wall thickness

[wreckless]

i have 2" wall thinkness and am thinking of making it 4"
is it best to do this on the outside fixing another 2x2" to the existing frame and puting 4" insulation in or from the inside
i would rather do it from the outside but am worried about the new wall overhabging the floor
as i may also plan to clad the walls with plastic cladding and more insulation at a later date

[JD]

If it were me, I would want to add the 2x2s to the inside of the wall, so it would have some support from the floor.

Adding the 2x2 to the outside is ok too, but you will have to think out how you are going to "cap" the top course of siding so that it is flashed to under the roof drip edge. If you happen to have an overhang on your roof, this is less of an issue.

[Greg S]

I added insulation to the outside of mine using rigid foam insulation but I have a conventional roof overhang. I attached it by placing strapping over top and screwing through the strapping and insulation into the existing siding/wall. I then attached new vinyl siding to the strapping.
Keep in mind you will have to frame out all openings.
Overall I believe the job is easier, less disruptive and you can work in sections at your leisure.

[wreckless]

i am going for second viewing on friday so will look if it has overhang it is an omar double unit built in 1979, i know the front has overhang because of the sofets need replacing but am not sure of the sides there is wooden cladding to the back half that needs removing and the lower part of the external walls do not look in great shape so was planning to take off the external wall sheets and replace
could i extend the floor out to take the extra weight

[DaveyB]

Extending the floor outwards is not really an option. As has been discussed elsewhere in these forums, a manufactured home is factory built, as opposed to being built on site, and the materials used are often designed for exactly the stresses that would be imposed by the original design walls. The manufacturers don't take into account someone extending the floor outwards and thereby increasing the stress on the struts and supports.

Padding the walls from the inside will detract from the living space available - in the case of a 16' wide unit, the interior floor is 15'8" (allowing 2" for each outer wall) and the padding would reduce this to 15'4". That's still quite a lot of space, and is comparable to generous size rooms in a stick built house (or brick and mortar house in the case of the UK).

One thing to bear in mind, whether you add to the inside, the outside or even a combination of the two - you are going to need to re-frame all of the exterior windows and doors to fill the thicker wall, so add that to the list when you are looking at the roof and floor positions!

DaveyB

[wreckless]

yes i have taken in to account the windows and other areas as the are bay windows doing the outside would also give me more probles, as i was looking at replacing the external walls anyway, i have a feeling i would need to remove the doubleglazing or at least the capping to fit the new boards.
i have contacted a few insulation companies to see what the insulation values are in the uk and what the advantages would be between a 2" and a 4" wall using modern materials

the answers i am getting here are helping a lot before i view the home the second time
and once i get started if i buy would be needed even more.
i have built a few boats but not been near a mobile home before and as i plan to retire within the next 5 years i would like to use my time now to do the main work and save myself time once retired

[JD]

When I have installed new vinyl windows on mobile homes with bay windows, I always remove the whole bay unit and installed one large window with two sliders. These bay windows have like zero framing and I doubt that they could handle the weight of vinyl dual panes. The overhang over these bay windows also have almost no framing. The aluminum bay window unit is primarily held up by the screws on the wall around the perimeter of the unit, which is fine for the aluminum, but not individual and heavier vinyl windows that are not assembled as one unit.

For another customer, who had just one section of the bay window broken, I dismantled that section and took it to a glass company to have the broken glass replaced, thereby not changing the weight.

[wreckless]

ok first the bad news uk law being what it is i was gazumped a week after agreeing the price with the buyer so i lost the one i was buying.
the good news i now am after one that is in far better condition although it cose a fair bit more and is on a nicer site.
on this one the floor and roof have just been done but i need to replace the sides and insulation.
here is my plan but i have added a few question if you read if anyone can help i would be greatfull
thanks again
terry
ps i will put up my website with some pictures once the sale is complete
so you can all take a look as i do it

i am looking at replacing the insuation in the walls of my mobile home
and am planning to use GA4000 celotex
but have a few questions
my cavity is 50mm deep do i need to leave air space eg use 40 or 50mm thick celotex
should the celotex be pushed tight leaving the gap between the outer ply wall and the celotex and do i need to use a breathable membraine such aas ybs breathable foil on the studding before fitting the outer ply
what way around should both materials go to work best
regards
terry

[wreckless]

does noone have any information on fitting celotex in to walls of a mobile home please

[JD]

Hi Terry,

There probably are not a lot of our forum members that have used solid foam insulation in walls. I have not used it that way. But thinking about your project, my concern would be how this product would work with moisture in the walls. Being a solid foam board, I would think that it would have more emissivity restriction than fiberglass insulation. Then if the exterior and maybe the interior is clad with their sheet product, there are just too many factors that I would not know about. Maybe someone else on the forum will know.

May be the best place for your information would be from the manufacturer's website
http://www.celotex.co.uk/applications/w ... all-lining

I do look forward to seeing pictures of your project when you get going.

JD

[wreckless]

i spoke with celotex on the phone yesterday
finaly i have a plan of action
firstly here is my rebuild proposal.
remove the outer ply and insulation check studding and replace any bad lengths.
fit polythene to inner wall fixing it to the studding as a vapour barrier,
insert Celotex in to studding against polythene use spray foam to seal in to place,i have a gun, foam and cleaner already.
make up a frame using 50mm x 25mm roof batons to match studding with cross members to hold in celotex and give breathing space :shamed: what distance apart should the cross members be i was thinking around 600mm
Fix the breathable membrane on to the outside of the studding
primer the marine ply sheets both sides wit PTC primer (this is also breathable) fix sheets in to place using A4 grade stainless screws. (i plan to screw through 12mm ply and the 25mm batton on to the origonal 2x2 studing using 50mm long screws then fill all the screw holes using a mix of woodglue and sandings from the ply.
i with then coat with PTC texture coating and PTC paint i then have to refit the windows this may be done before texture coat goes on.

[wreckless]

finaly got my home but cannot move in yet as it has a back boiler and the heating side of it is not working so replacing with a combi boiler and all new heating system will take all my funds.(gas fitter doing that)
also i am not happy with the wiring as there are sockets everywhere so i will be crawling around with my meter for a week or 2 until i am happy with that side.
so as far as the outside goes i will put it off until next year but will still post what i do when i do it so people may use it as a referance if they like

[Cedric]

Hi Terry, how did you get on with fixing the extra insulation and cladding to the outside of your home. I'm about to start a similar project and could do with any info you have.
Thanks.