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The black material enclosing the base of a mobile home is known by several names: bottom board, belly board or paper, black board, etc. Typically, the material used is asphalt-impregnated fiberboard or fiberglass, cloth or heavy tar paper and woven polyethylene. All serve the same purpose: Prevent moisture infiltration.
Installing a Ground Moisture Barrier It is recommended that all mobile and manufactured homes have a ground moisture barrier. A barrier is usually just a polyethylene plastic sheeting placed directly on the ground and secured under the home to act as another shield between earth and home.
The mobile home’s wood frame is usually made of 2X6, 2X8 or 2X10 floor joists. Then plywood, particleboard or OSB is placed on top of the wood frame to create the subfloor, also called the decking.
Mobile homes are constructed upside-down – or at least the floor is. The floor joists are nailed together, the ducts and water lines are attached, a thin layer of insulation is draped over the entire floor and a cover (the belly wrap) is installed. The steel frame is attached.
Mobile home insulated skirting is a worthwhile investment. Insulated skirting can lower your utility bills and end your frozen pipes woes. But most importantly, it will keep your home in a better condition for longer.
‘ is yes. You absolutely should buy an older mobile home and remodel it if you can find a home with a sound structure and you can do some of the updates yourself. If you like the idea of living debt-free eventually you should absolutely consider buying an older mobile home and remodeling it as your budget allows.
Many people think at first that mobile homes can’t take the removing/adding of walls. Actually, it’s much easier, cheaper, as long as you know what you’re doing. It’s also less risky than doing it in a stick-built home. A common remodel is to knock down a few walls and create modern, open living spaces.
The total cost of the project — including demolition, windows, cork floors and baseboards, roof, interior doors, paint, kitchen cabinets, appliances, bathroom sinks and cabinets, tiled showers, toilets, living room and bedroom storage cabinets, and closet shelving — came in at about $80,000.
Best Flooring Options for Your Modular Home
Disadvantages of Buying a Mobile Home. A disadvantage of buying a mobile home is that its value will depreciate quickly. Like a new car, once a mobile home leaves the factory, it quickly drops in value. One reason mobile homes depreciate in value is because they are personal property, not real property.
Mobile Homes Have Non-Standard Window Sizes In most older mobile and manufactured homes, you cannot buy a standard window at Lowe’s and expect it to fit the opening in a mobile home unless you plan on retrofitting it.
The most recommended subfloor material is 5/8″ plywood. If you can afford water resistant marine plywood for your kitchen, laundry, and bath that would be a good idea.
Sagging mobile home floors: are usually a result of water damage in mobile homes with particle board flooring that doesn’t hold up well when it gets wet. Moisture Barriers Stop moisture from developing directly on the mobile home floor boards and will not allow the floors to rot.
Moist ground and standing water under a mobile home generate water vapor that accumulates in the crawlspace and can rise up into the home, slowly damaging the structure over time. HUD and manufacturers both require new homes to have a vapor barrier if it will be enclosed with skirting or other materials.
Cost to Replace Subfloor in a Mobile Home Expect to pay between $2 to $2.75 per square foot for both labor and materials. Since the job is specialized, it’s best to hire a professional to complete the work.
9 Common Signs of Subfloor Damage
Insurance Coverage for Subfloor Water Damage This can interfere with repairs, and wet wood is quickly susceptible to mold that can affect drywall and framing. In such cases where the entire subfloor needs replacing, homeowners’ insurance will often cover subfloors’ replacement due to water damage.
This is a ‘quick and dirty’ list of the basic steps needed to replace flooring in a mobile home.
One of the benefits of removing the old flooring is it allows you the chance to fix any loose subflooring or squeaks by re-securing the main subfloor to the floor joists prior to installing the new flooring. With all that being said though the answer is YES you can install New Wood Flooring over the old.
How to Level Sagging Mobile Home Floors
How Much Weight Can a Mobile Home Floor Hold? According to the CFR § 3280.305 structural design requirements of manufactured homes, the floor must support a minimum live load of 40 pounds per square foot.
Most installers recommend that mobile and manufactured homeowners check their home to ensure it is still level 90 days after installation and then every year after, preferably at the beginning of summer.
Re: Floor joists, etc… If they do use 2 by 6’s make sure they are on 16 inch centers. 2 by 8’s on 16’s is the way to go . (many economy builders don’t offer that though). Anything on 24 inch centers is going to produce a lot of floor shake.
The flooring should run perpendicular to the joists. Make sure that each part of the floor is level before moving on.
The Uniform Manufactured Housing Act requires you to do two things to legally convert a mobile home into a real house – Relocate the mobile home onto a particular piece of land and file for a certificate of location with the land records office of where your new home will be located.
How Walls are Built in Manufactured Homes. Walls are built using wood boards called studs. Studs are the vertical boards and are normally 2″ x 4″ and spaced every 16″ in a manufactured home.
Manufactured homes appreciate in value the same way conventional homes do. Because modern manufactured homes are sturdily built and have great curb appeal, their market value increases when home values increase in a specific area. That is good news for millennial home buyers.
Most site-built homes today are also built with wood-framed wall systems with 2”x4” or 2”x6” used the vast majority. Most site-built homes also use 16” on center studs in the outer walls and interior load-bearing walls. Most interior partition walls use 24” on center studs.
How thick are manufactured home exterior walls? Our exterior walls are most frequently constructed with standard 2×4” studs, but they could also be constructed with 2×3” or 2×6” studs depending on a variety of factors such as: Price point of your home.