) Dad, Mike and I took on the stressful task of putting back on the aluminum side panels. With the rot replaced with new wood, the question was… would the corners meet? Yes, yes they did!

3) Wherever there is ash paneling - it’s been stripped, sanded, stained and finished with a top coat. All of the trailer walls and all of the cabinets and drawers.

4) We’ve got POWER and HEAT. Raul - FOF worked away quietly and then called me in to reveal: the overhead fantastic fan is fanning; the heater is heating; there is power to the sockets, the lights turn on, the gas stove and oven work!; we’ve got hot water and cold running water into two sinks AND the shower!!!!!

Anyway, what’s crazy is that with all the fixing and changing and replacing, the most impressive bits are still Paisley’s original parts: sinks, shower, ash paneling, windows; the Princess stove and the Dometic fridge; the beautiful Kenskill layout of the Hehr windows - all in working condition!

Paisley is indeed getting her Groovy back!

Still needs the entire backsplash and moldings done….