Walter’s History

Hello everyone,

So today I was going through/ tidying everything out of the bus, ready to begin transforming Walter when I came across a Daily check pad from 2012.

How exciting, I now know Paulo Silva drove the bus every day apart from 16th and 19th of March when Philip James drove him and for 2 weeks from 26th of April until the 18th of May 2012 when Patrick drove him. Mmmm intrigue, or maybe just nosey.   
So to satisfy my curiosity I have messaged the company to find out more about them and Walter the Denis Dominator.  Let’s see what transpires.
A friend has also wondered where Walter was built, stating that most British coaches are conceived at Walter Alexander in Camelon.  Thanks, Kenny, further evening investigating when my arms are too tired to do any more work.
Ok, that’s all for today.  Roof struts to polish with an angle grinder – more about that tomorrow.  See you then :))

The Double Decker Dream

Upstairs plan for Walter

Upstairs will include a bright seating area and a library full of lots of my father’s books.  Hush don’t tell him, we haven’t asked him yet.  He has super picture books about volcanos, fauna and flora, steam engines etc. ideal for browsing on rainy British summer days.  There will be a shower room and bathroom and at the end of the top deck a spacious master bedroom. See below for the 3D plan looking from the left and the right.  

Any ideas for space-saving in the bathroom, it’s a bit squidged.?
Tomorrow I’m going to order wood and supplies for phase 1 – ceiling, walls and floor panelling, get some idea of what this little lot is going to cost.  See you tomorrow :))

The Double Decker Dream

Planning the inside of Walter





Downstairs birds-eye view.

Here it is, the post you have been waiting for Today,  tape measure in hand; one of those 5 m long twangy ones; that take off a finger if you let them coil back in too quickly, and two lengths of A4 paper stuck together, I measured and drew an inside floor plan of the top and bottom deck. We still want to to be like a bus inside so the finished layout will include the driver’ seat and steering wheel, original first aid kit and extinguishers.  Seats will be reupholstered and used within the dining space and the back seat cinema.  Below is a 3D side view of the bottom deck, looking left and right.

The layout is more or less finalised, but if you have any ideas for the final decor or space-saving ideas, I’d love to know what you think.  Tomorrow I will share plans for the upstairs area.  See you then 🙂

Who is Walter?
Let me introduce you to Walter. 
He is a 1989  Denis Dominator Double Decker Bus. He was in service in Oxfordshire from his construction until bought by an estate agent in Southampton. This nameless seller of bricks and mortar had great plans to turn Walter into a mobile reptile zoo!!  Unfortunately, he failed to receive the necessary health and Safety permissions and so sold it to Ali.  Ali rode with 5000 clutched inside his sweaty motorbike glove and on receipt of a further 1000,

Walter was towed from Southampton his present resting place.  

 The lower and upper decks will be 24 square meters each, while the porch extension increases the floor space by a further third, making total inside space 72 meters squares. The mollycroft in the upstairs section ensures people over 5ft. 10 can stand a move around comfortably.  
So we are ready to begin.   Tomorrow I will share the drawn plans with you so you can start to get an idea of how it will look after all the hard work.    Until then, Bye x


Walter

Dirty, dirty Walter

The precursor to Walter includes many adventures and can be found in different places.  As this is day one of this blog the background will be added to completely randomly.  If you are reading a few years on you may have a more logical, sequential picture of who, why, what and when.    So here I begin, in the middle, today.

Six acres of transformed midden staying in an Iceni roundhouse with nothing much to do is, I think, the best place to see out a global pandemic. 

Ali bought Walter in 2015 with the idea of converting him into a living space. Unfortunately, the elderly village population need their hedges and grass cutting and the eco-minded require woven hazel fences constructing. Walter has, therefore, waited patiently gathering moss and snail trails. 

Thumb twiddling has never been my forte, so a few conversations later and the crew is ready
Myself project manager and labourer (as far as puny muscles allow). Bro visionary and eco-warrior. One carpenter, Solar specialist, Neil the narrowboat builder and Bob the bus.