Wanderlodge Flooring

[Terry Neal]

For those of you who are considering a flooring upgrade or replacement
in your Blue Bird, you really should consider the services of a
professional for this job. We were fortunate enough to have Ernie
Ekberg replace all of the flooring in our PT40 while he has been here in
Livingston, MT this summer.

I have been in the vehicle restoration business for a number of years
but after looking closely at the Bird, made the decision to try & find a
pro to do this job. There are just too many issues with leveling the
underlayment, fixtures, plumbing & electrical systems that must be
addressed.

I then saw that Ernie was planning to be in Livingston, MT for the
summer. That put him just 20 miles down I90 from us, so I called Ernie
& he dropped by the house to look at the Bird as well as update me with
answers to a number of Bird questions. We then left the Bird parked
next to him for 2 weeks in Livingston for the work to be completed.

Ernie & Bim Burt removed all of the old green shag carpeting & thousands
of staples, which must have been real cheap in 1982 since they used them
everywhere! They then removed the captain & co-pilot seats to install
new Mannington hardwood flooring from the entry back through the galley.
Along with new carpet in the bath and rear bedroom.

The entire job took them about a week and the results are really
impressive. Their attention to details and the quality of the
installation tells me that we made the right choice. Ernie & Bim even
delivered the coach back home for us when the job was finished. My wife
chose all of the materials and the combination of colors & textures has
really improved the entire look & feel in the coach. The interior has
been lightened up a lot too which was really needed.

So if you are thinking about a new look for your Bird, give Ernie a call
and see if you can get him close to your part of the country or visit
him in Texas during the winter. You will be well ahead of the game to
trust this kind of job to a pro, especially one who knows Blue Birds as
well as Ernie.

I'm compiling an album for all the work on the coach and will post it to
the photo section when I have more progress made on the project.

Terry Neal
Bozeman, MT
82PT40
74FC34