repairing from the belly up

[Guest]

My sister bought a 1984 mobile with significant water damage--dry rot in walls, leaking plumbing, loose siding, lots of mold--you name it. She has basically gutted it to start over. We live in northern MN so insulation is important! Can you fill up the belly with insulation, (can you put in too much) does it matter if it's faced or not? She also has to replace the skirting, the wall studs in both bathrooms where the tubs leaked. She has already taken out the wall insulation and the foamboard next to the siding in lots of places is wet, moldy, or both, what do we need to do to repair, replace it. She doesn't want to take the siding off. The inside is enough!! Thanks for any help/suggestions I can give her. M

[Yanita]

Hi,

Well it certainly sounds like you have embarked on a major under taking. So far you have done things correctly, removing everything wet and letting it dry out.

For the floor insulation (belly) you can used faced or unfaced, do not put foam insulation in there. Your water lines and duct work need to be between the joist, put your insulation in and then cover with the new belly material.

You should also get Mark's Repair Manuel, it would be a great help doing a job of this size.

You have a few different questions in your post, if you could separate them and ask specifically what you need for info on each it would be much easier to reply.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Yanita

[Jim from Canada]

When you get to the bathrooms make sure to use mold resistant drywall. It will say right on it mold resistant. Around the tub/shower area concrete board is even better.

Jim

[Greg]

Hi & welcome to the family. Yes you can put too much insulation in, you need to leave some space between the insulation & the floor joists. Your plumbing is kept warm from the heat off of the heat ducts, if you fill too much the heat from the ducts will not be able to circulate to the pipes. Greg

[Guest]

Thanks for the help. It's finally looking like we are making headway. M