Monday, January 23, 2012

A Project

When we tore apart the inside of the Airstream, Max decided it was time to consolidate all the miscellaneous electric stuff that used to be behind the couch. Sorry, I really don't know what it is or what it is called, but here is a photo all consolidated.

As proud as I am of his electrician skills and as fascinating as all these wires are, I decided a cover would be a good thing.  We debated - as we always do - various options.  (A digression.  Our first house - about 150 years old - was a handyman's special.  While we were "debating" whether to remove a small porch on the front of the house, the nice old man across the street came over and we apologized for "debating" in front of him.  He told us, "Anything worth doing is worth arguing about."  We've had many occasions since to follow his sage advice.) 

But, we had a piece of luan already painted blue - the one that broke if you have read earlier posts - so we economically used that.  It needed to have good ventilation, because that grey box has a fan on top.  Thus, the cover had to be open on the top and bottom, and some vent holes in the front seemed a good idea.
I found a pattern for an Art Nouveau Rose online, altered it, and managed to cut it out with a utility knife. For the sides, we needed the shape of the walls. After a few stabs at it, I found the best way was to take a piece of cardboard and cut and test and cut and test.  Because of the curve of the wall, the cover is about 1/2 inch wider on the top than the bottom.

It is all glued together with Liquid Nails, then strengthened with some side pieces. The final touch was decorative screening and aluminum edging. Again, we debated how to fasten it, but when we added the dog leash holder, inspiration struck. We found the same system at Lowe's, and added these little receptacles (right). 
  
To cover the wires on the bottom, a piece of the sticky vinyl wall base made for a neater look: 

And, Tada!  Here is the final cover.