Front section of floor cut out!

Got the front section of floor cut out on Friday.  It needs to be sealed and dried before it can go in, but we also need to address the pop rivets on the exterior, the windows and front eyebrow before installing it for good.  I'm afraid of water damage until those problems are addressed.  No need to put in a new floor to leave it susceptible to rain, right??  Until then, I'll just be happy with the fact that we've made this accomplishment milestone.  2014 should be a continuation of progress! :)

My dad makes the cut on the second section of floor

First placement of front section of subfloor

Floor templates made, another window busted....

We had another couple of warm days blow in...literally.  The wind shattered one of my side windows.  This leads to one thing:  time to fix these window cranks.  I've put it off long enough.  I just ordered replacements from Vintage Trailer Supply less than an hour ago.  It will probably take it a little time to get here with the holidays and all, so we went ahead and taped all the windows down with aluminum tape.  I've had enough mishaps of my own making without needing mother nature's assistance, thank you very much!
On the other hand, we did get templates cut out for the front and rear floor.  My dad will hopefully saw the subfloor pieces tomorrow, and I plan to seal them with water sealant while I'm visiting him on Christmas day.
Speaking of Christmas, I wish all of you a wonderful holiday!!!  May your days be merry & bright!  Thanks for following along in our adventures :)

Dear ol' Dad helps in a major way

As noted by my prior posts, we've had some crazy weather here in NC over the last few days.  I was in a time crunch to try to clean, prep and paint the frame before some really cold weather settled in.  Last Thursday was 68 degrees, and Friday was forecast to be above 70.  My time frame looked something like this:  Mark was going to paint the frame around noon on Thursday, and I was going to put on the second coat when I got off work that afternoon.  Well, Thursday was not only rainy, it was extremely humid and the frame was sweating profusely.  There was no way we could paint it.  I was pretty sad because I figured Friday would be the same way.  But Friday was pretty blustery, therefore keeping the frame dry.  My dad was able to put on both coats Friday afternoon and I am soooo thankful for his help!  This means that the next step is putting the floor & insulation in those sections of the trailer.  Onward and upward!

Front end

Rear of trailer--looks pretty good!

Then the sparks flew!

Okay, so over the past couple of days, Derek has graciously worked on our welding/frame issues.  The weather this week is supposed to be above average temps, so I washed the frame tonight with the Marine Clean recommended by the POR folks.  Tomorrow, I will use the Metal Prep, and then Thursday I plan to get the painting underway.  I want to take advantage of these slightly warmer temperatures as much as possible...you just never know what the next week will bring.  I needed to do everything possible to hopefully get the front and rear floor in soon.

Derek is grinding away some small burrs, getting ready to do the heavy-duty welding.  How do ya like that face mask??!