We tear it down before we can build it up

Saturday got started with myself, father in-law Ted, and brother in-law Wilson, removing the interior. Katie and her mom were at home with the boys, including Wilson's son, Wil, up from Oregon.

Everything took longer than we hoped, of course. The couch and water tank were first to go.



Next was the refrigerator cabinet. It was especially dusty back there due to a set of combustion air holes in the floor. The little slider door is 'drafty' at best when it is closed. On our last trailer, we screwed a (new, non-smelly) 3" sewer valve tight to the floor. With the valve closed, it kept the dust out of the cabinet while traveling down the road. We'll be sure to do this again since it worked well and gives both the furnace and refer fresh air.

The clothes cabinet and bed went very smoothly, working front to back on the curb side. As we approached the bathroom, things turned a little freaky. If you've ever gutted an old bathroom, you know there are surprises lurking. In a 50 year old trailer's bathroom, surprises are sure to be had. MICE!! OK, I said it.

I would have taken photos of the nests, but it all happened shortly after lunch, and I was doing my very best to not throw up in my mouth. It was gross. Mouse poop is gross. Everyone needs a place to sleep, but the nice mouse family who lived in our new trailer are not welcome here any more.



The mouse condo was built atop a layer of dirty mags in the cabinet (missing in this photo) behind the commode. The dingy cabinet was stripped of parts and thrown away. We're planning on replacing it with shelves similar to the ones above the front and back windows.



Toilet will get refurbished. I was especially happy with this same model of toilet in our last trailer. This one will get a chlorine bath to disinfect, base sandblasted and new parts to make it work better than new.



Saving the "best" for last, I worked on dismantling the shower and Ted & Wilson took apart the kitchen. A bomb may have been easier to dismantle than the Princess stove we have in this trailer. It must have been the first year for this design. It is a nice oven with a sort of drop in range sitting in the counter. We must have spent as much time on these two areas as we did on the rest of the cabinets.







Always fun to have visitors!

It was all worth it though to see it all cleaned out. We were all eager to remove some skin before calling it quits for the day.



It's starting to get exciting now!