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Mobile Home Carpentry questions

3K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  KCB 
#1 ·
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.
 
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#2 ·
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.
You don't mention the size of the gaps or what caused them. A solution would be based of why. Foam insulation can't be exposed to the elements.
2. If i do step 1 should I also put up a 6mil plastic barrier on all 5 walls (ceiling being 5th wall)
Yes
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?
If you know exactly why it was there and know that if you remove it, there are no structural consequences.
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?
You don't mention what the wall framing is. If it's wood, you might be able to place shims along the top plate and screw it together to unitize it.
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?
Does your painter do comedy as a second job? This is a bad idea. First of all the airflow should be stopped at the outer wall. As you open these, find the gaps and seal them there. The way you seal them will depend on where they are and how big they are and what material they are.
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?
The tub is square, so square the wall.

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.
I hope this makes sense.
Ron
 
#3 ·
Thank you for such a quick response.

The gaps in the aluminum sheeting are from the design of the sheeting. It is rippled all the way accross (I guess for expansion) and it is done in 2 sections. The top one is about 6' tall and slides up behind the overlapping roof. but because it ripples it allows bees and insects and so forth to just walk up and over this lip and make a nest in my wall. On the bottom of the sheet is a runner that is about 2" and looks like upside down gutters .. and does the same thing like on the top of the sheet. then just a small little sheet that goes down to my skirting. Because the sheets ripple AND there is a few strips of 1/8" wood going horizontal, were ever the sheet goes out I can see grass..albeit it's only about a 3"wide x 1/4" deep gap but it's that way around the full perimeter of the house.

When i ripped out the walls and the insulation I found upwards of 10 wasp nests. I want to seal all that up. It's too big of a gap for silicone which is why I figured I should use foam insulation since It won't be exposed to the elements.

the wall framing is a a stupid size wall.. when i measure it's like 1.5"x2". If i put a 2x4 inbetween the studs I can barely fit my fingers behind the 2x4 and the sheet rock. The exterior wall is a normal 2x6 wall though. I know the interior walls are not load bearing because of 2 things, one it's not touching even teh sheet rock and 2 i can move them about 1/2" back and forth... weak walls :laughing:
 
#4 ·
Before you do anything you need to level and sure up the entire structure.Allways start with a level Solid Foundation , Your venturing into alot of things that can be expensive to do. Are you sure its worth your time and effort to complete the job? Start with a plan, stick with the plan .Most older trailers were built outside walls then cieling , the interior walls are then added .
As for starting your project make sure your roof is in good shape no leaks etc...It all depends on how perminant this structue will be as your resedence and how much you want to sink into it .If you want to cut corners and save money it may not even be worth doing,because youll end up with a substandard product not worth its value.Start with your sublfoor, if its right everything you do above it will be,hence your plan of attack.You can do it room by room and even change your wall structure if you choose.Look it over good and make a list of your problems and solutions before you even start.
 
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