After deciding that he didn't like the look of the first set of tongue in groove, Hubby removed it and started again.  This is how it went.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Our next step is the roof.

We opted to go with the already made tongue and groove siding.  We tried to make our own but it was a bit over out wheel house, you can cut the price of the siding by about 2/3 if you make your on.

Here is a look at the finished framing of the walls and the install of the windows.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

After the ledge was up we added the side wall framing.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Next we work on the walls.

After the floor frame was secure, we added the kneewall.  The kneewall is the box around the floor where the walls will sit.

After the bones were cleaned it was time to lay out the floor.  We needed to frame in the bottom, add the wiring and the plywood.

First we created a work area that was out of the sun and rain for Hubby to work in.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

After the floor frame was laid, plywood was added over the frame to create the floor.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Next we will add the Kneewall.

 After we got the bones home Eli had to remove the wooden sides and bust out the drill and wire brush tools.  There was a lot of rust around the support brackets and on the front of the bones by the nose of the trailer.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Here Eli is giving me a break down of where each of the components will be in the wagon.  The front is projected to have a window and some pass through storage below the bed area.  We're tossing around the idea of making our bed out of straw.   I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  LOL

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

So here's the bones all cleaned up and getting a fresh coat of Rust-Oleum.  We went with flat black. So far I'm extremely pleased with how she's looking.  Next steps, floor frame.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

The next big decision was around the outside of the wagon.  What did we want it to be?  There is tongue in groove which is the best for the wagon.  It looks really good and finished.  There is however the issue of cost.  Buying wood that is already tongue in groove is significantly more expensive than doing the cutting ourselves.  At this time of this writing we were still debating on what the best course of action would be.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

These are the beaded boards above and the tongue in groove below.  We opted for the tongue in groove look, now we just have to decide if we're going to make it, or buy it.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Lowe's was pretty much our go to spot for picking up the majority of the new items that we needed for the wagon. Where possible we picked up everything else at the second hand stores and shop.  Even our hurricane straps were picked up at Habitat for Humanity.  Our interior wall covering was purchased at Goodwill as were the majority of the interior design furnishings.

When getting started on any project a good foundation is critical.  These are the bones of our vardo.


Just as many of our other projects we decided to go the recycle/re-purpose route with the vardo wagon. The bones of the wagon is the frame from an old RV trailer.  The previous owner a dear friend of ours who passed away, modified it from the rv trailer and used it to haul his race car back and forth to the track.

The first thing we had to do was get it home.  So we went over on a chilly morning in February to pick it up.  One of the tires was completely blown out and the other three were in horrible shape.  We took the tires off and went to a local shop to have some tires put on that would at least get us home.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

The frame was a bit rusty and in need of a repaint.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Eli got to work immediately getting measurements for the planning phase of the project.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

So this is it!  Our little vardo wagon project.  Stay tuned for more updates to come!