#1

[ghcoe]

A shot of the vent test fitted outside........

Vent outside

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and inside.

Vent inside

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[ghcoe]

So now for a secret.......

I priced a queen size piece of high density foam for the bed. I was quoted $250.00 . Well I was not going to pay that for a piece of foam so I found these floor cushioning sheets at HF. They come in a package of 4 which when attached to each other covers 16 square feet. They are normally about $16.00 but go on sale for $7.49 quite often. I have been picking them up here and there when I saw them on sale. So right now I have 5 packages placed down that are stacked 3 high. They are about 1/2' thick so right now they are 1 1/2" thick and it is quite comfortable. Going to buy a couple more sets to bring it up to the same height as the fenders. Even at that I am still under $60.00. I think that is hard to beat for high density foam.

Foam mattress #2

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Foam mattress

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[Wolffarmer]

Good idea there.

Build is looking great

Randy

[rowerwet]

So now for a secret.......

I priced a queen size piece of high density foam for the bed. I was quoted $250.00 . Well I was not going to pay that for a piece of foam so I found these floor cushioning sheets at HF. They come in a package of 4 which when attached to each other covers 16 square feet. They are normally about $16.00 but go on sale for $7.49 quite often. I have been picking them up here and there when I saw them on sale. So right now I have 5 packages placed down that are stacked 3 high. They are about 1/2' thick so right now they are 1 1/2" thick and it is quite comfortable. Going to buy a couple more sets to bring it up to the same height as the fenders. Even at that I am still under $60.00. I think that is hard to beat for high density foam.

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until you sleep on it for a few nights you can't be sure it is comfortable, we ended up with a mattress made of four mattress toppers after finding out 1 topper over firm foam was uncomfortable, love how it feels now.

[ghcoe]

I use to sleep on just a single sheet of some similar foam. It was fine for me then so hope 3 more layers makes up for a few aged bones. The real test is the wife, but she does like a fairly firm mattress. I do have some other options if it does turn out to be too firm.

[GPW]

Those prices on sleeping foams are just too darn high ... Ridiculous markups just because it’s for sleeping on .. That’s the next thing the "Foam per Buck Club" needs to address... Thrifty (yet comfortable) sleep gear ...

[kudzu]

It's looking good with the windows in. Using the foam squares on the floor makes a lot of sense, though I'd need a couple inches of soft foam on top to be comfortable. The closed cell foam will help insulate the floor. You'll have your own soundproof booth, also.

[lthomas987]

I put down one layer of those grey foam mats in mine. I figure it would let me get a thinner (aka cheaper) foam queen mattress or alternately use an air bed (which I already own for the ultimate in thrifty) on top but if I were to sink in at least it would be softer underneath than OSB. I am excited to hear about how your 3 layers work out.

[ghcoe]

I put down one layer of those grey foam mats in mine. I figure it would let me get a thinner (aka cheaper) foam queen mattress or alternately use an air bed (which I already own for the ultimate in thrifty) on top but if I were to sink in at least it would be softer underneath than OSB. I am excited to hear about how your 3 layers work out.

Well Friday I was inside the foamie trying to figure out how I am going to run the wiring. I laid down on the foam as I looked at how to channel the roof and I was out.

[ghcoe]

Worked on getting my hard points installed for the roof vent yesterday. Using flashing again to make a self supporting channel that will allow a hard point inside and outside for vent attachment.

I will be using 2"X2" flashing for this application.

2"X2" flashing

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The vent is designed for a 14"X14" cutout.

Vent cutout

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First I clean off the flashing with Alcohol to make sure there are no oils that could hamper paint or glue grip. I wear gloves to help keep oils off the flashing from my skin.

Alcohol and gloves

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[ghcoe]

Since the vent is designed for a 14"X14" cutout I will mark on my flashing every 14" to make a square that will be 14"X14" when finished.

14" mark

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Now I make a cut line on each mark I made using a small square. The square will make sure that the cut lines are straight.

Marking the cut line

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On the last mark I will make two cut lines to finish the square.

The finished cut line

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[ghcoe]

Now I take my straight cut sheet metal shears and make cuts on the cut lines.

Cutting on the cut lines

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Now that I made the cuts I need to make the bends. I want straight bends so I made this simple sheet metal sheet metal break. I used some scrap 1/4" flooring I had laying around. You could use just about any anything as long as it is cut straight for the bend. I clamped the material I had to both sides of the flashing making sure that the edges were where exactly opposite of the cuts I just made. Then I used another scrap piece and butted it up to the wood I just clamped on the flashing opposite of the direction I want to make the bend. Using this piece to apply leverage at the bend location I bent the flashing over.

Simple sheet metal break

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Unless you are really strong you will not get a nice crisp corner, but it will be close.

Not perfect

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[ghcoe]

To make a nice crisp corner take a hammer and just lightly tap the flashing to the material you used as a break.

Tapping to a crisp corner

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When done you should have something like this.

Crisp corner

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Once all the cutting and bending is done it should look like this.

Finished square

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[ghcoe]

It is very important to make sure that the opening is large enough for the flashing to fit without binding. If there is a place where the foam is a tight fit to the flashing it could cause the flashing to lift or have weird wrinkles that will be hard to work with. It is better to have the opening too large than too small.

Checking the opening

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Now to drop in the top portion of the 14"X14" hard point.

Top flashing fitted

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For the inside I will make two angled pieces rather than making a complete square. The reason is because I do not have the equipment to make a perfect square that would fit just inside the top square. By making two angled pieces you can adjust the arm lengths on each side if need be and you can get the bent corners to seat nicely against the top pieces corners. When these pieces are pop riveted together this will make it so that the top and bottom pieces will not distort once riveted together. Believe me this will save a lot of headaches do to metal distortion and still look nice.

First I need to make the mark for the cut. I will make the cut slightly shorter than 14". I will allow a 1/16" allowance on the first cut and a 1/8" cut for the end cut of the angle.

Shorter cuts

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[ghcoe]

Once the cuts are cut and the bends are bent it is time for a test fit. In this case a perfect fit first time. If one end was too long to fit I would take my sander and sand the edge back some till it fit. You will need to sand or grind back the metal because it is a bear to try and cut small pieces with the metal shears.

Test fit

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Do the same with the other angled piece and test fit. If it fits you now have the inside hard point.

Test fit #2

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Now to try the vent. All looks good.

Vent test fit

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