Total Rebuild

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
For mobile home parts, click here.

Moderators: Greg, Mark, mhrAJ333, JD

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Julian
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:50 pm
Location: Canyon Lake Texas

Hey all, whats up. I'm kinda new to the site, but not so new to the idea of repairing my mobile home. I've got the manual for mobile home repair and believe it just may be time to get started. Luck has it I have a place to live while we do this. The house is currently on jackstands, but with any luck should be moved to another spot this week and on to cinder blocks, we live in south central Texas and the ground is so rocky that even on jack stands the house has stayed level. The reason for the move is better drainage for both septic and rain water run off and because I have just bought the lot next door and the house would look better there. Unfortunately the house was a rental and needs a complete overhaul, the frame under the floor, the joist caps, the walls (that's a mess all in its own). Before we get started though, The joist cap on the front of the house is rotted (really rotted), my plan was to replace the cap 12' at a time, however looking at the floor it will need to be replaced as well. The frame work for the walls and roof is bad, no leaks yet and in several areas the top plate is rotted and a few of the roof trusses will need to be repaired. Oh yeah, the house was built in 1985 and has hardwood siding and 2X3 walls. I want to change the siding, if possible to metal but at the very least replace the siding with 7/8 plywood and cover in plastic/vinyl. Since the floor and the frame work will be getting replaced is there any chance of using 2X4s for the replacement frame work on the walls? I guess the hardest question is where do I start? I thought of starting one room at a time, replacing the joist cap, and any repairs to the floor joist. Please excuse my rambling, I'm just eager to get started.
THATS IT I'M GOING FOR A RIDE
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Harry
Posts: 1249
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:45 pm
Location: Citrus county Florida

Hi

I would work on an 8', 10' or 12' section at a time on the rotten structural wood you mentioned.

I would go with new insulation, OSB sheathing, Tyvek and vinyl siding.

I would also add and sister some studs.

JMHO

Harry
Aside from the roof leak, soft floors, rats, mice and bursted plumbing ........ how do you like it?
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Greg
Moderator
Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Hi & welcome. There are two schools of thought here.
First, there are those that do a section at a time, this is nice if you are the type that gets overwelmed by a project.
Second, as I did when I did our daughter's, Just gut it down to the studs and go for it.
Both have advantages, but if you totally gut it you KNOW what you will be dealing with during the project, no surprizes half way through the job.
Either way you go, the first thing you need to do is make the home weather tight. Also make sure the home is properly leveled before you start rebuilding. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Harry
Posts: 1249
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:45 pm
Location: Citrus county Florida

Hi

Each job is different and it's pretty hard to diagnose on a forum without much info.

I would err on the side of caution and work a section at a time....because:

You say there is a lot of rotten wood. Mobile homes have no pressure treated wood...it's all raw wood. The walls sit on a sole plate that sits on the floor joists which you say is rotten. If you pull the whole wall apart you run the risk of the wall and roof sagging.

Here is a photo of me removing thousands of staples, sistering rotten floor joists and replacing the rim joist. Then I removed and replaced the siding.

Image

I used a circular saw to cut the siding above the rot.

Harry
Aside from the roof leak, soft floors, rats, mice and bursted plumbing ........ how do you like it?
Julian
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:50 pm
Location: Canyon Lake Texas

Hey guys thanks for the replys. I'm of the idea to gut the inside first, see whats up and start rebuilding the frame. I really like the idea of the 7/8 sheathing, OSB good idea, better price. Harry believe it or not the pic in your post is exactly what is on mine, that pic actually gives me hope. The house will most deffinently be level before starting any rebuild. The guy moving the house is kinda jazzed about the whole thing also, he is certified and bonded. The part that scares me is the 75' move to the new location with the bad joist cap. I was kinda of thinking after repairing the joist cap in a section if it would be a good idea to go ahead and start replacing the wall studding and top plates in that area? I've got a good idea from this web site for the box shape wooden ceiling support I just wanna be sure that it can support the roof and all that before we start pulling the frame out? And last but not the least I would really like to replace the frame work for the walls with 2X4s is this practical or am I just thinking beyond what is actually needed? later guys and thanks again for the replys.
THATS IT I'M GOING FOR A RIDE
User avatar
Harry
Posts: 1249
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:45 pm
Location: Citrus county Florida

Hi

If you are talking about the board the studs are attached to at the top ....by the ceiling.....I've never replaced a top plate. All my rot replacement/repair has been at the bottom.

The rot in the photo was a result of rain splashing off the deck. The engineered wood siding never had a chance to dry out. Wet wood in Florida does not last long.

If you determine the 2x4 studs will not fit you could always add more 2x3 studs.

Careful of the wiring in the walls. Replace and/or nail guards as necessary.

Harry
Aside from the roof leak, soft floors, rats, mice and bursted plumbing ........ how do you like it?
Julian
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:50 pm
Location: Canyon Lake Texas

Hey there, yep thats the area I was talking about. I figure that since this is going to be a "Total Rebuild" I should get rid of all of the rot before I end up chacing the little gremlin around the house, no fun. Once I find out about the wall framing I've got a neat plan to pre assemble the fame in a jig, 4' sections at a time including the 7/8 sheathing to keep it square. This way the roof jack can be left long enough to remove and replace the material under the wall bottom plate. I've seen the pre assembly method used to build small cabins and cottages. Done right it should actually give more suport to the walls and alow me to up grade to standard doors and wndows. I'm probably going to spend more than the house would ever be worth on the market, but at least I'll now it has been done right and I can say "Why yes, this is that old mobile home I've had for years, don't it look goooood now".
THATS IT I'M GOING FOR A RIDE
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Jim from Canada
Posts: 551
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:39 am

Wish I could have totally gutted mine when I started. Doing it a bit at a time is a PITA. I have several areas of the house torn apart where rot and structure had to be fixed and haven't been able to afford to finish the areas. It drives me mad sometimes. Last year I protected all the work I did with a new roof. If I could do it all again, I would have an electrician come in and give me 2 or 3 outlets right near the service panel, and totally take the place apart and re do everything.

Jim
Julian
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:50 pm
Location: Canyon Lake Texas

Hey guys, Jim adding a few outlets might just be a golden ticket, nice idea. Would anybody have an idea about, using an electrician, switching to the 200 amp loop that is on the same pole as my 100 amp loop? The meter loop came with the property that I bought next door.
THATS IT I'M GOING FOR A RIDE
oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Hmmmm? After looking at Harrys photo I dropped to my knees and gave thanks for my good fortune. Seriously! Anyways..long story short...I had to work a section at a time. Wasn't by choice, but I live here and I was afraid that gutting too much at one time would cause a catastrophic failure. When I ripped out the east kitchen walls..I was sure of it. The entire 15ft. length of the east kitchen walls had NO studs touching the floor. They were all rotted off 12in. above the floor!! I don't know what held up the roof other than I had a fan running wide open for the next 2 weeks. I removed the rotted studs one at a time and the roof stayed up until I ripped out the rotted floor stringers, flooring and rim joists. The only thing holding up the roof at that time was the alum. siding and Gods grace. A single gust of wind..a mis-step on my part..and it would all have crashed to the ground. As my work continued I found the same problem the full length of my home. It wasn't the fastest way...mebbe not the easiest way..but that's the way it had to be done in my case. Audie..the Oldfart...
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