After a rather hectic period like the end of year celebrations, a little before Marie left for her father's funeral in Reunion, I tackled the construction of the floor. We agreed not to put it directly in contact with the metal of the dumpster, but rather to incorporate it into a wooden frame that creates an air gap, a guarantee of better insulation. This requirement makes us lose 5cm in height inside the cabin, but we know that the cold comes from below!
In the video below, I trace the locations of the frame in pencil in order to know where I will make the holes to screw the floor onto its structure later. The floor is temporarily fixed with only four screws.

In the following video, I will turn the floor over and drill the screw locations, aligning myself with the middle of the cut lines.
Once the holes are made, I turn the floor over and do a slight countersink so that the screw heads are flush with the wood.

Now that the upper part of the floor is ready, the one we will walk on, I prepare the lower part, the one that will close the boxes with the insulation trapped inside. This part does not need to be very thick, so I choose to use 5mm nautical okoume plywood.
In the following video, I work on tracing the parts that will have to fit into the boxes, then sawing them. By doing this, I avoid errors in taking measurements and angles, and I limit the waste

The joists and cross members are made of chestnut, a wood with multiple qualities that I already talked about in the previous episode. The sections are 56mm x 36mm, except for the rear cross member which is 70mm x 36mm because the floor of the dumpster is not flat but undulated..

Before placing the insulation, I will apply a layer of tung oil on the entire structure and especially on the end grain. These precautions are not essential because as is, the chestnut would easily last 20 years!

The floor is coated only on the insulation side because the part where we will walk will be covered with dense cork tiles.
You can see on the video below, the lines that mark the imprints of the crosspieces and joists, as well as the holes for the class A2 stainless steel screws

Unfortunately, in the following video, the installation of the insulation was not recorded, a false move on my part.

Once the floor is in the dumpster, we think about how we are going to position the various larger and/or more essential elements, such as the batteries, the clear and grey water tanks, the table, etc.

In the next episode, we will discuss the construction of the back of the VroumVroum!, that is to say the front door, whose joinery will be made in the greenhouse. Then, we will have to move the floor outside, place it on a pallet, and check the assemblies. When everything is ready, we will have a physical test to accomplish, namely moving the cell, turning it 180° and hoisting it into the pickup truck bed... as you can see in the photo at the top of the page.
So see you soon;-)