← Tope

Structure

In progress Spend: -

1Box & exterior

BoxUnicell composite, 84" × 168" × 80" interior
Exterior coatingRaptor Liner on the panels
CabinetsIKEA SEKTION, 14¾" deep, as wardrobes

The box is not bonded to the chassis, which drives the electrical grounding strategy. See the floorplan for the zone layout.

2Framing & wall panels

8020 aluminum extrusion (1020 profile) is the primary framing system. Walls are 1/8" Baltic birch plywood with a microcement finish.

Microcement over plywood needs fully continuous backing. Unsupported 1/8" panels flex on washboard roads and crack the brittle coating, so furring strips run between the 8020 verticals for full support. The ceiling is upgraded to 1/4" plywood for sag resistance. Where fastener-free mounting is needed, panels bond to the 8020 with 3M VHB 5952 plus Sikaflex 252 or 291.

The panel build-up, the removable window panels and the magnet fixing have their own page, because the detail outgrew this one.

3Doors

Shower: layers, substrates and research →
Bathroom door and pan detail drawings →

Cab / box guillotine door

Slide-up door, 25" x 36" opening, slides into a pocket above. Counterbalanced with stainless constant-force springs. Marine plywood substrate with a microcement finish, locking mechanism required. Built as a single full-height panel with a door cutout, which beats a multi-piece layout: fewer seams and a cleaner load path away from stress-concentration corners.

Bathroom door

Hinged, 19.5" x 72", microcement-wrapped plywood.

4Bed platform

The lift is installed and repaired. The platform that rides on it is ours to engineer, because Happijac rates the mechanism and nothing attached to it.

5Windows

Arctic Tern. Sealed with full-perimeter Sikaflex and a sloped ramp fillet at the bottom sill.

The observed leak path was water pooling on the outside bottom sill and wicking inward, so standard weep-hole theory did not apply here. The fillet sheds the water instead. Direct observation overrode the assumption.

6Interior finish

Microcement throughout, over the continuously backed plywood. Current spec is at v6 (284.8 ft², front wall included). Wall panel dimension diagrams are drafted from the hand sketch, with several reads still to confirm.

Build log

Lounge framing, wide
2026-07-02Lounge and rear wall framing, overhead cabinet box in and 8020 uprights set.
Lounge framing with cabinet fronts
2026-07-02Rear lounge framing, cabinet fronts test-fit with 8020 staged for the next run.
Lounge window and fluted panel
2026-07-01Lounge window trimmed in plywood, fluted accent panel above the bench.
Lounge window, plywood surround
2026-07-01Plywood surround fitted around the lounge window.
Lounge slatted accent panel
2026-07-01Slatted accent panel over the bench window.
Lounge window latch detail
2026-07-01Window latch and plywood reveal detail.