Mobile Home Renovation

[Farmer Dave]

Does anyone know of a website that has DIY instructions on doing various repairs and renovations on old mobile homes? I need to replace the front door frame and would like to make the opening wider and install a solid wood door in place of the original styrofoam door. Also need to replace some rotted floor around the door.

I wish HT had a forum on mobile home repairs. I'm sure there are many on here that live in older MH.

Farmer Dave

[finley31]

Dave, my wife and I moved into our first home last spring, a 1987 model that had been abandoned for almost ten years. The front door frame was rotted out on ours as well. Although I just replaced it was another new mobile home door and it was incredibly easy, so I'm not much help there. However, we did have to replace quite a few sections of rotted floor.

I used my circular saw and removed the floor past the bad spot and cut down the center of the next floor joists on either side so I would have a landing for my replacement flooring. I also added in two braces between the joists so my replacement section of flooring had a landing on all four sides. The biggest issue i ran into with replacing the rotten floor was finding a replacement material that was the same exact thickness as the particle board used by the oem. It was exactly 5/8" thick and everything at the local box stores was 19/32".

[Bob Huntress]

If you have an older mobile home the framing may not be strong enough to support a standard home door. To remove the old one, however, you unscrew around the flange and where the screws go through the jam and most of the time the sealant around the flange is pretty tight. Usually you will need to pry that off with some effort.

It is my opinion, when renovating a mobile home, if at all reasonably possible, I try to restore it to the standard of a traditional house. It sounds like that is your intention as well, which is good. The floors also happen to be slightly thinner in trailers than in houses, so make sure that you are not making your floor patch thicker than the floor it will be patching. Beyond that the cutting the old floor back to a frame member and installing solid framing nailers between the joists at the joint is the same from me.

[Jan in CO]

Ours is a modular/manufactured home, vintage about 1985. Built the same as mobile homes, so not a real 2 x 4 in the place according to my dh! Very frustrating to try to find doors that fit, door knobs that fit the doors, etc. I'd like to see a forum on here, too!

We've tried to restore everything to the standards in a stick built home, too.

[carasel]

I don't know of any sites to help you. some thoughts:
The floor: If you can not find 5/8" material. Cut out the old to the edge of the floor joist. Add a new 2by to the inside edge of the joist. You can lower this down to get the new sheeting level with the existing. I would also add other support 2by's like finley31 said.
Door: pull the inside paneling off to see how the door header is built. You will need to figure out how to extend this for the new frame work. Make sure to check height of the new door. Keep this in mind while looking at the header.
I live in a trailer also. I replaced the door. Thought i would add a storm door.
But with the way the deck roof sloped it would of opened less than 90*. Scratched that idea.

[motdaugrnds]

The older models were not made as well as the new models; so rennovating them may well mean some structural damage if you're not careful.

We have a 1972 Commodore Andora movile home and a few years back had to replace both the front door as well as the flooring. David found a mobile home door that he could make work. I didn't watch him do it; but it didn't take too long so I got the impression it just slipped into place.

The floors were "totally" redone by simply placing OSB over the entire areas, cutting around corners, vents, etc. David did not take up the old flooring to do this; just left the broken stuff there and laid over it, making sure the new sides of the new flooring connected to something solid.

When Mother was alive, she used a wheel chair and her door needed to be widened; so David simply cut the door area to the next stud...worked fine.

[hippygirl]

http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/phpbb/

Link to a MH repair forum

[Farmer Dave]

Thanks to everyone for your replys. My MH is a 1994 Fleetwood and water is getting in somewhere above the front door. The roof is metal and I don't see anyplace where the water could be leaking in up there. I suspect it's getting in behind the metal sheeting on the side of the MH. There is a seam in the roof gutter above the door so I think that has got to be the only place where water could get in at. I filled the seam with silicon but that didn't work.

I will need to fix the leaking problem before I replace the door and floor. I guess I will need to rip out the wallboard around the door and try to find where the water is coming in at. That will need to wait until spring.

[Bob Huntress]

I didn't see it mentioned elsewhere. A standard header is two 2x's nailed next to each other with filler wood between them making it 3 and a half inches thick, yet, a standard mobile home, however has 2" x 3" framing. A 1"x nailed next to a 2"x with no filler is about the right thickness. Remember that these figures are based on demensional cut and planed framing, which is planed 1/2" on both sides. I say this because when you enlarge the openning for your door, you will need to add a longer headed, and probably a wider depending on how big a door you are installing. The weight load isn't as great as it is with a traditional house, but make sure you have a solid header. I usually put a mobile home header with the the 1"x facing the living area.

[motdaugrnds]

I sure understand what you're going thru with leakage! And no, silicone does not work. Your plan to find the leak prior to putting in your new door is a must; and remember, the leak could be in a totally different area and just running to where you have found it.

[BACOG]

Originally Posted by Farmer Dave

Does anyone know of a website that has DIY instructions on doing various repairs and renovations on old mobile homes? I need to replace the front door frame and would like to make the opening wider and install a solid wood door in place of the original styrofoam door. Also need to replace some rotted floor around the door.

I wish HT had a forum on mobile home repairs. I'm sure there are many on here that live in older MH.

Farmer Dave

If HT doesn't do anything for a thread on MH repairs you might want to check out this place. http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/phpbb/ Their home page has some good info too.

