Newbie here

[Guest]

Hello Everyone... What a great site! I've been able to get alot of
info and ideas from reading the forum.
My husband and I are always updating things in our mobile home and now it's time for the roof....
We have a metal roofed 1995 16' x 72' . It has 6" walls and is sitting on pillars. Our plans are to increase the roof pitch, shingle and hopefully, to peak the roof over the trailor and the
deck. We are wanting to use the joists of the trailor but aren't
sure if the walls will hold. If we have to use posts, what would be the fewest amount needed?
Any opinions about problems we could have or need to watch
out for would be greatly appreciated.

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. You are right to be concerned about the weight issue. I would start with parimiter blocking to help support the weight. You did not say what you now have for roofing, but I would think about removing it if for no other reason weight reduction. I'm sure others will add their thoughts also. Greg

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site! Glad you have enjoyed what you have been reading.

I can not give you all the specifics on your roof but I can say that if you shingle your roof you will be adding a very substantial weight load to your home. Not only the weight of shingles but the plywood sheathing as well.

Sorry I did not check to see if you had listed a profile on your home, what area are you in. Do you have heavy snow loads that would also be a factor. Do you happen to know what size trusses you have.

There will be others that will contribute to your questions. There are alot of variables to this, so I will leave it to the pros! It might take some time to get this answered properly, not sure who is a round during this holiday weekend.

Again, glad you found us. Look forward to helping you in the future and your contributions to the site.

Have a good day!

~Yanita~

[JD]

Hi bluebird,

I have seen many homes with metal roofs where people have installed 2x4s or 2x6s and sheathing and then installing a comp shingle roof. I would say that more than half of them have pretty serious damage because of the weight issue. I think the ones that have done well with the shingle roofs may have had 2x4 trusses to start with. I have seen many 80's and 90's metal roof single and double wides with the 2x4 trusses. I think a shingle roof was an option for an upgrade sell at time of order, but the trusses were all the same (guess on my part). Most metal roof mobile homes I have seen have 1x2 or 2x2 trusses. These are the homes that will end up with bowed ceilings. I have also seen homes where the section of floor that extends past the main "I" beams, (most times "C") have bowed down from the weight. I really would not recommend installing direct on top of the existing roof. I really don't think any building department would issue a permit.

A pole barn type roof over your entire home would work. When I built them we had huge 2x12 / 2x10 trusses located at the 6x6 poles every 12'. Then 2x6 purlins running lenthways with the roof every 24" o.c. Our trusses were made to span 24' to 30', so your 18' trusses may be smaller.

Just my 2 cents.

JD

[Guest]

Greg, Yanita and JD...Thanks for the quick responses!! I'm not sure yet if we have 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 trusses...but either way, this is my only home and the additional weight is sounding like a gamble I'm not willing to take. With the pole barn style roof over there is one thing that I'm confused on....Assuming we reside over the poles, can the windows get reframed in the new outer wall or do they usually stay within the MH frame???

[Yanita]

LOL, now I am confused.

Typically a pole barn style roof over is a free standing structure. Every one that I have seen the poles are set close to the home but no siding has been added. Thus the windows would stay in the orginal frames.

Maybe JD or Greg has other ideas.

Happy Easter.

~Yanita~

[JD]

Yes, a pole barn roof-over is a separate structure, of a roof only, as Yanita said. With a home already set up, it would be a very major undertaking. The trusses would have to be built over the top of the home in full or the sides of the trusses could be built on the ground and then lifted with a crane. All decks and awnings would need to be removed to be able to install the poles. I would imagine that the poles would be at least 12" away from the home, to be able to dig the holes properly. When I built the pole barns, they required 24" round holes, 4' deep. Codes could be different depending on where you live. So the outside of the poles would be 16" to 20" away from the windows, minimum.

The cost and esthetics of this type of roof would be a major consideration. A metal roof like Mark recommends on this website, or another total mobile home roof product like I sell (see my Personal Album http://mobilehomerepair.com/phpbb/album.php?user_id=11), would be much better for your home and your pocketbook.

I only sell this particular roof in my local area (Fresno, CA). There should be local contractors in your area that offer Single-Ply (rubber roofs), rolled aluminum roofs, and maybe insulated panel roofs. There is a huge difference in roof products and contractors. That is where a DIY project like Mark's roof plans may be your best bet, depending on what you find.

Hope this helps.

JD

[Guest]

Well the MH manufacturer's engineer FINALLY called me back. I am only repeating what I was told, but his response to the question of adding a higher pitched roof with the weight on the wall and then to the ground with parimeter blocking was.... "With 2 x 6 walls, they could handle a second story." ??????? YIKES! (Now I have to figure out where to put the stairs!!) LOL J/K

[Greg]

Have him put that in writing. Oh, I wouldn't wait by the mailbox!!!Greg

[Guest]

Yanita and JD....Thanks for the help and advice on pole barn style. Unfortunately, the pole barn style is very rare in my area (don't know why) and I've only seen just one done. It was about 10 years ago and the home is long gone now. But they had put T1 eleven over the posts and basically cocooned the entire home.

[Yanita]

LOL, you need to find another engineer!

Bluebird have you done a google search for pole barn roof overs?
I am sorry I did check out your profile, but it already alludes me what size home you have. There might even be a pic of one in Marks album of Florida homes.

I still recommend Marks roof over project. This could also be used for your porch area.

I know that when our roof finally needs new shingles we are going to forgo them and do the corrugated metal roof over.

If you have not done so already check out the articles link above and the purchase of the repair manuel is a great thing to have for reference.

Have a great day,

Yanita

[Maureen]

I have to agree with Yanita here!

Yep, we have a roof over on the home now. It's an older mobile. But when this roof needs to be replaced, we're going for the pole style roof.

This will give us more of a peak, not to mention take care of the carport area that we lost 2 years ago. We'll also get rid of those cheesy aluminum supports over our deck, and be able to extend that over the patio area that we want.

It's a little pricey, but well worth it in the long run! We have numerous homes here with that renovation, and they have held up very well under high winds and loads of snow.

Maureen

[Guest]

I did see the pics on here and they all look great....we will definately be doing the pole style roof....the more I think about it, the more I like it. We'll have so many more possibilities of extending a roof over our porch and NOT haveing the worries about excess weight. Our plans (hopefully) are to start next spring which will give us plenty of time for planning. Right now, the roof is rusting and its going quick...this winter we actually had brown icicles hanging from the roof!! Yuck!

[Yanita]

HMMMM,

Brown icicles, you might want to consider some sort of temporary fix up there. You might rot thru before next spring, then you will have another set of major repairs to deal with.

JMO, ~Yanita~

[Guest]

Don't even wanna think about that!! We're planning on coating it in a few weeks when the weather clears.... I know it won't fix the problem but that's the only thing I can think of to buy some time.