he’s always on the move.painter and decorator willi has no complaints about a lack of jobs. one deadline is followed by the next. his workman’s van is a loyal companion that is always by his side. but willi has a problem. what chaos. the machines fly around the place, paint rollers roll around the van while i’m driving. paint pots have sometimes fallen over.i need some sort of solution. something that makes sense. it can’t go on like this.
a job for our designer helen, all-rounder marie and my little contribution of course. hello. hi. hi.are you all ok? yes. take a look at that. it’s a bit of a mess. i’ve tried everything. i’ve used pieces of wood but they didn’t really work. nothing’s impossible. we’ll find a solution: give us one day
and your problem will be solved. one day? of course... we’re the dream team! sensational! and while we work, willi has to swap his van for a bike. first, everything is cleared outand cleaned. then, we take a closer look at the van. the challenge: the van doesn’t have any attachment points or right angles.
we need to be creative.but we already have an idea of course! to create ample storage space,we opt for the combitechâ® system coaxisâ®. this can be individually tailored to the van’s dimensions. it’s also extremely stable, so willi can even brake hard without any need for concern. all the materials we need are available from specialist retailers and well-stocked diy stores.
now we have to precisely measure the inside of the van. to create a uniform surface, we want to cover one of the van’s sides with plywood. marie saws the plywood sheetto the right size and incorporates recesses, for example for the wheel arches. we screw the sheet of plywoodto the cross beams on the inside of the van. we use an angle profile from the combitech⮠range as a trim at the base.
and hami checks that everything is properly attached! now it’s time for the shelving unit. for the back support, we usethese square-u profiles with two sides from the combitech⮠system. these give our shelving unit stability.all we need to do is cut them to the right length. to do so, we’ll use a mitre saw with an aluminium blade. we drill one hole for each of the shelving unit’s cross-beams at the plannedshelf heights.
a little tip: so that the coaxis⮠profiles fit perfectly when we’re done,i use a small piece as a measure. to ensure the shelving unit is level, we start by only provisionally screwing on the supports. we use the coaxis⮠profiles for the remaining cross bars. but they first have to be adapted to the right angle as the van’s wall isn’t straight. the profiles then have to be sawn at the right angle. we again use our mitre saw, which allows us to set
the blade to the precise angle we need. to connect the cross bars to the square-u profile, we give them a thread. to stop the profile from skewing, we use a manual thread cutter. this needs a bit of muscle strength.but marie has what it takes! the two profiles are then connected together using a long screw. fasten them tightly to make them secure.
we now attach the appropriate support profiles to the cross bars. they fit perfectly into the groove. the horizontal profiles willlater hold our shelves; the vertical ones will stop things from sliding off. these plastic end caps are attached between the coaxis⮠profiles. they are not only decorative but also stop the profiles from scratching each other. a quick check of how we’re doing: our shelving unit is taking shape. but the entire front is still missing. this can be attached using
practical connecting brackets. these enable an infinite and highly stable profile connection.and we don’t even have to drill any holes. press together, tighten and we’re done. with the help of the alfer⮠fixing panels, the column profiles are now attached to the floor with self-tapping screws. and now it’s time to usethese cover strips. i’ve already cut some to size. these ones still need cutting. the strips hide the shelving unit’s grooves. good, let’s start.
press the cover strips into the groove and we’re done. it couldn’t get much simpler. we screw holes into the vertical support profiles as we’re attaching perforated sheets between the shelves so that nothing slide off when the van is moving. these are simply riveted to the support profile using rivet pliers. these are our shelves. we had them cut to the right size for us in the diy store. we simply lie them loosely onto the horizontal support profiles.
we also have another idea for the perforated holes. a van like this can never haveenough hooks and brackets. the alferâ® bracketsare perfect for holding rolls of tape. as this is still far from enoughfor willis tools, we also attach a wide coaxisâ®profile to the opposite side. alferâ® offers a broad range of hooks. the x-starâ® tool holder is particularly practical for a workman’s van. its retaining spring holdseverything securely.
the workman’s van is ready. we’ve nearly installed everythingbut all of this is still left over. it would be a shame to throw it all away.i think i’ve got an idea. what on earth could that be?first, we tidy up. we also used old plywood to build two simple drawers. we use these to store loose items. we’ve individually tailored the shelf sizes to willis tools. and what happened to our left-over bits of aluminium? we’ve created a little somethingso that willi doesn’t forget us.
very nice.it’s great. hello! we’re finished! really? of course. i need to see. show me, show me! right away, come on! and... one, two, three... wow, that’s amazing! brilliant.
a workman’s dream has come true. but the best bit is the photo up there!it’s brilliant. super. thank you! and all in one day. super, brilliant. sensational. chaos is a thing of the past – now everything has a place. even our hami is impressed. the high-quality material provides stability. a refined storage system with plenty of storage space. aluminium elements individually combined and perfectly aligned to one another. everything stays where it should do, even on sharp bends. brilliant. every fits perfectly.
as you can see, the storage range from alferâ® can create huge amounts of storage space, even in the most unusual places. and with that, we say goodbye to you and of course, to willi: bye willi. bye. ciao, whooo! yeah!