1969 mobile home renovation

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
For mobile home parts, click here.

Moderators: Greg, Mark, mhrAJ333, JD

Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Follow up question. Took out all the sub flooring in the living room,it started to not smell,the it started raining... It now smells again, not as intensely as before I took the urine saturated particle board out, but it still is noticeable. I cut all the floor joist parallel to the wall when taking out the flooring. Now the questions.

#1 The particle board under the walls may have urine on them, can I take the particle bord out and if I do do way is the processi should us to replace that small piece of wood under the wall?

#2 Would the insulation be causing the problem of thee smell? There is some slight discoloration should I replace?

#3 what is the bet way to check for leaks within the wall?

Thanks for help.
bobfather99
Posts: 195
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:09 am
Location: Indiana

1) You can take the particle board out using a hammer and chisel, or just block it underneath for the new plywood to have something to attach to. Depends on how thorough of a job you want to do, and how much time you have.

2) If you see discoloration or staining, that means the insulation has been wet at some point. I would replace it with new stuff. Being from California, R-value isnt as important as being from Indiana or Michigan, for instance, but Id use the same material as was removed.

3) Check for leaks from the top down. Give the roof and trim an inspection for holes, loose or missing screws/nails, or "soft" spots on the roof. Check gutters (if you have them)for the same, clean out any debris you see. Then work your way down the wall, replacing wet/moldy material as you go.

Im sure others here have even more ideas. Ask questions and post pics!!
Tip your bartender.....
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Picture of the hallway leading down to the master straight ahead and the 2 other rooms to the left.:
2012-11-14_15-28-20_341.jpg
Picture of the dining area:
2012-11-14_15-28-10_844.jpg
Here is a picture of the Living Room, after taking out the carpet and the padding was attached to the carpet .
2012-11-14_15-28-03_753.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Room 2 and walkin closet:
2012-11-14_15-28-54_994.jpg
Room #2:
2012-11-14_15-28-40_171.jpg
Room #1:
2012-11-14_15-28-28_114 (1).jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Master Bedroom:
2012-11-14_15-29-03_878.jpg
Master Bedroom again:
2012-11-14_15-29-10_820.jpg
Master Bath:
2012-11-14_15-29-16_909.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Master Bath:
2012-11-14_15-29-24_552.jpg
Really bad Master Bath Shower "Wall"
2012-11-14_15-29-37_33.jpg
Another picture of the master bath shower wall, you can see the waterheater through the openining:
2012-11-14_15-29-43_905.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Bathroom #1:
2012-11-14_15-30-08_271.jpg
Pretty decent bath #1 shower:
2012-11-14_15-30-14_140.jpg
Bath #1 Sink:
2012-11-14_15-30-22_156.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

So those are the before pictures, as you can see there is extension urine damage through the whole house. there are soft spots all over the place and I am pretty much going to replace all the floors.

The next set of pictures will be more of the same and some of my fixes. Out of money now so will have to wait till probably january to complete more.
cmanningjr
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:58 am

That's going to be a good project. Take your time, do it right and it will pay off in the end..
Steve-WA
Posts: 180
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:04 am
Location: Western Washington, Puget Sound

No one has said it, so I will: 1/2" OSB is not a great choice for your floor. I know it's cheaper, but please use a 5/8" or 3/4" plywood. Unless you plan to put a subfloor layer over your OSB; 1/2" is just too thin of a product that is barely better than particle board. Better to lay solid scraps over the holes until you can pay a little more, especially since you're living in it.
User avatar
Greg
Moderator
Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Steve is 100% correct, do it once, do it right the first time. All it would take is one big person to sit in a chair with small legs and he is going right through the floor just like a big nail.

You are doing a good job, But the dust mask won't help much on the top of the head!! Keep up the good work.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Steve-WA wrote:No one has said it, so I will: 1/2" OSB is not a great choice for your floor. I know it's cheaper, but please use a 5/8" or 3/4" plywood. Unless you plan to put a subfloor layer over your OSB; 1/2" is just too thin of a product that is barely better than particle board. Better to lay solid scraps over the holes until you can pay a little more, especially since you're living in it.
Sorry the OSB is 5/8, not 1/2 inch, the floor seems very solid no flexing between the floor joists at all.

As far as using OSB vs Plywood I understand that plywood may be the best choice, however reading some of the literature on the treated osb vs plywood and talking to a couple architect friends and a brother that is in construction there seemed to be very little difference "technically" in the performance of the OSB Vs Plywood.

That being said, you guys are the experts for mobile homes and I know that the osb may not be your first choice, however having been away from my wife and daughters for 6 months getting an osb floor down with them moving in right away seemed like a better alternative to waiting another 3 months and putting down plywood.

As far as the mask being up, that is my young nephew trying to act like his stubborn old engineer grandpa and not wanting to put it on. That same stubborn grandpa and his uncle upon seeing the mask down told him to put it on or get out.

If there is anything I should do as far as the sub-floor let me know. Pretty set on continuing down the OSB route and once I have made the home "livable" putting down a layer of vinyl paint or some other sealent before I put down carpet and or vinyl planks.

Appreciate all the information and by all means I am open to a lot of suggestions. Like I said previously all out of cash right now so my options are limited at this point. After pictures to come.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Dining Room Floor ripped up:
2012-11-15_16-58-20_512.jpg
Dining room floor ripped up #2:
2012-11-16_18-53-45_111.jpg
Living room refloored:
2012-11-16_18-55-01_243.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

Living Room refloored:
2012-11-16_18-55-08_916.jpg
Room #1 Floor removed:
2012-11-26_14-36-49_304.jpg
Living Room Floor replaced:
2012-11-30_08-29-46_593.jpg

As you can see in the 3rd picture my main concern is how to fix that wall with obvious stains on it.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Djstorman
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 1:23 am
Location: Covina, California

The following pictures are of the wall in the living room. The floors are temporarally screwed down until I can buy the insulation and vapor barrier to put under them.

My question is how should I go about replacing those panels ?

BTW the white stuff is some basking soda to help absorb some of the smell.
2012-11-30_08-30-16_932.jpg
2012-11-30_08-30-07_388.jpg
2012-11-30_08-29-56_831.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Locked
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post