pallet furniture | Behind starburst eyes

Step 3: Kill it with fire

by starbursteyes

Every blog posting about buying a used trailer to fix up will tell you that more work is needed than you think.

Naively, I ignored the myriad of warnings 😦 and I ended up finding this:

While I knew from the back that one small section of floor would need to be replaced I had no idea how bad it actually was or the real reason why.

I’d been told the back corner ripped when it was moved as a deck was attached to it and not properly unattached before they moved it, the real truth was much, much worse:

Carpenter ants, hundreds of them living and swarming throughout the entire inside of the walls and floor. The more we removed hoping it was the last “bad” section the more we found 😦 Was it hard on the kids and I to realize we wouldn’t be travelling this summer and that our plan for this trailer was not going to go anything like we’d thought…yep!

But as we took the entire trailer apart, separated each type of material, recycled what we could and brought the rest in multiple loads to the dump, I was able to help them to see that even though we plan, life doesn’t always go according to plan and we have 2 choices: Give up or give it all we’ve got to create a solution.

For this specific case we simply started again but from the ground up lol. Which meant our new first step was cleaning any loose rust from the chassis and then treating it with tremclad.

Now the real building begins! With just over 5 weeks left until I begin University again and the kids start their homeschooling year again the race is on! Do I think the whole thing will be finished in 5 weeks, no I truthfully don’t. BUT we’ll have the floor, walls, and roof done at least and that will give us more time to work on the inside of it on weekends as it gets cooler.

As we build a tiny home now instead of fixing up a trailer we’ll learn lots, work hard, and grow a dream and memories together. Wish us luck! 😀

Family Fun mom life Mommyhood: Fake it till you make it Secret Garden

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Creating an Outdoor Oasis

by starbursteyes

This time of year there are countless web pages, magazines, pinterest boards, and flyers all showcasing how to transform your backyard into the perfect outdoor oasis for your family. I admit I “may” have gotten caught up in all the loveliness I saw and decided to take the plunge.

First came re-organizing the kids toys, but with no real storage area their bikes were a big issue. So the crows nest/deck area we had got altered first. B took the siding off of it, and added a door which I promptly painted with chalkboard paint from Lowes and poof plenty of room to store all the kids bikes, and any yard equipment we have. (Mind you the poof comes after we pulled everything the previous tenants/owners had stored under there, and by stored I really mean old building supplies and some garbage that was uber gross)

The deck stairs and railings were sanded (and will be re-stained but haven’t been just yet) Then a gate was installed to ensure the wee ones wouldn’t get up to where the barbecue was on the deck. A table for prep work and for cooked foods, a mini fridge for cold drinks and freezies, some outdoor carpet squares were laid down, and a car seat was re-purposed into a comfortable seat for relaxing on while waiting for the various foods to cook.

Painting the chairs that had dulled over time from being outside, re-arranging them so we could have a sitting area for story-time.

Next came moving plants, levelling the ground where they were to ensure the pallets would properly lay flat. Then sanding all of the pallets, placing 6 of them 3 high beside each other for a big couch, complete with 2 slightly smaller pallets on one side so I could create a stair for Miss. G to use.

Sewing the pillowcases that would be used to cover the couch cushions we’d been gifted, as well as the massage table I’d removed the legs from and put in front of the other pallets on top of a single pallet, putting up the canopy and curtains I’d made for the back and sides.

And after all that it now looks like this: