Cost Guide

A guide to the main items and materials we used and cost where known.

For the suppliers we used, see Sources & Suppliers Section.

•Update, November 2014. When we first compiled this list some years ago the costs were accurate, but time moves on of course, so quite a few are now very out of date. A good example is the cost of 4mm veneered-ply sheets that jumped from £32 to £42.50. Sadly, we just don't have time to maintain the list and search for current prices.

Whilst we did consider removing this section, as it could mislead, we think it worthwhile keeping it in as it does show most of the major expenditure items (if one is converting a van to a similar specification); also, it may surprise: how can such a little bit of sealant or wire can cost so much?!

If working to a tight budget, the list should help in planning what essential items to buy first to get mobile, and what one can perhaps leave until later on.

Note: some items did not include a carriage/postage cost; some items had a discount applied to retail price. All had Vat included. All were brand new items.

Item & Qty Cost total Comments
Plywood - Floor, Kitchen worktop, Battery Box, etc. 12mm. 2440x1220mm. 4 Sheets £85 £21.30 per sheet. WBP Grade to BS 5268. Brazilian Hardwood. See Furniture and Kitchen section
Plywood - Ceiling. 5.5mm. 3 Sheets £42 WBP grade to BS 5268. Brazilian Hardwood.
Plywood - Floor and wall lining. 4mm. 7 Sheets £70 £10 per sheet. WBP grade to BS 5268. Brazilian Hardwood.
Veneered Plywood. 3.5mm Cherry Veneer. Bed/seat bases, kitchen unit, partitions, doors, lockers, etc. 8x4ft. 10 sheets. £320. £32 per sheet. Real wood veneer, requires varnishing. January 2014 price £42.50 per sheet, inc vat & delivery.
Cherry veneer iron-on strip. 20m. £22
Timber - Floor grid, Softwood 25x34mm Planed to size from stock 34x34mm.
Timber - Partitions, frames, etc. Softwood, pine. Mostly 44x18mm. Various other sizes used in small quantities.
Timber - Interior of bed base legs, bed end panels, locker end panels, etc. Stripwood, pine. 18x10mm and 34x10mm. Timber prices vary considerably between superstores and timber merchants. Avoid Superstores 'Bargain Packs' - poor quality. Best buys and quality usually from long-established wood yards and bought by the metre.
Timber - Kitchen framework, panel nosing, etc. Hardwood, Mahogany. 50x25mm An extravagance to use Mahogany, but it looks lovely and I just happened to have some.
Insulation Board - Floor, ceiling and walls. EcoTherm. 12 Boards (?) £240 £20 per sheet. Foil faced, see Insulation section
Insulation - General Purpose foil blanket - Overcab roof, wall and corner joins. 1 roll, 600mm wide x 7.5m long. £16 see Insulation section
Adhesive/sealant, Sikaflex, White.