[Farmer Dave]

Originally Posted by Bob Huntress

I didn't see it mentioned elsewhere. A standard header is two 2x's nailed next to each other with filler wood between them making it 3 and a half inches thick, yet, a standard mobile home, however has 2" x 3" framing. A 1"x nailed next to a 2"x with no filler is about the right thickness. Remember that these figures are based on demensional cut and planed framing, which is planed 1/2" on both sides. I say this because when you enlarge the openning for your door, you will need to add a longer headed, and probably a wider depending on how big a door you are installing. The weight load isn't as great as it is with a traditional house, but make sure you have a solid header. I usually put a mobile home header with the the 1"x facing the living area.

Shouldn't that be Two 2x's nailed together with no filler for the mobile home header, which would equal the 3" wall thickness?

[Bob Huntress]

Originally Posted by Farmer Dave

Shouldn't that be Two 2x's nailed together with no filler for the mobile home header, which would equal the 3" wall thickness?

To be honest, in real life the 3" is actually only 2 and a half inches deep. That makes 1 and a half and a 3/4" , which is a quarter inch thin but unless you have 1/4" ply, which is sold, for a filler, that is it. I should have said that the 1"x that I mentioned is usually a rough cut. That is my bad.


To address where the water is entering from, I have done several mobile homes with floor rot at the front door, and it has always been the door. It usually enters between the bottom of the door and the threshold, and sometimes it enters other places around the door, yet I haven't seen floor at the front doors rotted from water entering somewhere other than the front door. When you get the door off, you will obviously need to also remove the threshold, as you intend to replace it with a larger door. Check for rot under the threshold. If you see one area around where a screww fastened it to the plate, see if you see a trail where water went into the floor.

[starjj]

http://www.mobilehomerepair.com/ Don't know if this will be any help or not but you can check it out

[Farmer Dave]

Originally Posted by Bob Huntress

To address where the water is entering from, I have done several mobile homes with floor rot at the front door, and it has always been the door. It usually enters between the bottom of the door and the threshold, and sometimes it enters other places around the door, yet I haven't seen floor at the front doors rotted from water entering somewhere other than the front door. When you get the door off, you will obviously need to also remove the threshold, as you intend to replace it with a larger door. Check for rot under the threshold. If you see one area around where a screww fastened it to the plate, see if you see a trail where water went into the floor.

When there is a heavy rain for at least a day and you have the front door open, water drips from the top of the door frame. The entire door frame and threshold is soaked and swollen with water, like a sponge. The floor directly in front of the door gives when you step on it. After a heavy rain the door is very difficult to open and nearly impossible to close and lock because of the swollen door frame. There is an aluminum overhang above the front door that keeps water from getting in from the outside which is why I think the water is getting in from behind the metal siding somewhere.

[wildcat6]

I am looking into replacing my front styrofoam door as well. Do you have to have a special mobilehome door or can I just go down to Lowe's and pick up a door. I imagine that like everything else on a Mobile Home that it has odd measurements and normal doors probably don't work.

[Farmer Dave]

Originally Posted by wildcat6

I am looking into replacing my front styrofoam door as well. Do you have to have a special mobilehome door or can I just go down to Lowe's and pick up a door. I imagine that like everything else on a Mobile Home that it has odd measurements and normal doors probably don't work.

Everything on a mobile home is not a standard measurement like you would have in a regular stick home. I refuse to buy the cheap quality and overpriced MH products. The MH exterior doors are styrofoam with either a vinyl or thin metal skin over it...very easy to break into. My door frame is nothing more than pressed fiber of some type...not solid wood. When I replace it, I will put in real solid wood for the door frame and find a solid wood door and cut it down to fit the opening. Good luck with your front door project.

[Bob Huntress]

Originally Posted by wildcat6

I am looking into replacing my front styrofoam door as well. Do you have to have a special mobilehome door or can I just go down to Lowe's and pick up a door. I imagine that like everything else on a Mobile Home that it has odd measurements and normal doors probably don't work.

Wildcat, a couple problems with replacing a mobile home door with a standard residential door, include the size of the opening that Farmer Dave has rightly pointed out, requires making a larger rough openning. That alone wouldn't be such a big deal, yet, the other, and more challenging issue is that 2"X3" framing isn't usually enough to support the much heavier door used in residential construction. The door width is also greater and if it is pre hung, the jam is usually for a 2"X4", though some are sold for 2"X6" framed homes. It can be done, mind you, yet it isn't as simple as pulling the last one and installing the new one.

[Bob Huntress]

Farmer Dave, if you have a bent metal awning, I can see that as being a likely leak point.

[HillbillyOutlaw]

Originally Posted by Farmer Dave

Thanks to everyone for your replys. My MH is a 1994 Fleetwood and water is getting in somewhere above the front door. The roof is metal and I don't see anyplace where the water could be leaking in up there. I suspect it's getting in behind the metal sheeting on the side of the MH. There is a seam in the roof gutter above the door so I think that has got to be the only place where water could get in at. I filled the seam with silicon but that didn't work.

I will need to fix the leaking problem before I replace the door and floor. I guess I will need to rip out the wallboard around the door and try to find where the water is coming in at. That will need to wait until spring.

MH's are horrible for roof leaks and the older they get the worse the problem gets. The very best way to fix the leak problem is to put a peak roof over the length of the trailer. It's basically a long, skinny pole barn framework. Roof it with metal or shingles. We coat our roof every year and still have some leakage (it's a 1977 model and we built an addition onto it..more chance for leaks!!) Good luck, Dave.