Renovation: A gypsy wagon for guests

Photographs Amora Erasmus Styling Marian van Wyk

When Andrew and Karin Yates think back on the devastating fire that swept through Knysna and surrounds in 2017, a sense of relief overwhelms them. It was a miracle their own home wasn't destroyed.

However, the blaze did completely ravage a freestanding log cabin on their 10-hectare plot, where guests would usually stay. Many trees were also turned to ashes. "With the beautiful forest surrounds gone, we wanted to make sure that our new guest space was something really special," says Andrew, a retired mechanical engineer.

And special it is! Instead of a cabin, he decided to build a gypsy wagon. "I thought the quirky design, an authentic replica of a real gypsy caravan, would be a fun surprise for guests," says Andrew. He built the wagon himself (the only thing he didn't do was the window glazing and laser-cutting detail for the exterior) while his wife Karin, a retired primary school teacher, tackled the interior decorating.

"We've had quite a lot of guests stay in the wagon," Andrew says. "It's a wonderful space in which to get away from it all. An embankment shields all noise from the tar road about a kilometre away and at night it's often possible to hear the waves crashing in the sea, which is about nine kilometres away.

"We love it so much that sometimes Karin and I use it as a getaway for ourselves!"

It's the perfect place to get away for a few hours of solitude and rest. - Andrew

The wheel deal

The wagon consists of a bedroom with a double bed, a loo and kitchenette; a shower in the main house is available to guests.

"The wagon took about a month to design and about five months to build," Andrew says. He used CAD software to create the design and researched gypsy wagons online. "I found lots of pictures taken from every conceivable angle and some fantastic detailed drawings. I decided to cheat a bit on the traditional size by adding about 500mm to the width and length to make it a bit roomier and to squeeze in a small cubicle for a toilet."

Andrew prepared six different floor plans and he and Karin discussed them until they agreed on the final layout. "It really helped to draw up the complete design on paper, including all measurements right down to the thickness of the wood," he says.

On the job…

Each wagon wheel rim was laminated with 18 layers of very thin bands of wood that had to be glued and clamped two layers at a time. "It took lots of patience!" Andrew says. He made the arched roof beams with a similar process. The entire structure rests on gum pole supports to minimise damage to the wooden wheel rims from rising damp. The wheels, in fact, float above the ground.

To ensure waterproofing and stability, Andrew made the roof of the wagon with five layers including a tongue-in-groove pine interior, polystyrene insulation, a sisalation layer for thermal insulation and water protection, marine ply sealed for waterproofing and a malthoid waterproof layer with bitumen sealing. The gutters have been waterproofed with bitumen cloth flashing and have a decorative gargoyle drain spout in the four corners of the roof.

Andrew needed lots of scaffolding to construct the long timber pieces of the wagon frame, roof and walls on his own. "It was quite a challenge to work out the correct angles and true lengths for the slanted walls. This is where the CAD programme I used to draw the design was very useful," he says.

Once you've painted a wooden structure, it's important to protect it from the elements, advises Duram brand manager Jenny Moolman. Here's how: Treat exterior wooden surfaces with Duram Wood Primer; this will seal and protect the wood. Allow the primer to dry completely before painting a layer of Duram Universal Undercoat to improve adhesion between the primer and topcoat; allow this to dry for 12 hours. Then apply three coats of waterbased enamel paint, allowing each coat to dry completely (4-6 hours) before applying the next; sand lightly and remove any dust with a slightly damp cloth between layers.