6? tubes
£32 £5.30 per tube. For fixing ply to floor pan, battens and insulation board, rooflights, etc. We've almost certainly used more than 6 tubes as some tubes would have gone beyond 'use by' date over time.
Cost per tube now £8.95, July 2013.
Adhesive/sealant, Sikaflex, Black. 3? tubes £20 £6.40 per tube. Seal window frame/body joins, water inlet, mains lead connectors, etc.
Cost per tube now £8.95, July 2013.
Window, Seitz. Top Hinged. 900x500mm. 2 off. £430 For Lounge. N.B. Seitz products, size quoted is opening required. NOT the overall size of frame, which is larger. See Window section.
Window, Seitz. Top Hinged. 350x500mm. £180* For Bathroom. Current (Feb 2012) price from Rainbow Conversions, see Sources.
Window, Seitz. Sliding. 750x400mm. £161 For Kitchen
Rooflight, Seitz. Midi-Heki. £195 For lounge
Rooflight, Seitz. Mini-Heki. £75 For Kitchen
W4 Mastic strip for sealing window frames £28 This is the blue mastic strip used behind the window outer frame; it forms a flexible seal between frame and body panel. It is not seen after window fitted.
Kitchen Worktop, Formica sheet. £52.80 inc vat See Kitchen section
Seat Foam. High density. Inc roll Dacron, stockinet and adhesive. £318 Supplied cut to size.
Sink/drainer. Smev. £102
Gas hob. Smev. £145
Oven/grill. Smev. £223
Refridgerator. Waeco, 12volt compressor, 80 litre. £506* *Current price, Feb 2012, from MPS Trading.
Water heater. Gas/12v. Electric. Propex Malaga 3E. £306
Space heater. Gas/Electric. Propex, Heatsource 2E. £600* Current price, Feb 2012, Rainbow Conversions.
Water pump, 12v. £65
Water tank. Fresh, 66 litre. £94 Inc fixing brackets
Water tank. Waste, 50 litre. £86 Inc fixing kit.
Water tank filler and lockable cap. £17
Water pipe and fittings. Fresh Water, for sink mixer-tap and toilet wash basin mixer. Potable (drinking) smooth bore flexible piping.
Water pipe and fittings. Fresh and waste ribbed flexible piping. Filler pipe to fresh water tank. Waste from sink and washbasin to waste tank. Ribbed on outside, smooth bore inside.
Mixer-tap, folding, Kitchen sink. £35 Chromed brass.
Mixer-tap, wash basin/shower. Whale Elegance. £60
Wash basin, bathroom. Corner shape, plastic. £17 Temporary item until we finalise design.
Water tank gauge, 2 off £64
Switches. Pump, Lights, Water heater, inc fixing plates £16
Toilet, Dometic CTW4110 swivel-bowl cassette type. £349 December 2013 price. From Magnums, includes the external door for cassette removal through van side panel.
Gas 4-hole Vapour Tank. Re-fillable, 20 litre. Inc mounting frame and tank fittings. £252
Gas pipe, copper plastic coated, 8mm dia. 3.5m long inc fixing clips and screws. £14
Gas pipe, copper, 8mm dia. 11m long. £21 Boat chandlers are useful places for the odd gas pipe/fitting etc, but can be appreciably more expensive.
Gas pipe manifold 4-way. £21
Gas UK Bayonet filler complete. £27
Gas tank Regulator 30mbar £20
12volt Charger. Sterling Battery to Battery type. For charging leisure batteries. £280* *Current on-line Price, Feb 2012, from Battery Megastore.
Mains 240v. to 12volt Charger 20amp. Sterling Pro-Budget model. For charging van or leisure 12v. batteries. £146.50
Leisure battery, 12 volt. Banner Energy Bull 115Amp/Hour. 2 off. £262 inc shipping * From RoadPro, December 2013 price
12volt Fuse panel. £28.50
12 volt Master switch. £5.50
240v Mains inlet socket £10
Light, round, 12v, 9w. Fluorescent. £21.70
Light, striplight, 12v, 11w. Fluorescent £24
Electrical cable, various connectors, fuse holders, etc. Various sizes. See Electrics section.
Electrical conduit for cables, both 240v and 12v. Round, flexible type. Several diameters used. Used with gland nuts where terminated at boxes.
Mains 240volt 'Garage' consumer unit. Volex. 40A. 2 MCBs. £37* *Screwfix current price, Feb 2012. See Electrics section.
Mains 240volt, 2-pole socket outlets, MK make. Single and double outlets, with steel back boxes.
Passenger Seat. Citroen variant (same as Fiat seat, different colour cover). £350 Inc two arms. Note an X250 drivers seat cannot be used as a single passenger seat - it has the seat belt mounting etc on wrong side and is not transferable.
Seat swivel. FASP. £125
Seat Base Frame, low height. Fiat. £175 Also required are 8mm. high-tension nuts and bolts to fix seat to swivel and swivel to base; some countersunk to clear swivel mechanism.
Woodscrews. Stainless and brass. £32 Screwfix and Toolstation
more to come... . .