structural integrity??

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peachlizard
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Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:03 pm
Location: Arkansas

We have an approximate early 70's used trailer. It is a 12' x 52' and has paneling that has had the "knockdown" vinyl wallpaper added over top and painted to make the walls look like they are sheet rocked with the knockdown texture. The front bedroom that had the bay window in it also had the partition wall removed and was made into one big living room/great room as the kitchen is at other side of this room. Living room is now something like 23'x 12', with kitchen area being something like 14'x 12'. Now the 1st partition wall is the bathroom wall which is in the middle of trailer with one tiny bedroom in other end. It also had the roof roofed over sometime back with the "roof blanket" type roofover that includes 2" of true styrofoam underneath. Reason for describing all this is so you have an idea of any added weight put on original structure. Now we would like to do something different to the walls in living room and floors in whole great room.

We're wanting to know if we put 1x4's vertically every 2' from floor to ceiling in living room, will that add enough structure for added weight of 3/8" bead board paneling to be put on with 3/4" blue or pink extruded polystyrene to go underneath new paneling for more insulation?
......and then we would like to put down engineered wood flooring instead of carpet and vinyl after we fix some soft spots in flooring.

Any comments will be appreciated! Elizabeth Jackson
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Greg
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It sounds to me like you may want to add perimeter blocking. If you look at the way your home is actually supported you will see that ALL of the load from the roof and side walls go through the floor joists to the I beam frame. Over time if the weight is excessive it will actually bow the joists down.

By adding perimeter blocking under the rim joist you will use the blocking to support the load directly, rather than through the floor joists. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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Jim from Canada
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1x4's will not significally support anything. What is in your walls now for structure? Without perimeter blocking, your floor joists are important too, as the load has to be carried by them to the metal frame.
peachlizard
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:03 pm
Location: Arkansas

Hi Jim, and Greg, thanks for responding. I believe when my husband replaced a window this summer, it is 2x2s as studs in the walls. Are we in bad shape, since the front bedroom partition wall was removed, and its closet wall as well? By the way, all the remodeling was done before we got it. Thank you all for any helpful advice you give us. Its important to us that it be safe. Elizabeth Jackson
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Jim from Canada
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Your load bearing walls are the long sides of the home. Interior partions are not load bearing in a single wide. That being said, I do believe that interior walls contribute to the rigidity and help stop the home from "racking" (leaning). You may be better to add insulation to the outside of the walls, something like a rigid foam or polyisocyanurate, with an air infiltration barrier (tyvek). I don't know what code is in your part of the world, but what ever they recommend as minimum for structure and insulation in a regular home is the guidline to go by (I go more than minimum). My home is 2x6 and we have opened it up by removing a bedroom also. No problems 6 years later. 2x2 is pretty flimsy, but it is also pretty common.
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JD
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At my local home stores, I see 3 types of bead board. There is a 4x8 plywood type and a 4x8 hardboard type. Both are 1/4" thick. The plywood type is not as heavy as the hardboard type. The 3rd type of bead board is solid pine wood, which I believe is 3" wide by 8' long. It might be longer, I am not sure. Been a while since I have looked at it new. But I finished a room in my home with it. It is tongue and groove and comes unfinished and it is 3/8" thick. This would be the lightest of the 3 types per square foot.

I don't think that either wood type of beadboard (not the hardboard) with the 2" insulation would be very heavy. But then again, 2x2 walls are not very stout. So if I understand your post correctly, you want to sister a 1x4 perpendicular to each 2x2 stud, which would leave a space to add the 2" insulation? If this is so, 2x4's would be much better. Adding some type of small Simpson Tie type nail plate from the top of the 2x4 to the truss, that the 2" of extended part of the 2x4 will be on, and the top plate of the existing wall would be a good idea. You would need to use some type of pneumatic nailer/stapler or construction adhesive, as the 1x2 trusses would not do well with big nails or screws. Some type of nail plate securing the bottom of your added 2x4 to the floor would also be good. None of this may be possible though, since it is unlikely that the wall studs, trusses and joists line up. But something along this line would make your wall a lot stronger. Maybe blocking between the trusses to secure the nail plates to. Your floors should still have 2x6 joists, even with 2x2 studs, so that may not be as big of a concern. Floor joists 24" o.c. might be a problem though, but as others have mentioned, perimeter blocking would help secure the floors.

All that being said, there are two important points to consider. #1. This may not be in compliance with code. While you are not changing the existing structure, this amount of modification may bring in new requirements. #2. Some mobile homes have floor joists that run lengthways with the home instead of from side to side. I would not not add any weight to the roof. ceiling or walls on this type of mobile home framing. This type of framing will often have support problems even with no added weight, over time. This reply is just some ideas that go through my head when thinking of your post questions. You need to be the one to determine if your project is code compliant and of good design.

JMO
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All information and advice given is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The person doing the work is solely responsible to insure that their work complies with their local building code and OSHA safety regulations.
peachlizard
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Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:03 pm
Location: Arkansas

Thanks JD, but to answer your question about putting 1x4 perpendicular to existing 2x2s, the answer was no. We don't have the walls exposed to the studs and were not going to tear out the existing paneled walls. We wanted to go on outside of them essentially losing a bit of floorspace but not much. My husband had the idea of putting 1x4s flat against wall nailed to the existing walls, to add some structure for 3/4" XPS (blue foamboard) insulation and then the wall paneling of 3/8" that is pretty light weight beadboard, the plywood version. It sounds like that isn't going to be any good. Especially with the added weight of new wood floors. We don't know which direction the floor joists run, but I'll bet next time we're up there we can find out.

Ideally we would like to have 5x5 posts sunk next to trailer all the way around outside and put a peaked metal roof on it. Then we'd have the extra 5" outside to close in a cavity for cellulose to be blown in and then side over the whole thing. Because this is just a getaway spot and we can't afford all that right now, we were just trying to improve the aesthetics on the inside inexpensively. Neither of us has ever owned a trailer before, so we're in a bit of a learning curve.

We appreciate all your input here on the forum. Elizabeth
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peachlizard
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:03 pm
Location: Arkansas

Ok to everyone who suggested perimeter blocking under our mobile, can we do it ourselves and what does it entail? Or is it something that has to be hired done? We have our mobile on very firmly packed chat that was in place for over a year before trailer was set up on it. (previously we had a large RV with a roof over in place there) There is one end, the high end sits about 3 ft off ground, that is over regular dirt for a span of about 4 ft. We'd like to get estimates on block work, putting up 5x5s and then a trussed roof over all. But I wanted to ask on here for any pitfalls to watch out for since we have no experience with mobiles. Thanks a lot!
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Greg
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Perimeter blocking is easy to do. First I would relevel your home, if it has been in place for a while. Then simply build piers every 8-10' to support the outside rim joist. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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