Blwflys trailer project

[blwfly]

hi all so this is my project lots to do crazy amounts of repairs..

my names chris im 24 and i live in oregon,usa. lived here for last 5 years origanaly from new zealand.work in construction for last 7 years 80% has been in remodle work so im not afraid to do anything

trying to make the trailor kinda liveable in the next few weeks. as of now me my wife and daughter plus twins on the way are living with the inlaws and things are getting crazy..
they have a singlewide 52x12 next door that i can do what i please with. i belive its from the 70's erra and has some awfull repairs on from the previous owner..

and so far things i have encounted..

previous owners installed a metal roof on top to stop leaks and well they didnt flash the ends or do a decent over hang so there's dry rot everywhere lol.

wireing is also bad which i will solve with some 12/2 i have . i was going to do minimal wireing but rodents have chewed on the wire everywhere so i ruled it as fire hazard so i have been working my way back to the breaker box chaging to copper.

the entire ceiling needs to come down rodents and insects have been living here for years..

all heat ducting must go theres a 1/2 of rat crap in and on top the ducting ..

list goes on ill post pictures as i go etc any questions/comments/advice is welcome

thanks
chris

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Been there done that. It looks like you are going about it the right way, rip it all out and start fresh. when I did our daughter's you could see the ground under the bath tub so I do indeed know what you are up against.

Before you start rebuilding you may want to relevel the home (with a water level) so you are starting out with a level platform.

How about plumbing?? Now is the time to upgrade to PEX and don't forget to add shutoff valves.

You can easily add roof eaves at this point, 6-12" should be enough. I'm sure JD will add his thoughts on this, He's the roof expert here.

Any bad spots in the floor need to be replaced, not just covered over. Use Plywood or at the very least OSB.

Plan on some time, I know it is difficult with the living arrangements, but it will be worth it in the long run. Greg

[JD]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum,

You have got quite a job on your hands. Looking forward to hearing about your progress and seeing the finished results. There are lot's of great people here to help out if you have any questions.

I am really glad you posted the pics of those trusses. I have seen many homes with trusses like this, but never took pictures. Now I have proof! Slap up the paneling in full sheets, cut out the windows and then use that material for webbing on trusses. And your trusses are even more unique in the way they cut out rectangles and then nail them to trusses with the roof pitch. Man! They just didn't give a ... well they didn't care. Replacing each piece with properly fitting 3/8" cdx would work well. You really don't need to over do that part. 3/8" ply, glued and stapled is very strong. I can't tell from the pics if they did carbon copies on both sides of the trusses, but I would. I would also lay a 1x4 furring strip over the bottom cord and staple them down for sideways strength and resist twisting. This can be done under the top cord too. I know a lot of people have used 2x4s and 2x6s, but I don't know that that is necessary and I want to keep the weight of everything close to the original when possible.

Good luck with your project. Looking forward to your posts.

JD

[blwfly]

Before you start rebuilding you may want to relevel the home (with a water level) so you are starting out with a level platform.

i have takin this into consideration but will leave that till later as i have gotten pretty good at building out of level structures for now just need to have the walls reparied and kitchen plumbing changed to suit my kitchen layout.

How about plumbing?? Now is the time to upgrade to PEX and don't forget to add shutoff valves.

the plumbing will be addressed in areas but its mostly iron pipe.i have a few shut off valves that need changing as they wont close lol.

You can easily add roof eaves at this point, 6-12" should be enough. I'm sure JD will add his thoughts on this, He's the roof expert here.

eaves are a good idea.but wont be in the budget this year as the winter progress i will hopefully be able to eliminate most leak issues.

floor need to be replaced, not just covered over. Use Plywood or at the very least OSB.

im usally pro plywood but im too broke so 3/4 t&g osb will do.

Plan on some time, I know it is difficult with the living arrangements, but it will be worth it in the long run.

yeah i gave my self 3 weeks to work on the trailor full time then after that ill be job hunting and doing what i can..

thanks for the reply greg..

chris

[blwfly]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum,

You have got quite a job on your hands. Looking forward to hearing about your progress and seeing the finished results. There are lot's of great people here to help out if you have any questions.

thanks sure will ask away when i need to

up the paneling in full sheets, cut out the windows and then use that material for webbing on trusses.

i was wanting to go with 3/8 drywall instead of paneling

And your trusses are even more unique in the way they cut out rectangles and then nail them to trusses with the roof pitch. Man! They just didn't give a ... well they didn't care. Replacing each piece with properly fitting 3/8" cdx would work well. You really don't need to over do that part. 3/8" ply, glued and stapled is very strong. I can't tell from the pics if they did carbon copies on both sides of the trusses, but I would.

the webbing is only on one side, defintly will take your advice. about 5 of the truss need repairs so ill have to fix one by one and replace the lower 2x2 on all 5 get a little creative on that maybe thats what im doing tomorro as im ready to put studs back. top plate is a lil iffy at this point might tear it out to lol..

