[double b26]

my mother bought a trailer this past year, and now wants to make a few changes to the layout. the trailer is brand new this year, and i think its 14x65, or in that area. 2x6 walls, pitched & shingled roof.

she wants to move the wall between the living room and spare bedroom back about 3 feet, give or take, depending on where the studs are. the pic below can explain better than i can.

so, i've never worked on a trailer before, so this is new to me. i spoke with an inspector though, and he told me that the floor and walls were placed first, and then the ceiling and roof was all dropped on last by crane. then the walls just screw into the studs/joist/rafters.

the way he talked, getting the wall loose basically boils down to pulling the paneling off, and taking out the screws. then i would have to remove a section of wall in the hallway, and place the unattached wall were i want it, and reattach it with screws. i know there is a special tool for removing the paneling w/o tearing it up, but other than that, it seems pretty simple.

one other concern i have is whether the walls are load bearing. the one that runs parallel with the joist and rafters should be fine (i think), since its only a 14' span, and the trusses are there. the hallway wall is more of a concern, since its perpendicular to the rafters. again though, they only span 14', and there is no second floor to add weight. do you guys think they will be fine without any bracing during the job?

well that's it, for now. thanks for any help.

 

[double b26]

well, does anyone have any ideas about this?

regardless, i'm tearing into the wall tomorrow, because she needs it moved by the new years football party. i'd just like to hear some opinions on this before i really get started.

i already took some trim and the 1/4 drywall down (turns out that its not regular paneling) on the little piece of wall above the hallway entrance. it does appear that there are long square-drive screws anchoring the interior wall to the exterior one.

here are a few pics to clear things up....

the whole L.R. wall

the aforementioned "little piece of wall"

one of the screws

thanks for the help!

 

[tpolk]

never seen a trailer with 2x6 walls, it has wheels? I would guess moving the wall back is not an issue since the door header is staying. you need to duplicate how the wall was fastened at the ceiling. how are you dealing with the missing flooring where the bottom of the wall was?

 

[double b26]

never seen a trailer with 2x6 walls, it has wheels? I would guess moving the wall back is not an issue since the door header is staying. you need to duplicate how the wall was fastened at the ceiling. how are you dealing with the missing flooring where the bottom of the wall was?

yeah, it has wheels, but the 2x6 studs were an upgrade option. the regular setup is 2x4.

what header are you talking about? the bedroom door in the hallway is staying as-is. from the looks of it though, the header in the hallway door jamb ("little piece of wall") is attached to the rest of the LR/BR wall. if all goes to plan, it will be staying as well, just moved back with the relocated wall.

as for reattaching the wall, i have a stud finder. so i'll just have to find the studs in the walls, ceiling, and floors, stand the wall and screw it all back in.

i dont think there will be any missing flooring under the wall. unless you mean the carpet or linoleum, not the actual floor. in that case, the BR floor has linoleum, but the LR has carpet. i think the linoleum runs under the wall, but i'm not sure. just by the way the inspector talked, everything was layed before the walls were stood. anyway, if there is no linoleum under the wall, it will be taken care of at another time. right now the top priority is to just get the wall moved and reattached to the floor/ceiling by new years.

 

[tpolk]

I've been in some double wides and would move in in a heart beat, so I'm not knocking the trailer. the header will be over the door opening into the room you are making smaller, there may very well be no header there but doesnt matter since you are not moving it. What I was referring to at the ceiling is you may have to add some blocking to screw the top part of your wall to if it hits in between the ceiling joists. hope this helps

 

[gregzoll]

never seen a trailer with 2x6 walls, it has wheels? I would guess moving the wall back is not an issue since the door header is staying. you need to duplicate how the wall was fastened at the ceiling. how are you dealing with the missing flooring where the bottom of the wall was?

Exterior walls would be 2x6, but interior would be 2x3. If I was the OP, I would just tell mom to rent some place like a conference room at a local hotel. Manufactured homes are built to specs to help keep sound. If you move one wall, you risk the structure showing issues later on down the road.

 

[gregzoll]

There is a big difference between need & want. She "Wants" to have the wall moved by Friday, but "Needs" you to do it, so that she can save a buck. Tell her to rent some place larger, or forget this idea, because it cannot be done, without risking the structure.

 

[double b26]

I've been in some double wides and would move in in a heart beat, so I'm not knocking the trailer. the header will be over the door opening into the room you are making smaller, there may very well be no header there but doesnt matter since you are not moving it. What I was referring to at the ceiling is you may have to add some blocking to screw the top part of your wall to if it hits in between the ceiling joists. hope this helps

yeah, okay i follow you. just from eying it, it looks like the wall will hit on studs, joists, and trusses. plus the new wall location is approximate, and can go either way depending on what it needs to be anchored correctly.

Exterior walls would be 2x6, but interior would be 2x3. If I was the OP, I would just tell mom to rent some place like a conference room at a local hotel. Manufactured homes are built to specs to help keep sound. If you move one wall, you risk the structure showing issues later on down the road.
...
There is a big difference between need & want. She "Wants" to have the wall moved by Friday, but "Needs" you to do it, so that she can save a buck. Tell her to rent some place larger, or forget this idea, because it cannot be done, without risking the structure.

the wall stud size sounds about right. the exteriors are 2x6, but the interiors are smaller. not sure the exact size, but 2x3 looks close.

the wall moving has been in the works for some time now, and its not just 'for the party'. the LR in the place is pretty small, and the spare room takes about 1/3 of the living space, but no one is ever in there to use it. that's why she wants to gain a few feet in the LR. so really, the wall move is more of a need than a want. the want part is the new years deadline. i'm laid off for the winter, and i used to build, so she has me doing it for a side job. it saves her money over hiring a contractor, but its not getting done for free.

as for the structure; from looking at it, and talking with the inspector, i really dont think this will effect the structure's strength. i mean, the trusses only have to span 14' width. the hallway wall (perpendicular to the trusses) may support some load, but i'll only be shortening it by about 3 ft, and the door way to the spare BR will remain intact, so the header and door framing should help support the ceiling. plus, these trailers come in so many configurations (this one is already modified from the original plans), all using the same material, and i think they are designed to stand w/o interior support. hell, ive seen trailers that are used for job site offices that are completely empty inside (wall-wise), but still were sound.

 

[gregzoll]

An inspector is not going to tell you anything, other than what they know, and what everyone here can tell you. In order to find out what you want to do is safe, you have to talk to the manufacturer, which engineered the manufactured home within HUD spec's. Moving a wall can and will cause damage to the structure.

BTW, the home is built like any conventional home. They do not crane the whole roof on, they build it like you would in building a regular home, but use min. methods in the construction.

 

[ponch37300]

So you have tomorrow to finish this? Any progress pics? Trailers are a whole different world to work on. Most of the inside walls are usually added AFTER the outside walls and ceiling are on. If you take the trim off at the top of the wall you should see a small gap between the top plate and the ceiling, and the ceiling will be finished above the wall usually.

If this is the case in your situation then moving it should be fairly simple. You can keep one side of the drywall on. Just take one side off the drywall down so you can get to the screws. Usually the outside walls are finished behind the inside walls so you will only see a couple screw holes. Cut the hallway wall down to where you want it and then reattach the wall. You will have to make sure you can secure the wall to the outside wall and rafters. Then re drywall the side you had to tear appart and finish and trim out.