WATER, TABLES, AND STORAGE

See the look on Owen's face? Figuring out our water system has left us stumped and wearing this exact face, time and time again. We decided to wait until all our cabinetry was in place before diving in to figure out our water system. We wanted to be sure that all elements were being accounted for. Our water system has been something that we've been dreading for some time now, because the last water pump in Amelia made so much noise when running that we were afraid that we were doomed to have the same fate. 

Diaphragm water pumps are notoriously loud so we wanted to avoid using one. Unfortunately after a few weeks, multiple parts ordered (that were later returned), and hours or research, we came to the realization that we needed a diaphragm pump to properly run our water system. In Stanley we had a very cool little system that was all powered by a small faucet that acted as an electrical switch to turn on the water pump. Sadly, our beautiful new faucet doesn't have those same capabilities. Our water system is now built to be turned on by a switch which that turns on the water pump, allowing us to then be able to pull water out out of the faucet on demand. This is the standard setup for diaphragm pumps. In addition to buying "the quietest pump on the market" Owen was determined to find a way to make it even quieter. Our solution was a bed of old mousepads and some cork underlayment for our pump to lay on...turns out it works like a charm!

Owen's electrical blog post will go into detail about the electrical component of the water system.

This past week (week 20) we decided to finally cut down our final counter top, which we have deemed the desk top, because it will be serving as a standing desk for work days on the road. The wood has been joined for (sadly) a few months now, but we were waiting to know the final dimensions of the cabinetry below to make the cuts down to the desk's final dimensions.

So it's not quite finished yet because it needs all of it's finish work...but it's going to be amazing when it's done! I can feel it! Before hitting the road, when I had a 9-5 studio job, I was standing 98% of the time while I worked. After being on the road and having to work in far more coffee shops than I care to recount, I haven't had the opportunity to stand and work nearly as much as I would like...this desk is going to make it happen again! The topcoat we've discovered during this build is called General Finish. We like the wipe on urethane because it leaves the finish incredibly smooth in far less coats!

As I started to apply poly to the bottom side of the desk top I wrote M & O across the bottom (for MAK & Owen), Owen walked over and said "What is Zero plus Three?!" That's my husband guys...

The last drawer that we had to make this past week was our over the refrigerator drawer. After installing the refrigerator we knew this space was going to be short and wide so our goal was to use this space for our utensils. As you can see in the image above, we were actually able to get a lot more in than we originally planned! We decided to cork line and sub divide this drawer so we could fill it with different things and still keep it organized. Our hope is that these little dividers will keep things from rolling around too much when we're in transit. The cork should also keep the noise down. Kitchen gear always seems to be the loudest as you bump down a little dirt road!

Like everything else in our rig, the drawer got a fresh coat of white paint!

Oh, and more curain painting happened this week...and next week, and probably all the way up until the moment we leave. I really enjoy working on these curtains, and all the different steps I have to go through to complete them, but I don't think that I realized how long "natural" looking mark making takes. I timed myself this past set that I worked on, and each panel takes me roughly 25 minutes each. There are 13 panels total that will be in Amelia! ;)

See you next week! Same time, same place!

MAK

SUPPLY LIST

For Inquiring Minds

Water System

• Shurflo Water pump - for moving the water from the tank and out of our faucet

• Shurflo 90 degree elbow - for making a hard turn because our water pump is in a tight spot

• Shurflo Strainer - apparently this is important to have so you water can be strained before entering the pump

• Monitor Panel & sensor kit - for monitoring the water levels in the fresh water tank, gray water tank, as well as the switch to turn on our water pump

• Fill hose lines - this connects to the fill port on the outside of Amelia and runs the water down to the tank

• Barbed port kit - we used this to make the fill hose port, air pressure release, and a few other

• Straight Brass fitting - for attaching the water hose to the underside of the faucet

• 90 degree turn Brass fitting - for the water hose leaving the water tank to attach to. We needed the 90 degree because of the tight area that it fits into.

Table Finishing

• General Finish Gel Top Coat - This stuff is pricey but works so so well leaves a nice finish in far less coats then the other brands

• White Rags - for wiping on the finish, leaves the best finish in my opinion