Plywood heaven

Not a pretty sight is it ? That's what happens when you set fire to your van and get lucky.

Yes lucky.

It could so easily have spread a lot further and left me with a write-off. And I suspect the insurance people would have said that the damage was my own fault for welding without due care and attention.

Anyway, the plumbing was quickly replaced with some new piping along with a load of silicone sealant. It looks quite, not pretty, but efficient in the photo I think. For those not acquainted with Dormobile VW Type 2's, the mechanical thing in the corner is the foot pump for the sink. I know you can buy electric ones but don't see the point in running the battery down just to get water. Well not until I actually want water and remember how slow the process of pumping it is anyway.

Still, with the waterworks done I started putting an interior back in place. This is a whole lot easier when you have access to the back of the units, but I didn't, so some nice battens had to go in first to give me something to fit the sides and bottom to. The wood all came from Homebase and was surprisingly good quality. The pine was straight and the surface of the ply very nicely grained. In fact the leftover bit found in the garage and used on the base isn't nearly so good and I almost (note: almost) wish I'd gone and bought another sheet to keep the same look.

The shelf is deliberately short, in case you think I can't work a tape measure, as a cool box stands at the end and if it fitted under the shelf, only tea bags would fit on top. And in a rare moment of cleverness, I fitted the shelf ply under the battens so they provide a lip to retain stuff when I go round corners.