No exterior underlayment?

[Lorne]

I was just advised that I was accepted as a member here so I thought I would pick your minds.
We recently bought a 1987 Craftsman double wide with attached sun porch. It is in very fine condition, but needed some interior trim work, paint and other little things.

The outside is, of course, Vinyl siding ,but come to find out that it is only attached to the studs with no plywood layer underneath. I didn't know that was allowed.
I wondered why some sounds appeared to be coming straight through the walls. Now I know why.
There are also light areas, like shadows, showing through the Vinyl, like the wood is bleeding through.

It is Blue Vinyl and needs to be Cream, so I will be painting it and undercoating it with my favorite B-I-N. Love that stuff.

To re-side it with plywood would be costly at this point.

Do you think this is normal, considering it was built in 1987?

[JD]

Mobile homes built with aluminum siding and no actual sheathing is very common in my area of California. When someone installs vinyl siding, they may choose to just go with Homewrap, a fan-fold (1/4") board, or even a thicker foam board for added insulation. Personally, I would think installing sheathing would add a lot of lateral strength to the mobile home. I would still use a Homewrap, fan-fold etc. to work as your moisture barrier. Vinyl siding manufacturers all state that it is necessary for a water tight installation.

JD

[Lorne]

I see what you mean about adding structural strength. Like a cardboard box that is not closed on both ends.
We are in one of the Humidity capitals of the us. South of Myrtle Beach SC.
I will be getting estimates for the cost of new Vinyl and siding wrap and sheathing. I can't do it myself physically so I am at their mercy.
Lowes ,Sears and Home depot have installation for various products. Also local companies, but I think a big company might be cheaper.

Thank you for your information.
I have read about this site and think it may help with many problems as I find them.
I also need to order the repair manual that is advertised.
A house this size with the heavily constructed sun room Nevada [where we we before] would have cost at least $200-$225000. This was $47900, so I can afford to put some back into it.

Love the South.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site.

JMO here but since you are just south of Myrtle Beach and you are going to replace the siding, I think I would (hopefully money permitting) add sheathing to the home. You are now in hurricane zone! As mentioned before, adds stability to the home and energy efficiency.

Glad you found us, and hope you enjoy the site as much as others!

~Yanita~

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Being an 87 you MAY have a double edged sword. Depending on the outside wall stud size you could run into a weight problem by adding sheathing. Your home was made during the HUD changeover, some homes had smaller than standard studs (2x6 minimum), if this is the case by adding sheathing it will in fact help stiffen the home but it may also cause your floor joists to bow from the added weight. You should be able to use perimeter blocking under the outside rim joist to support the added weight. Greg

[Harry]

Hi Lorne

Yep lots of MHs have no sheathing under the siding. My home has just the studs under the hardboard siding. No house wrap no nothing.

What I would do is replace the insulation and go with housewrap. JMO....after the hurricane season LOL.

I'm near a little fishing village also. Florida's Nature Coast.

Re: Hurricanes - we're ready for the 2007 season. Insurance paid up and such.

Harry

[Lorne]

The house was here through hurricane Hugo and none of the homes here had any appreciable damage from it.
It has 2x4 exterior studs with 2x3 interior studs.

The DW we had in Nevada for 21 years was similar but sat on a concrete foundation which made it a regular house according to the Insurance company. Not a mobile.
It had vertical wood siding and the house was rock solid in 106 MPH winds.

This one is a learning experience for me.

I see what you mean by weight limits.
I'm going to try to find a local "honest expert" who can view it first hand and see what his recommendations are. Any local recommendations are appreciated.

As soon as we sell our motorhome
[on consignment] we will have more money freed up.

This is a great site.

[Lorne]

After seeing what all would be needed to add Tyvek, sheathing, reinstall all the windows and probably all the insulation, I think we will wait. We would never get our money out of it if we tried to sell it. We will just paint it.

Once I open this can of worms there is no telling what I might find.
Ignorance is cheaper in this situation. We are comfortable now and that's what counts.

[troyster]

My home was extremely drafty so I applied fan fold insulation to my home after I filled in where the plywood sheathing was missing and checked my gas bills from last year to compare to this year. last Feb/March gas $470.00 - this Feb/March gas $290.00 last April gas $160.00- this April $83.00 you do the math.

P.S. home lot cooler in hot weather too.