DIY Renovators Finish A Door Project With A Second Coat Of Paint Then Check Out Their Bus That Has Been Sitting For Three Years And Find Two Potential Leaks

Every couple who renovates ends up with a story about the door. For the pair behind DIYfferent, this week’s door story ended with a crack in the wood, a trim board painted the wrong color, and a one-sided door trim they are happy with anyway. Then they turned to the bigger project waiting behind them: an old bus that has been sitting for three years.

DIY renovators finish a door project and inspect an old bus, beside a painted teal front door

The couple is renovating a property with help from a family member named Eevee. Their latest update starts by wrapping up a door project, getting a second coat of paint on so they can finish the hardware, and ends with a hands-on look at the bus, where they found two potential leaks.

Why the door swings that way

Viewers keep asking why they hung the door to swing the way it does. The answer, according to the husband, is that it was not his decision. “It was the door’s decision.” It is an old, used door, and the hinge locations were already set to swing one way. The door can only swing out, and with its orientation he went with it. It works well because the door can open all the way to reach the cabinet. Opening the other way, it would just hit the cage.

With the inside of the door and the jamb painted and left to dry, he got ready to install the knob hardware. There is a big crack in the door that worries him a little, but the door was dry and ready. He marked where the strike was rubbing, which is where the strike plate would go, then drilled it out and tried to route the recess. With the door stop in the way it was tricky, but he kept a steady hand. He tested it, and it felt good.

Weather strip, siding and a trim mix-up

Next came the threshold. He did not like how a deck board was sitting and says it needs to stick out a bit, but that is a job for later. For now he added peel and stick weather strip on the bottom of the door to close the gap and keep large things out. It uses 3M VHB tape, which he describes as no going back.

He wanted to add trim, but some siding was missing up above because he forgot to put a nailer in the corner. He cut a scrap of wood to fit, then pulled a piece of siding from the trailer, cut it down, test fit it and painted it before installing to make the job easier.

Then came the mistake. He found a few boards to use as door trim and painted one white, as they do with trim everywhere. But this trim was supposed to blend in with the wall color. He repainted it to match, and says the boards look better. The paint was a little thin and needs a second coat, but the result is what he calls their one-sided door trim. “Sometimes you just have to work with these little odd situations,” he says, and it looks good. The couple recalls how long that opening sat bare and ugly, and that they have had the door for years, maybe from an antique shop.

While he worked, he kept hearing a rustling sound. It turned out Eevee had been pruning and clearing an overgrown area at the front. He was shocked to find it wide open and looking amazing, despite all the sharp thorns.

Meet the bus

Part two is the main attraction. The couple recently acquired a bus, and they are not taking it on the road. They plan to fix it up and use it as an outbuilding on their property. First it had to move out of the driveway into its proper place, a spot he had previously leveled and had been thinking of using for a garden. Instead the bus will park there.

He corrected an earlier slip as well. In the last video he said they first saw the bus two years ago, but it was actually three years ago. They looked up the old footage from when they were poking through a junk pile, and the bus was already sitting then. He assumes the diesel in it is no good.

The bus says made in USA. When he got in, the windshield wipers turned on, and they could not get them to turn off. It would not start, probably, he figures, because their jumper cables are about as thick as headphone cables. They need better ones. Still, the wipers working was a start. After a couple of back and forths, pulling forward and backing up, the bus ended up in its spot, though he jokes that straight is hard to define on a property where he thinks the house itself is slightly crooked.

Two potential leaks

The hood is stiff and he could not close it because the hinge is locked up, so he sprayed it to loosen it up. While that soaked in, he went looking for a rat and found wires that have been chewed open. He wondered aloud how it will run with all that damage.

He tried the emergency roof hatch, which was stuck, and when it finally popped up, he found the first leak. The hatch door is two layers of molded plastic, and when they lifted it, water poured out into the bus right where the hinges hook on, because there are holes there. It holds water inside and could drip into the bus whenever it rains. He says they will have to repair the hatch or close it up, probably by sealing it over.

The second leak is the running lights on the front and back, whose gaskets look dry and brittle. Water could run down and get in where the wires go. The couple also plans to check the body panels and windows, since sealant behind the windows has aged and may be drying out. To test it, they will either pull over a hose or wait for rain.

What to take from it

Match trim to its job. If a piece is meant to blend with the wall, paint it the wall color.
Buy proper jumper cables. Thin cheap ones may not turn over a big engine.
Check old gaskets and seals first when hunting leaks.

Next time, the husband says, he will start digging into the bus, pull out the seats and see if it can become usable space. It is so cool, he says, that he almost does not want to use it for storage.

Willow and Hearth