And as another working week drew to a close, I found myself spending another two (almost) uninterrupted days of construction time on our sleeping platform.
At the end of the last update I was giving myself a hard time over my inability to decide on the best way to continue with the construction of the platform. In the end I plumped for making the front section of the platform using a “stud work” frame cut from 35mm x 45 mm timber, as opposed to continuing with the technique I’d been using to build the drawer carcass.
During the week I’d been spending a bit of time each evening cutting ‘half lap’ joints which meant by Saturday morning I had enough of the framework complete to start measuring off the verticals to the right height given the uneven floor.
As luck would have it, my friend Ollie was available and keen to come over and help out for a day – thanks Mate! Not only is it nice to have someone to chat to whilst working, it’s also very useful to have someone sanity checking all my dodgy decisions! Within a couple of hours we had the new framework cut to the correct height with respect to the top of the drawer carcass and the various floor levels. I have to say I was very pleased indeed to see this plan work out – the levels look good, there’s space for everything (plus a bit more) and it feels bloody strong.
After lunch we started work on the shelf I’m going to use to support the fridge and water containers. The idea was that the back of the shelf would rest on the middle level of the floor and the front would connect to the front of the framework, with the legs of the framework passing through holes in the shelf to the floor. After a bit of fine-tuning around the wheel arches, we ended up with what we were after.
On Sunday I was back on my own again – very sad – and I had a murderous hangover – very stupid. Nonetheless, I forged ahead regardless. The first job of the day resulted from having a bit of a think about the previous day’s progress and I decided to fit a cross beam across the front of my frame to support the front of the lower shelf. A frustrating amount of extra work but, for very little extra weight, it’ll make the shelf super-strong in the long term. After a load of half-lapping the beam was cut and fitted. The frame’s upside-down in this picture but you get the idea.
After cutting some panels to box out the fridge area the time for the sleeping platform itself finally came! After a visit to a different DIY shop the weekend before we’d been able to get some 15mm thick timber – it’s not ply exactly, but will be good enough; so it was from this I cut the platform. There’s not much to report about this job other than my back really, really hurt at the end of leaning over whilst cutting all the slots! I hope I have them in the right place….
With the last slot cut in the platform by about 3:30, it was gutting to have to stop for the day as we had to head out for an appointment. In my mind, all the cutting was finished and it was time to carry all the bits I’d spent the weekend working on down to the car to screw together! Since then I’ve given it a bit more thought and it turns out there’s actually a few more jobs to do so kind of a lucky escape I didn’t start screwing everything together. At least this way I get to tick the the last few jobs off during the coming week and start the “final” fit with a fresh mind (and back!) when the weekend rolls around. I’m really looking forward to seeing the thing fitted in place.
Part 3 can found here….