Just wanted to say Hello

[topcat]

I just wanted to introduce myself, I've been lurking this and a few other sites over the course of the last year picking up ideas and tech help. Ok, here's the story, which will help in understanding the situation....

About a year and a half ago, when everyone thought the economy was bulletproof, I had the foresight of what we're in now, so I figured it would be the optimum time to plan ahead for the economic storm we're now in. I wanted to make myself a little more recession-resistant, which meant cutting down on costs of living without giving up my toys (10 cars in a big shop, on land I own). The first thing I wanted to do was get out of the house I was leasing, but what to do>? I own 5 acres with my shop, so the answer was obvious.....buy a mobile home and put it on my land... I already have a deep well and septic, for the shop, so all I needed to do was find the home....

I'm 35, not married (engaged and very happy), no kids (she can't have any), so I didn't need anything fancy. We scoured all the dealer lots, local classifieds, and so on, and the prices were crazy!! 35k+ for a new trailer house and used ones starting at 12k and go up from there, thats nuts, I'd put that kind of money into building a house before buying a trailer.....so I made a few calls and found a company that sells repos at sealed-bid auction all over the US. They finally had one local up on the block, and I tossed in my bid. I bid low, never expecting to win it.... Well a month later, the man calls me and tells me I was the second highest bid, the high bid was a dealer that the sales rep had a personal grudge against for some deals gone sour in the past, and he told me if I wanted it I could have it for what I bid. I accepted, closed the deal, and a week later it's being moved to my land...

Now for what I got... I bought a 1996 Atlantic 16x80, all electric, metal roof/metal siding. Structurally, it was very sound, but there were some really (and I mean REALLY) skanky people living in it before. It stunk of smoke, dogs, cats, urine, rotten food, and other sordid foul things.... They had teenage kids that thought it would be cool to write all over the walls with magic markers, and had painted them some pretty gaudy colors!! Anyway, I am nearing the completion of the remodel, has taken a year so far... I have never owned or lived in one of these, so it's definitely a new experience for me...... I'll move into it over the summer.... It'll be VERY nice to not have a rent/mortgage payment at the first of every month, as I paid cash for all of this.

Here's a few pics, taken early on, you can see how nasty it is:
http://www.zmods.org/images/trailer/

I figured it would be a good idea to redeck all the floors as a precautionary measure, this was recommended by every place I had looked. I used 3/4" plywood throughout. There were no holes in the floors, but knowing that the only thing between me and the outside was a 3/4" layer of particle board, I felt more comfortable knowing there's an additional layer of stronger material between me and the outside. These were taken after the floors were redecked:
http://www.zmods.org/images/trailer/floors/

I am a lot further along, I just haven't uploaded anymore pics yet. The master bath, all bedrooms, and second bath are completely finished and ready to roll. I bought a laminate floor and oak cabinets for the kitchen, that's the next task.........then its carpet throughout. All the bathrooms have new linolium flooring.

Anyway, thanks for all the good advise around here, it's been a big help!!

[Mark]

Glad you took the time to introduce yourself. Wow, a home that's paid for -- gotta love that!

Mark

[Dean3]

There were just more pics than I have time for now,but,congrats on the purchase and forethought to see the financial mess coming! and welcome here at MHR too!

I did get as far as the duct taped toilet seat!! LOL!! Did Red Green(canadian tv)used to live there?!?!

Dean

[DigitalDreams]

Wow had your job cut out for you, my place is 36 years old and constantly in need of repair but after the last tornado it looked better than that.You must have the a lot of patience ,I would have had to bulldozed it and started over.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site. Thanks for the intro.

I looked at a few of the pics and will certainly check out the rest of them.

Did you lay ply over the orginal subfloor?

Yanita

[topcat]

Did you lay ply over the orginal subfloor?

Yanita

Yes, I did. The original flooring was in good shape, no holes or bad spots, so I didn't see a problem with this. Had the floors been bad originally, they would need to be repaired before laying the plywood over it.

I'll get some newer pics up soon, you wouldn't believe it's the same home! Inside, its brand new from one end to the other!