Adventures in Old Mobile Home - And Questions
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 2:32 pm
New member here. I'm still fixing things after 2 years on our place. I should have joined the forum back then to save from all the headaches. I have a very old mobile home. I'm not sure how old it is but I think it is from the 1960s. It is on a foundation with a basement and it also has a shingled roof with low pitch solid trusses that are not original.
I have removed several windows in odd places and replaced all doors and 90% of the windows. There's a 10x20 addition also. It's still a work in progress. The gas heat bill has lowered tremendously after gutting some walls and re insulating and sealing rim joists.
This is my current project. The bathroom and bedroom are being gutted. I have removed a section of the original ceiling which was attached to the original 1x2 roof. The original 1x2 roof structure was nailed to the solid wood trusses. I have removed these and plan to drywall both the walls and ceilings. The roof decking began to rot and sag over 30+ years due to no venting. I am unable to find a way to vent the roof properly. There are literally no eaves or anywhere to put soffit on the sides of the roof.
I am installing a roof vent at least to vent some moisture. Does anyone have any ideas how I can vent this low pitched roof? Even if I were to manage to cut out the 2x4s on the ends of the trusses, the clearance between the edge gap is so small that the insulation would block the airflow.
I also have questions about the original 2x2 walls. They appear to be partially load-bearing. I say that because there are 2x4 walls (framed sideways) on the outside of the original walls. The trusses sit on top of 2x4s that span both walls. The inner load bearing vertical 2x2s appear to be pulling apart from the horizontal 1x2s. What do you typically do with these 2x2 walls to reinforce them? I am thinking of putting a few 2x4s in sideways to aid in the load bearing. Also to keep the drywall joints from cracking.
Bathroom/bedroom walls removed
New tub and framing
I have been strengthening the 2x4 floor joists because I'd like to have these inner walls help with some of the roof load (lots of snow here). The newer (but old) trusses were flimsy so I have been nailing 2x6s between each one and drilling holes for air flow. This helped straighten the trusses back to 24" O.C.. With there being no purlins between trusses, the roof decking doesn't seem to have the amount of support it should have.
I have removed most of the stinky old moisture barrier underneath to get to the floor joists. And now that most of it is gone I was able to seal the terribly leaky rim joists. The moisture barrier did very little to cover the rim joists.
The electrical wiring was a confusing mess and not like a typical house; outlets on light circuits, an entire wall on one circuit, etc. No to mention arcing outlets and burnt wires. I replaced the lug fuse box (running 30 amp fuses by the way) with a 100 amp breaker panel and new wiring from the main Here's a short video of some of the things I am working on.https://youtu.be/r3gQP4xGOkQ
I have many pictures and videos which may help someone someday. And that's some of my adventures with this old mobile home.
I have removed several windows in odd places and replaced all doors and 90% of the windows. There's a 10x20 addition also. It's still a work in progress. The gas heat bill has lowered tremendously after gutting some walls and re insulating and sealing rim joists.
This is my current project. The bathroom and bedroom are being gutted. I have removed a section of the original ceiling which was attached to the original 1x2 roof. The original 1x2 roof structure was nailed to the solid wood trusses. I have removed these and plan to drywall both the walls and ceilings. The roof decking began to rot and sag over 30+ years due to no venting. I am unable to find a way to vent the roof properly. There are literally no eaves or anywhere to put soffit on the sides of the roof.
I am installing a roof vent at least to vent some moisture. Does anyone have any ideas how I can vent this low pitched roof? Even if I were to manage to cut out the 2x4s on the ends of the trusses, the clearance between the edge gap is so small that the insulation would block the airflow.
I also have questions about the original 2x2 walls. They appear to be partially load-bearing. I say that because there are 2x4 walls (framed sideways) on the outside of the original walls. The trusses sit on top of 2x4s that span both walls. The inner load bearing vertical 2x2s appear to be pulling apart from the horizontal 1x2s. What do you typically do with these 2x2 walls to reinforce them? I am thinking of putting a few 2x4s in sideways to aid in the load bearing. Also to keep the drywall joints from cracking.
Bathroom/bedroom walls removed
New tub and framing
I have been strengthening the 2x4 floor joists because I'd like to have these inner walls help with some of the roof load (lots of snow here). The newer (but old) trusses were flimsy so I have been nailing 2x6s between each one and drilling holes for air flow. This helped straighten the trusses back to 24" O.C.. With there being no purlins between trusses, the roof decking doesn't seem to have the amount of support it should have.
I have removed most of the stinky old moisture barrier underneath to get to the floor joists. And now that most of it is gone I was able to seal the terribly leaky rim joists. The moisture barrier did very little to cover the rim joists.
The electrical wiring was a confusing mess and not like a typical house; outlets on light circuits, an entire wall on one circuit, etc. No to mention arcing outlets and burnt wires. I replaced the lug fuse box (running 30 amp fuses by the way) with a 100 amp breaker panel and new wiring from the main Here's a short video of some of the things I am working on.https://youtu.be/r3gQP4xGOkQ
I have many pictures and videos which may help someone someday. And that's some of my adventures with this old mobile home.