Summers here...

[Dirty White Boy]

Thank god...now I get to sweat in the metal box.lol

Got the central air running, is there a filter on this thing or no?


Summer....makes me think about how long I have till winter. With prices of heating oil in NY expected to reach $7.00 a gallon, wondering about options.
Pro-pain is supposed to follow closely so I'm not sure if it's worth it to convert over.
I thought about electric baseboard heating but I only have a 50 amp service.
I'm to paranoid to install a wood stove.

Any ideas?

I'll be replacing a majority of the windows before the snow falls, so that should help. Currently planning out the insulated skirting (foam backed plywood).
Now when I was replacing some walls in here, I noticed something I haven't thought about till recently. I have the horizontal aluminum siding, at the bottom of the siding, there are small gaps throughout the entire MH. Could I seal these up without a problem?

[Dirty White Boy]

...also.

Has anyone ever hung clapboard sidding up over their existing aluminum?

[JD]

If the gaps in the lap siding is from the siding unclipping, then it would be best to fix it correctly by pulling the panels and resetting them. There is supposed to be a wind/vapor barrier behind the siding. That would be your best defense against cold air infiltrating the siding. If these gaps is just the normal gap where the pieces of siding join, I wouldn't caulk them. The siding is supposed to be able to breathe/move. The caulking would eventually lose it's seal and might have a tendency to trap water to leak in through the weep holes.

JMO
JD

[Dirty White Boy]

The gaps are from the factory. The sheet aluminum is "waved" about 1/4 inch outward every 3 inches for about 1 1/2 inches. They only screwed the siding to the MH in the low spots. The other spots are open. It is the same on the top but there is a lengthwise piece of aluminum on top to prevent rain. I'll take pics tomorrow.

[Greg]

I would remove the aluminum first, fill any gaps in the insulation and scrap the aluminum. May as well recover some of the cost. Aluminum scrap price is up right now. Greg

[Dirty White Boy]

I was kinda thinking that the old siding would of also helped with weatherproofing, but yea it makes more sense.

Anyone else out there with solutions to heating/weatherization?

I am including some pics of my siding...The first 2 are the bottom (duh) You can clearly see, even though it's a small gap, there is a decent breeze coming right up. As for venting, I also included 2 pics of the view of the top of the siding.

[JD]

That is actually vertical aluminum mobile home siding. I would not seal the bottoms where it meets that trim piece. If water or condensation gets in there, you want it to be able to get out. Also, if you ever had to pull and reset a panel, the sealant would make it much tougher to do. The best way to stop wind from getting through to your home is a vapor barrier in the wall. Also, caulking/sealing the perimeter of the paneling if you have it, and all openings like switches outlets and around windows really helps.

JMO
JD

[Dirty White Boy]

What are peoples thoughts or opinions on blown in insulation? My neighbor is renting the machine to insulate his MH, I, unlike him, do not have a peaked roof but there is r-13 in my ceiling and about 1 foot of clearance between the insul and the roof...