Days 24, 25, & 26: Window Replacement
As life always has it, things don’t go perfectly according to plan; this week has been met with one hiccup after another. The weather decided not to cooperate and we’ve been dealing with flash flood warnings and leaking in our basement. With the rain, came our discovery of grub worms living in our backyard. Not just any grub worms, ones the size of fingers and dozens of them crawling around. Working on the bus took a back seat to moving things out of the path of water, treating the whole yard for pests, and leash walking five dogs multiple times a day.
Once we did finally get in the bus, we found that a decent amount of water was making it in. We knew that the emergency exit was no longer water proof, but we also found that the window replacements that were put in before we bought the bus were leaking as well. Not to worry too much though, this week was meant to replace the windows and remove ceiling panels.
My mission from the beginning was to get the outside done first. I was hoping our neighbors might hate us a little less and if/when we got enough of the inside done we could legally take the bus for a ride around town (it’s illegal in KY to impersonate a school bus so the decals, lights, stop sign, and color need to be changed.) But with every great plan comes hitches. We realized that taking care of the water damage and getting the windows back in was the smarter option to minimize the damage we would have to fix and would make it easier when it finally came time to paint.
So, first we wanted to share how NOT to replace the windows in your bus if you would like to keep the water and mold out.
We’ll be of no help if you’re looking for how to properly replace your windows with sheet metal to seal off spaces in your bus. We’ve opted for the most open concept possible. It’s important to us to maintain the school bus aesthetics while still creating a living space that is warm and inviting. But the best thing about keeping all the windows, is when we pull off to some beautiful place in the mountains or a spot right on the beach, we’ll be able to take in all those gorgeous views from anywhere we’re sitting.
