Step 1: Remove Siding
Step 2: Assess the Damage
What were the chances that hadn't caused some problems? So we pulled the rest of the siding off.
Step 3: Use the Existing Wall as your Template
What follows is a story in pictures representing how this is done:
Step 4: If you need to rebuild the Whole Wall, get busy.
Maybe so many boards are bad, or maybe the interior paneling is so bad that it makes more sense to replace the whole wall. Lucky you, you have that whole wall in front of you to use at a life size pattern of exactly what the wall should look like. If your wood has rotted so bad that you can no longer tell what should go where, then, dang, I don't know how to help you.
Using the exposed wall, you now know what size to cut all your wood. So, Cut it! And hook it together! In the Right Places! Like so!
Step 5: Attach your interior paneling to the framed wall you just built.
I don't have picture of this. You'll just have to take my word for it that this is a necessary step. We used underlayment, and secured it with staples.
Step 6: Make sure you know exactly where your new wall goes.
If you are using the original siding, you need to make sure your wall is the same as the old one, or your windows and edges won't line up. You could do this by taking pictures of every single joint where one wall meets another. You could make some marks where certain edges are supposed to meet. Or you could do something even smarter that we didn't think of.
Just remember that you have to get that wall back in in the right place, or your holes won't match up and you will be screwed.
Step 7: Pull off the bad wall.
Bad wall! Bad! Take that bad wall down!
Step 7: Attach the New Wall.
This was a little tricky with only two people. Clamps were our friends.
We used screws to attach the front wall to the side walls, but it wasn't until we attached it to the boards that make up those benches you see in the picture above, and to the cabinets you can't see in the picture above, that the wall really became secure.
Keep that in mind as you are rebuilding your trailer. You may be tempted to remove cabinets and shelves and benches to get more space, but every one of those built in pieces of furniture help to strengthen the trailer structurally. So proceed with caution.
And there you have it! New wall! And boy, howdy! is it sturdy! You know, for a trailer.
Things are getting exciting! Until next time, Adieu!