New to Mobile Homes and to this forum

[dedou]

Hi Folks,
Just ordered the Mobile Home Repair Manual, as we're in the process of buying a 1989 Astro "Country Manor" model single wide in a state-run park. The place is small, the estimated square footage is 784. The house inspection revealed a rotten subfloor under the bathroom, due to an unseen leak. The folks are in the process of fixing it now, and also have to disconnect the axles and replace the kitchen and bath outlets with GFCI's to satisfy our bank before they'll give us the mortgage. Other than that, it looks to be in good shape for it's age, and they had gutted the kitchen when they moved in and built really nice cabinets in both the kitchen and bookcases backing the kitchen wall in the living room.
When we move in, I'll post pictures, as I want to replace the windows pretty soon (they're original) and either hire a plumber or replace the plumbing ourselves with PEX piping and fittings. The roof is only a few years old, metal and in good shape. The inspector also said we'd be needing to check the pipes up on the roof for possible resealing/replacement within a few years. But, a lot of work has already been done on the place, it has really nice landscaping and the folks who've lived there for the past 10 years have really tried to take good care of it.
I currently work for the state as an apprentice weatherization worker, and am really interested in learning the ins and outs of mobile home repair - especially with regard to window replacement and retrofitting a mobile home to tighten it up for our winters. I am going to be crawling under the home as soon as we own it to see what I'd need to do to insulate it after we get the plumbing replaced. I would love to create an access panel underbelly for the areas that are likely to cause problems, and have plywood-foamboard panels covering the botton for insulation. I know we have to have the furnace running for the pipes to stay unfrozen, but I will be looking to also install a pellet stove this winter for our main heat.
Are any of you forum folks in or near Vermont? I'd welcome any input you might have especially. But really just saying "hi" and I hope to be an active member on these forums in the very near future - once I have my hands on our new place! Obviously, being in weatherization, I'm not afraid to crawl into tight spaces or get dirty

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. By the sounds of it, most of the important work has been done. The work needed for the bank is not that hard, but make sure it is done right. PLYWOOD for the subfloor in the bathroom, even if you have to kick in the extra money.

Windows are not that different from stick built homes. I installed Pellas in ours, Big difference in drafts.

The important part of the underbelly is it needs to be fully intact with insulation and the skirting MUST be intact with no gaps or holes. I have steel (pole barn type) and foam insulation behind it. I heat with a Monitor Kero. unit the only time I run the furnace is when it is well below 0* just to keep the pipes thawed.

Greg

[dedou]

Thanks for the welcome and reply, Greg! I have been all over the web looking at how folks are doing window replacement, and I think I'll start with just one window, conventional type and see how it goes. I had forgotten about the kerosene Monitors - I had a propane one once and loved it. I do love to see the (contained!) flames, tho, and that is why I was leaning towards the pellet stoves. Another question: does your Monitor run if the power goes out? If not, is there anything besides a wood stove out there that does run without the power on?
And thanks for the idea for the skirting. I'm assuming your skirting didn't come with the foamboard insulation attached and could I also ask how you attached it?
Really appreciate the help - I intend to blog this whole trip even though I work a physically hard job, and as a woman then also go home and feel the need to clean and keep house, so energy level isn't always the highest, but I figure it will be helpful for others in the same boat. That is, wanting to opt out of the rat race of high mortgages, huge bills and the whole big taxes thing...

[Greg]

No, My monitor needs power to run. There are battery back ups for pellet stoves.

Mark has a section on the steel skirting in the book, and also in the Articles section of the site "A better skirting idea"

You can PM me with your Email address and I can send you pictures of how I did our windows.

Greg

[dedou]

Got your photos, nice job! The new windows look so much stronger and really add to your place. Definitely going the regular window route, then, thanks!