Well since this is my very first post, I would like to introduce my self. My name is Robert, and I live in northern Indiana. I'm a plumber by trade, but have had many construction jobs. I have a good time hanging drywall and taping. I also like to do everything my self. I moved here to Indiana January 31st 2010 when my wife and I bought this Mobile home and moved up from Knoxville, TN. Ok so enough about that, now comes all my questions..all million of them.
This trailer is 92ish 14x70 trailer. The roof has leaked some and so we have some mold issues which I have been getting rid of slowly. I want to slowly fix up this house room by room and update the "behind the scenes" stuff. I started with my bathroom. I'm rather sure that my entire trailer is not level because everything appears to be somewhat square, but when i put a level on things it's usually just touching the line or has about a 1/4 bubble. I'm not much of a carpenter, but I can cut straight and read a tape well which is a start I guess. From what I can tell the previous owner put down 3/4 in all the rooms and put down either cheap carpet or cheap vinyl. When I pulled up the bathroom sink and tore off the 5/16" drywall I noticed that all the walls are resting on super cheap particle board (sorry if it's not called particle board it's just what it reminds me of) It sags super bad and can't hold a skrew to save it's life, but the ply wood on top is nice and sturdy. I want to prep the floor for a new tub and prep the bathroom for all new drywall.
I bought the tub, which is just a standard fiberglass tub with a super cheap wall that my wife picked out (I wanted to do a nice texture with drywal mud and use super thick latex paint for walls, but she said no..) I also bought some green drywall 1/2" for the entire bathroom. I'm going to cut down the ceiling. When i took off the exterior wall board I noticed that there is only fiberglass insulation to keep me comfortable...but it's not working. i have that aluminum siding outside which I don't plan on replacing any time soon. I took out the insulation to check for a vapor barrior and there was none. I can actually see outside on many of the joints. which makes me super angry. So now comes all my questions.
1. Should I use "Great Stuff" to fill all the cracks going outside?
1.a: Some one told me about a sealer paint (E-Barrier) that I can paint super thick along the studs on the aluminum siding from inside to seal it up. Or can I just use great stuff and some silicone (or better equivalant, don't know much about silicone) then put my insulation back and drywall.
2. If i do step 1 should I also put up a 6mil plastic barrier on all 5 walls (ceiling being 5th wall)
3. Should I cut out all the plywood and the stupid particle junk and just put down 2 layers of 3/4" board, or just scab all the plywood to give me a solid floor?
4. None of the walls actually attach to the ceiling joists. They actually are about 1/4" shy of even touching the drywall celing ( I guess to make room for the popcorn when they put the walls up??) Should I take the time to make the the walls go all the way to the ceiling?
5. I read on another site that I can put a silicone (a painter made me buy something else for this) in all the cracks of my drywall before I tape to seal out all the air. Is this a good idea or is it conflict with question 1,2?
6. I have to build a wall for my shower since the cubby hole is 63.5" and my tub is 60", should I square it up with the rest of the walls or just make it level since my trailer is not level?
That shold be enough questions for now, I'm goign to go to teh plumbing section and see if I can give some advice over their now. Thank you very much for any advice given. Hope I can learn some good tips. Also since i'm going to the studs in my entire bathroom is there anything else anyone would suggest for good ideas to make this room more efficiant?
Thank you
Robert
Ps. I'm going to upload some pics and a floor diagram in a minute when I get done drawing them Hope this helps.
This trailer is 92ish 14x70 trailer. The roof has leaked some and so we have some mold issues which I have been getting rid of slowly. I want to slowly fix up this house room by room and update the "behind the scenes" stuff. I started with my bathroom. I'm rather sure that my entire trailer is not level because everything appears to be somewhat square, but when i put a level on things it's usually just touching the line or has about a 1/4 bubble. I'm not much of a carpenter, but I can cut straight and read a tape well which is a start I guess. From what I can tell the previous owner put down 3/4 in all the rooms and put down either cheap carpet or cheap vinyl. When I pulled up the bathroom sink and tore off the 5/16" drywall I noticed that all the walls are resting on super cheap particle board (sorry if it's not called particle board it's just what it reminds me of) It sags super bad and can't hold a skrew to save it's life, but the ply wood on top is nice and sturdy. I want to prep the floor for a new tub and prep the bathroom for all new drywall.
I bought the tub, which is just a standard fiberglass tub with a super cheap wall that my wife picked out (I wanted to do a nice texture with drywal mud and use super thick latex paint for walls, but she said no..) I also bought some green drywall 1/2" for the entire bathroom. I'm going to cut down the ceiling. When i took off the exterior wall board I noticed that there is only fiberglass insulation to keep me comfortable...but it's not working. i have that aluminum siding outside which I don't plan on replacing any time soon. I took out the insulation to check for a vapor barrior and there was none. I can actually see outside on many of the joints. which makes me super angry. So now comes all my questions.
1. Should I use "Great Stuff" to fill all the cracks going outside?
1.a: Some one told me about a sealer paint (E-Barrier) that I can paint super thick along the studs on the aluminum siding from inside to seal it up. Or can I just use great stuff and some silicone (or better equivalant, don't know much about silicone) then put my insulation back and drywall.
2. If i do step 1 should I also put up a 6mil plastic barrier on all 5 walls (ceiling being 5th wall)
3. Should I cut out all the plywood and the stupid particle junk and just put down 2 layers of 3/4" board, or just scab all the plywood to give me a solid floor?
4. None of the walls actually attach to the ceiling joists. They actually are about 1/4" shy of even touching the drywall celing ( I guess to make room for the popcorn when they put the walls up??) Should I take the time to make the the walls go all the way to the ceiling?
5. I read on another site that I can put a silicone (a painter made me buy something else for this) in all the cracks of my drywall before I tape to seal out all the air. Is this a good idea or is it conflict with question 1,2?
6. I have to build a wall for my shower since the cubby hole is 63.5" and my tub is 60", should I square it up with the rest of the walls or just make it level since my trailer is not level?
That shold be enough questions for now, I'm goign to go to teh plumbing section and see if I can give some advice over their now. Thank you very much for any advice given. Hope I can learn some good tips. Also since i'm going to the studs in my entire bathroom is there anything else anyone would suggest for good ideas to make this room more efficiant?
Thank you
Robert
Ps. I'm going to upload some pics and a floor diagram in a minute when I get done drawing them Hope this helps.