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I was at a home show recently and was told that I could instale true hard wood flooring in my double wide without any trouble. They told me that they instale it in a lot of mobile homes. I thought laminant flooring was what needed to be used because of the shifting of the house.

I also am in the process of having grab bar installed in my bathroom and have a question. I am getting a 18" vertical bar along side the entrance to the tub/shower. I was told that they could nail into the 2x3 stud and that would be strong enough to hold. I am leary about this because I am a large woman and I need this grab bar to hold if I start to fall again. What is the best way to instale this bar preferably without tearing the wall apart.

Personally, I rarely see hardwood flooring in a mobile home. If I were to consider hardwood flooring, I would look at the engineered hardwood flooring. This type of flooring is made like a plywood, with the finish layer being the wood floor you see. Having the woodgrain of the layers going in different directions, makes this type of wood flooring more stable and forgiving of flex.

A good connection to a 2x3 would probably be your best bet without opening a wall. It would all depend on the connection. The 2x3 is strong enough, but a screw glancing off the side of a stud, maybe splitting the wood would not be very trustworthy. You also have to be lucky enough to have a stud where you want it. These safety bars usually fasten to the wall with 3 screws on each end. It can be very tricky trying to get all 3 screws into one 2x as the bracket has screws about 1.5" to 2" apart. You would want 2 screws dead center on the 2x, and the third going in at an angle, screwing into the side of the 2x. I usually use a wall anchor for the third screw. I will not install a safety bar in a mobile home wall with only wall anchors.

Hope this helps.
JD

One of the reasons for a floating floor is that if you need to move the home it is much easier to take up when split the 2 halfs. Greg

Very good point Greg. Also makes me think that a person might have to glue and nail the hardwood down because of the particle board floors.

Personally, I would replace the particle board sub-floor with 3/4" tongue & groove plywood before I would install any premium floor product. I repaired a PB pipe/floor damage that had that epoxy-pebble flooring in. The particle board didn't stand a chance. They say to steam clean stains and for deep cleaning. I would think that would soften the particle board too. Really nice looking floor though!

JD

one thing about laminate flooring. It will wear much better than hardwood if you have pets. Although I must say, our dog is not too keen on the lack of traction, plenty of rubber backed mats for her though.

After looking harder I found what I want in an enginered hardwood. This will give me the best of both worlds. I need something that will hold up to my motorized chair which can be hard on floors, especially carpeting.

My first Laminate floor had the following instructions for cleaning. " use mild soap & water to wash, stubborn stains may require acetone" (Nail polish remover) . If that will not stand up to a power chair, not much will. Greg

As to the bathroom grab bars, I installed one on either side of the shower just at the edge but not in the shower. Mine are 1 1/2 diameter and 24 inch high.

Since I rebuilt the wall from scratch I doubled the 2x4 studs at the level where the grab bars would go, therefore assuring that the three 3" screws would have a good bite and BOY did they bite. I always try to Over-build" things just in case.

If you are in it for the long haul, I'd do the real stuff. It can be refinished several times. The engineered stuff my last longer, but cant be refinished, so its once and out.

Engineered flooring CAN be sanded once maybe twice.

I know a Pergo type floor can be sanded a few times, but some of the engineered stuff has a very thin veneer on it. I'd probable still try, but I wouldn't be hopefull. you certainly couldn't sand to remove much damage