NEWSLETTER
MANUFACTURED HOME REPAIR
Spring 2001

In this issue, we will discuss:

* Cutting down a standard size door
* A story from the life of a mobile home repair man
* Tip of the month - Make your toilet flush better
* Picture of the month

CUTTING DOWN A STANDARD SIZE DOOR
Most exterior doors on mobile homes are not of standard size. If your door is in need of replacement, you can expect to pay 3-4 times the cost of a standard door to purchase a replacement of less than desirable quality. To get a better quality door at a 'normal' price, you have two options -- cut the door opening bigger to accept a standard size door, or cut-down a door to fit the opening. If you have the headroom, cutting the opening bigger is the preferred way. If not, then maybe cutting down a door is an option you wish to consider.

Purchase a pre-hung door of the proper width and remove it from the frame by pulling the pins.

Lay the frame on some sawhorses and remove the bottom threshold.

Measure the height of the doorway opening. Then cut each side of the frame to that measurement minus 1/2". For instance, if your door opening is 76 inches, you would measure and cut the frame to 75-1/2 inches. Then set the frame into the door opening.

With the frame in the door opening, measure the distance from top to bottom. Subtract one inch from this distance and that's the height of your door. Lay your door on the sawhorses being careful to protect the finish. Measure down from the top and mark your cut. Be sure you are cutting the bottom of the door. Again, if the opening measures 74-3/4 inches, then cut your door to 73-3/4 inches.

Draw a line straight across and cut using a cirular saw. Lay down a piece of food wrap to help protect the saw from scratching the finish. If you have a hollow door, take the solid piece you cut off the bottom and insert it back into the end you just cut. Nail it in place. Don't worry, you won't see the nails.

Measure and cut the bottom door seal to fit.

Remove any sharp burrs and slide the seal over the bottom. The seal not only nicely finishes off the bottom of the cut door, but also seals the gap between the door and threshhold. If you can't find this particular seal at your home improvement store, we have them available for $12 plus shipping. Just e-mail us.

Finally, hang the door back on the frame then shim, adjust and screw until it operates smoothly. Install an adjustable threshold at the bottom of the doorway and adjust the door seal or threshold up or down until you achieve a complete seal.

Using the threshold you took off the original frame may or may not work. If your feeling really 'handy', you can try cutting the door frame and re-attaching the threshold before installing the frame in the doorway. This involves a lot more careful measuring and each leg of the frame will have to be cut at an angle for a proper fit.

A STORY FROM THE LIFE OF A MOBILE HOME REPAIR MAN
This month's story is about a hilarious scenario which happened to Carl. Carl originally told this story in the Forum. Carl titled his story, "Don't Try This at Home!":

Hiya trailer dwellers,

I love telling folks I live in a trailer (28x52 medallion)...especially Mobile home dealers!!!...especially when there are other folks in the sales office!

Anyhow, for those of you living in the northern areas of this great land please remember to check the regulators on your propane tanks and your house. each regulator has a vent that needs to remain open. So dig the snow away from it CAREFULLY knock the ice off of it. If it has been blocked you will smell a hint of propane right after digging it out, thats normal.

DO NOT do what I did!!

First Mistake: when I installed my propane tank about 18 months ago, I was using a temporary one while my dealer found a larger one I also had a small 150 gallon tank that I wanted to use up, so when I dug in my propane line I left about 20' of copper line coiled next to the tank so I could hook the line to either tank. (I was going to cut it off when I got the permenant tank.

Second mistake: I got my permanent tank late this fall, and didn't have (take) time to set it were I permanently wanted it so I didn't cut off the excess line.

Third mistake: I placed my propane tank about 8 feet from the north side of a large building. Every time the wind blows it gets burried!

Forth mistake: I didn't get right out after the wind to dig out my tank. It took me 20 minutes to find the fill valve and regulator on top of the tank the other day. The top of the tank was about four feet below the top of the snow drift.

Fifth mistake: Not making sure where that 20 feet of coiled up propane line was BEFORE I fired up the snowblower.

Now I'm not talking about a 8 horse snapper snowblower here. I have an 8 foot wide 4 foot high snowblower mounted on a 200 horsepower tractor. Of course I want to get up close to my propane tank so the delivery guy can get to it. Well I went as close as I thought would be safe and then proceeded to blow snow out of the rest of my yard. As I drove past my propane tank I noticed that where I had stopped with the snowblower near the tank I could see copper tubing. "Not Good!" I got out to investigate and could hear the hissing of escaping gas. I had to again dig out the valve because the wind had carried some of the the snow I was snowblowing back ontop of the tank. about 2 minutes later I found the valve and saw that I had pulled the line out of the fitting at the valve. I closed the valve and assessed the damage. The high pressure line on the tank was pulled in two and the low pressure line to the house was also twisted in two I was hoping I could just repair the line where it was pulled apart, but it wouldn't reach. Hmmmm where was that 20' of extra line????? At that point my Brother-in-law showed up proving the old addage that you never screw up when you are alone, and asked with a grin what I had done, and why was there a bunch of copper tubing wound up on one rotor of the snowblower.

It was 4:30 on friday we had dinner guests showing at 6:30 I was supposed to be in the house cleaning my mail and krap off of the dining room table, I was 30 miles from the gas parts dealer it was 20 degrees...I was sooooo dead!

Well after an apologetic trip through the house to get my wallet, a disappointing look and a "well I'm glad you didn't blow us up" from my wife. I made a racing trip to Brick's for a high pressure line $10 and Menards building center for 20' of copper tubing and some flare fittings $20. I was back from my 60 mile excursion in by 10 to 6. As I was flaring the first line, Our dinner guest showed up (our Priest no less)By 6:15 I had the repairs made and the furnace relit. And dinner was wonderful!!

I guess the message here is:

DON'T SNOWBLOW YOUR GAS LINE! . . . . . Carl

TIP OF THE MONTH
Make Your Toilet Flush Better

Do you have to hold down the handle of your toilet for a full flush? With today's simple fixes, your handle-holding days are over. The secret is a different flapper. Fluidmaster has two such flappers which should do the trick. The first is a called a "Bull's Eye Adjust-a-Flush Flapper.' On this flapper is a dial that you turn to increase or decrease the length of your flush. This item simply installs by removing your old flapper and installing in its place. Just snaps in.

The other flapper Fluidmaster sells is called the 'Flusher Fixer'. This particular flapper has a cup on top which helps regulate the length of the flush. It also installs fairly easy, but not as easy as the Bull's Eye, which we recommend trying first. If you can't find these flappers at your local hardware store, e-mail us and we'll send you one.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

There's no greater joy than
seeing the world through the eyes
of a 3-year old.

If you have a picture or repair tip to share with us, please e-mail to us.