Jimsryker
Well-known member
I had seen a post about this some time ago and as my trip approaches, I decided to mimic it as well to maximize space. I removed the doors for greater access and began my work. It was not easy as the opening is narrow and I am not. Plus, you have to extend out past your center of gravity so the back did not like it. The whole reason for posting this here is the "hind sight" moment I had about half way through the project. If you have a cyclone 3010, you know that silly partition they put up excludes you from a lot of space. I pulled the doors, the plumbing and then the partition and all the thin veneer they put down and exposed the framing underneath. I then replicated it with some poplar wood to provide support all the way back to the exterior wall. I had some matching veneer that was left over from a warrantee repair and I planned to extend it all the way back to the wall.
Here is the "ah ha" moment. In hind sight, I would just remove all the existing framing and expose the flooring underneath. It's the same vinyl throughout the kitchen/living room and it would have gave me an approx. 2.2 additional sq. feet that is now non-useable under this "platform" I built to mimic the existing. I realized it after I had completed the frame and cut my veneer to size. Oh well, I went ahead and finished it. My advice. Save time, money and add some space and just pull the existing platform and add some shelves.
My final addition was to add a battery powered motion sensitive LED light bar. Now when I open the door and reach in, it lights up the whole area. Here are some pix to flush out the explanation....
Here is the "ah ha" moment. In hind sight, I would just remove all the existing framing and expose the flooring underneath. It's the same vinyl throughout the kitchen/living room and it would have gave me an approx. 2.2 additional sq. feet that is now non-useable under this "platform" I built to mimic the existing. I realized it after I had completed the frame and cut my veneer to size. Oh well, I went ahead and finished it. My advice. Save time, money and add some space and just pull the existing platform and add some shelves.
My final addition was to add a battery powered motion sensitive LED light bar. Now when I open the door and reach in, it lights up the whole area. Here are some pix to flush out the explanation....