Manufactured Home Repairs

[Ranchermom]

We bought this great property and it came with a small cottage which my parents live in and a manufactured home. The home was a double wide with lots of room for my family of four with two porches attached and bolted down pretty good even 80 mile winds dont seem to shake it. We have liked it so far in the three years we have lived here.

One thing we found out was the sinks were constantly leaking and we couldnt just go into a Lowes/Home Depot we had to go to the other side of the city to buy the specialized part at a mobile home dealership!

Finally hubby just bought the whole faucet from Lowes and it seemed to work. I dont know why we didnt think of it before.

I was wondering anyone else is living in a manufactured home do to repair something to make living better?
Also..

Right now our second problem seems to be these super strength squirrels bending the vents outside and getting inside the home. Any suggestions for this?

Thanks

Samantha

[FarmerCop]

just a thought! buy an owl statue and move it around at night but keep it near the hous. set it on posts and other things birds might perch on

[MELOC]

can you remove the covers and install 1/4 inch hardware cloth (galvanized metal screen), and then replace the covers?

i helped an older lady with some plumbing troubles in the spring. she lives in a trailer and had a leaky toilet. what a trip that was. all of the plumbing was flexible tubing and compression fittings. all of the studs were 2x2 and not 2x4. the fiberboard floor was rotten and needed replaced. the toilet was trailer sized and a replacement toilet was like 50% more money. i had to buy the standard toilet and recess the thing into the wall because the drain was already set and did not allow clearance for a standard toilet.

i would recommend converting everything that you can to standard stuff as it becomes necessary.

[Ranchermom]

can you remove the covers and install 1/4 inch hardware cloth (galvanized metal screen), and then replace the covers?

I will look into that, the regular screens you buy at the store are not working they just tear into it like Hulk squirrels.

We had trouble with our toilet too but got that fixed, I think if you catch it early you can prevent all that warp stuff.

Anyone ever do a manufacter roof before?

Thanks

Sam

[Yldrosie]

We had a storm and lots and lots of snow, 2 years ago. It was so bad our roof started to sag with a 4' deep load. Fortunately, our insurance covered it, so last summer, we had a whole new roof put on our doublewide. They replaced the struts that had sagged, and shored up a few more. While the house was open, we put double insulation up there. It has sure paid off. This summer, when the temps hit 100+, the house stayed a lot cooler. Never had to turn the swamp cooler on til 2 in the afternoon. We had upgraded sculptured shingles put on, and it looks beautiful and is guaranteed for 30 years. Oh, and heating bills were almost cut in half.

[PyroDon]

We purchased a 1996 doulbe wide in 2001
We got a good deal beacuse the kitchen floor needed replaced .
1600 sq ft three bed room two bath large kitchen, libary, really nice sized living room with fire place. thermopain windows and 2x6 outer walls . just under 17,000 delivered and set up .
Granted we did have to do quite a bit of work .
I cut out all the bad (partical board)flooring that had been damaged when a water line to the ice maker broke . Replacing it with 3/4" plywood then laying a hardwood floor in the kitchen area ( wish Id done this in all living areas)
We replaced the carpeting in the living and dining room ( dumb thing to do with toddlers)
Replaced the shallow kitchen sink with a nice deep stainless and install rope lighting under the cabinets.
We had to remove the laundry sink to make room for our freezer, The sink is now mounted on the back deck for washing hands and cleaning game.
Advise is this if you ever have to replace flooring be sure to reenforce under the walls . most walls arent over a floor joist. Replace doors with full sized doors and never install carpeting until the kids are all moved out .

[blue gecko]

I agree with replacing with standard items whenever possible. Those particle board floors are a real pain. We ended up putting plywood floors in both bathrooms and the kitchen. Go around and check the temp of all the outlet plugs, if they are hot it's time to replace them. You might also check the insulation, duct connections and pipe connections underneath the trailer just for peace of mind. Squirrels, possums and other critters just love climbing up into that stuff. You may want to check the grounding as well. So many times it is done poorly and not up to code.
While its dry it might be a good time to seal that roof. It's a terribly goopy job but in the long run it's better than finding out in a rainstorm that it has a leak.
One more thing worth doing is to take some steel wool and really pack it into any area where there are pipes coming through the floor. Fall is just around the corner (I hope) and the mice will start coming in looking for a place to winter.

[PyroDon]

Well so far mice are the easy thing to deal with . we have some kind of snake that seems to have moved into the washer . Havent had any luck catchin the bugger yet but see his tail now and then when you start a load .