I would also lay a 1x4 furring strip over the bottom cord and staple them down for sideways strength and resist twisting. This can be done under the top cord too. I know a lot of people have used 2x4s and 2x6s, but I don't know that that is necessary and I want to keep the weight of everything close to the original when possible.

theres a 1x4 down the center of the truss which ties them together are you sugesting to stiff it up more with aditional 1x4 3 feet in from the walls each side?

Good luck with your project. Looking forward to your posts.
JD

thanks again. And i look forward to sharing my experince as this is my first trailor project.

[blwfly]

did what i could today with what i had was kinda peicing it together lots of screws and glue no doubt 100x stroinger then origanl at least now my subfloor is attached to the wall plates lol..

[blwfly]

here what i did yesterday this was the cause of all the dryrot.
flat roof with 8" of leaves on top plus the deck sloped to the trailer.

plus it was unsafe i pushed it over with a 2x3 was kinda fun lol..

today i will work on repairing the truss's and finish the studs

bought me a 15gauge finish gun to do the work, It will defintly speed things up instead of screwing. considering they built the trailer with 1" staples lol i think i can get away with finis nails and glue.

thanks

chris

[blwfly]

heres todays progress got one truss repaired need to finish the gusset's on the other side and do the same preocess to all truss's inspired by jd.

main focus is get the plumbing in insulation in and the floor back.

easeyer said then done lol.

thanks

chris

[JD]

That is basically how I do it. I am a little concerned about the electrical box in the ceiling area. I would also move all that wire to the wider parts of the trusses and anchor them down. Try to keep them away from wayward nails and screws in the future.

Looking at the picture, there still seems to be a bit of a belly to the trusses. Usually I jack them a 1/4" or so higher than straight so they will relax into a straighter line. Also, the two trusses that the ceiling light support (plywood) is attached to, looks like they may be a bit bent and tired closer to the wall. You can add a couple of plates in that area to straighten them out and reinforce the ends. You have to be a bit creative, especially with that wire there, but I would redo the end triangle braces and make them longer to strengthen the ends. It is important that the whole truss is straight (plus a little) before fastening the braces. If it is all a done deal already, it will be stronger and probably straighter than when you had.

Good job!
JD

[blwfly]

thanks jd will do.
the truss's are fairly straight. the one truss i did was a test run with the 2x3 made it about 1/4 high after the glue setup i could swing on it without alot flex and that was only one side done.

the wireing is crazy but will all go and get tidy'd up. the electrical box is just a junction box i put in i had removed a wall that had some outlets..


heres todays update that little bit of dryrot was major lol.
got the plumbing in and tested time to clean up put some plastic down,insulate and but the floor down.

[joedirt63]

wow i thought i was doing pretty good on my daughters m/h but seeing this , man i got alot! more to learn sheeeesh! hey chris you wanna come over to the east coast and help me out well if i knew what i was doing i'd do that way too.

[blwfly]

sure joe would be glad to help ya for cash lol

update for today ripped the rest of the floor to the 8ft mark cleaned it all out layed down the plastic, insulated the joyce's slapped the floor down looking 100x better now

for the reward made a bombfire and sat around with two buddys and drank some beer

tomoro need put the skirt back on start screwing the siding to the bottom plates and re caulk around its bottom edge. need a big down pour of rain so i can make sure its not leakin around the repairs then i can insulate the back walls and fix the cabniets in.

[blwfly]

thanks ryl22

not alot has happend latley been looking for work and in out of the hospital with my wife and twins.

scored this from a friend its a water softner and a water filtration system.


chris

[blwfly]

some work got done.
relocated the stove outlet and dish washer outlet.
put the fridge on its own circuit wired in 3 outlets for the kitchen will have a gfi on the far left plug eventully..
screwed the hell out of the siding pluged any holes and caulked the bottom plate to the siding should stop the bug invasion.insulated and put plastic up.now im doin the rock:)

[blwfly]

todays work.