insulation of the underbody of the trailer

[mbsmallwood76]

The underneath insulation to my 1988 trailer is shot. i can see area that is torn and sagging underneath and when I cut up one of the floors, there was almost no insulation and I could see the ground from inside the house. I like to somehow prop up the sagging pieces and put fresh insulation in to protect from the upcoming winter. and suggestion? Thanks in advance

Michael Smallwood

[radoo99]

Good question i need to do the same thing but wondering what i use for insulation. I know they sell under belly kits on this site, im gonna order one.

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you can see ground you have bigger problems than insulation. You need to start with the subfloor and get the floors weather tight first. Mobile homes are notorius for partical board subfloors that turn to mush when they get wet, the next step after they dry out is they turn to sawdust and fall apart.
I would recomend Mark's book avalable in the "books & parts" section of the site. Replacing the sub floor is not hard but does take time to do, replace with PLYWOOD, or at the very least OSB.
After you get the floors tight you can use regular fiberglass insulation, stay away from blown in since when you need to open up the belly for any work you will have a major mess on your hands. Greg

[mbsmallwood76]

Thanks so much for the quick reply. due to severe budget constraints, replacing the sub floor is out of the question for me. i do have a huge amount of roofing tar paper and was wondering if somehow affixing that to the problem areas under the trailer could provide a quick fix til next spring. I only plan on living in the place until i finish nursing school and about one year beyond, so I cannot justify such a huge expense. Any quick / temp fix ideas to get me through the winter would be greatly appreciated, Thanks again

Michael Smallwood

[Yanita]

Hi,

Am wondering why you cut out a piece of the floor?

Yanita

[mbsmallwood76]

The previous owner did not take good care of the place and for some reason the furnace area leaked water, which weakened the floor and warped it. In another area, the crazy woman sealed the screens and the windows collected water, which destroyed the wall, insulation and about a 4' x 20" area of floor under the window in both the living room and the kitchen.

but i did only pay 3800 for the place so i guess i cant complain too much but I still do

any advice as far as a quick fix to seal up the underbelly? i got under there yesterday and there are about 3 or 4 places that are real bad as far as insulation hanging down. I don't want to redo the whole thing, just patch up the holes and blow some insulation up there (against some ppls advice) i'm only gonna be here 3 or so years, but id like to make a little money for my effort when i move plus be able to enjoy the place while I'm here. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

any ideas on using that roofing tar paper to keep moisture out an heat in? like i said in on a tight budget and don't have a problem jerry rigging a few things to make things easier for myself as long as it works!

Thanks a bunch for all the advice. the people on here are great and extremely knowledgeable so i trust any advice and believe me I'm lost in the sauce when it comes to remodeling. Let me know guys and thanks in advance!

[Arlo]

You didn't say where you live but in any area except subtropical Florida patching your floor with tar paper will cost you much more in heat loss than a sheet of proper subfloor will cost! If you are doing it cheaply why can't you buy a sheet or two of OSB subfloor and patch your areas the way it's recommended on this forum? I paid 6.99 per 4 x8 foot sheet of the stuff last year. I don't think anyone on this forum wants to encourage you to patch the floors with tarpaper as it is unfair to the future owner and inviting pests. To really save money check the scraps area inside Home Depot or join freecycle.org. But use decent material.

[mbsmallwood76]

The only reason I suggested it was because I already have the tar paper and there would be no cost whatsoever to me to go that route.

Ive already replaced the damaged floors with plywood, and I got the highest quality stuff they had at Lowe's (8' x4' sheet cost me $42)

I'm talking about the underbelly of the trailer. There is insulation hanging down to the ground in a few areas if you remove the skirt and look under the trailer. I live near Cincinnati, Ohio and I just want to make sure that the underside of the trailer is nice and insulated for the cold winter months ahead.

You obviously misunderstood the entire purpose of my post which is frustrating because it took me 30 minutes to write and I tried to spell it out as clearly as possible to explain my scenario.

I'm not an idiot and would never patch a floor with tar paper.

[Harry]

Hi Michael

Looks like winter is here.

Sounds like an OK temporary repair to me.

Harry

[steve]

Styrofoam insulation board (4 x could be screwed with fender washers to the joists to hold things up giving insulation and protection. Only thing is the thicker you go the more it cost but the thicker it is the better it insulates

[Yanita]

Hi,

For the insulation that is hanging down the best thing you can do is replace or fill in with new batts insulation. This also keeps your water lines from potential freeze, and keeps the warm air from the ducts under the floor helping keep them warm as well.

To secure your insulation you would use a staple gun to staple the edges of the insulation to the floor joist. If you want to use tar paper as your underbelly material then that choice is yours, although there are reasons for using specific products for specific repairs.

You seem to only want a quick fix as you are not staying in the home permanently. I understand your thoughts, but also understand that improper repairs potentially cause heat and air losses, resulting in higher utility bills to you.

As a site Admin/Mod it is my responsibility to advise only proper repairs. You as a homeowner are certainly entitled to repair any way you choose.

Yanita