Mobile Home Renos....

[molly]

So, finally the Hublet and I found a new job to go to after we are finished our work on the Longview ranch where we have lived for almost eight years. We will certainly miss our lovely house and beautiful mature yard! What we will be moving into is a newer mobile home (not sure of age yet...but it is a lot newer than the one we lived in a few years back in Longview!).... The ranch owner plans to replace the lino in the kitchen/dining area, and will pay for materials and for our labour for other repairs and improvements.

Who lives in a mobile home? What have you done, for example, to add a bigger deck, with a roof to provide shade/shelter? This place has no shade trees at all and the big windows face south. There is no tile or tub surrounds in either bath! But there are showers....Hublet wants to tile the tub surround walls and the kitchen backsplash but what is involved in tiling a trailer wall? It has that thin wallboard with those lovely strips on it.

He also has nine shoulder mounts to hang.... I guess just find the studs and hang'em up? It has a peaked ceiling in the living room area and the master bedroom, and a woodstove (again, no tiles on wall behind the stove, just the regular wallboard).

I'll post a couple pics when I get organized. Any suggestions or photos of what you have done would be appreciated! Thanks!

[fordtruckin]

While I don’t know if you would consider it a mobile home, I live in a double wide owned by my work. We have been renovating it slowly over the last summer. It’s build with 2x6 walls 3/8 and 1/2” plywood under 1/2” siding. Interior walls are 1/8th paneling which is typical 1970s brown. I have painted the plywood in most of the rooms and put 1/2” drywall or pine strips up in other places. We repainted the ceiling as there was some water damage from some ice dams last year. We used kilz premium and that stuff is amazing. I highly recommend it. I put new windows in last fall which with 2x6 walls was no different then in a stick built house. As soon as all the snow melts we are building out the eves and putting new metal roofing on. Once that’s done we will put new metal siding from the roof down below grade which includes the 3’ area under the house that’s just skirted with plywood right now. We did new laminate flooring and carpet which was typical for a remodel. Quite easy.

From what I gather they built this thing as a rectangle box, finished the ceiling and then partitioned off the rooms etc... I would not be opposed to purchasing me completely gutting it and renovating it if I was looking for my own place. Not fancy but if you put the time and effort in a nice place to call home. This place was empty for 3 years before I moved in so I had some mouse and pine Martin issues that have since been dealt with. Pipes broke last winter which was a pipe failure related to wear not frozen pipes. Like I said if I was looking I’d fit it down to the outter walls, new wiring and plumbing, siding insulation then reparation it off how I want.

[Newview01]

I wouldn't tile paneling. One hard knock and the grout will crack out.

Lowes sells 1/4" hardie backer board. Screw that to the studs first. Or better yet remove the paneling fire hazard and put drywall up. If you are just putting tile on you don't need the joints to be mudded and taped perfectly anyways.

[molly]

Originally Posted by Newview01

I wouldn't tile paneling. One hard knock and the grout will crack out.
Lowes sells 1/4" hardie backer board. Screw that to the studs first. Or better yet remove the paneling fire hazard and put drywall up. If you are just putting tile on you don't need the joints to be mudded and taped perfectly anyways.

I was thinking Aqua Board since it would be in a shower/bathtub... But since mobile homes might not take the wind as well, I was worried any movement would cause grout to crack, etc. The owner mentioned a tub surround which may be a better bet, but a waterproof backer board would still be required, right?

[Newview01]

Originally Posted by molly

I was thinking Aqua Board since it would be in a shower/bathtub... But since mobile homes might not take the wind as well, I was worried any movement would cause grout to crack, etc. The owner mentioned a tub surround which may be a better bet, but a waterproof backer board would still be required, right?

While I am not sure a tub surround would need waterproof backer board I do agree for a shower in a mobile home it would be the best / easiest option.

There are uncoupling membranes (www.schluter.ca) available to mitigate minor substrate movements, although I am not sure a mobile home paneling wall would be in the minor category. When I suggested the 1/4 hardie back I was thinking you want to stay as thin as possible to remain flush with the paneling. The tile of course would make it thicker but that would get grouted or a Schluter edge.

Lowes and probably other home improvement stores sell tile looking, waterproof panels that I was impressed with. As long as they are installed properly they would do the job just fine, especially because if it is not you house you don't want to spend too much time / money on it.

If you decide to go all out - concrete board is the cheapest, and I believe it is available as thin as 3/8. You can then use a roll on membrane like Redgard or Ardex 8+9 to seal it up before you put the tile on.

[Spidey]

Rather than lino, it would be worth checking out vinyl plank flooring. It's very easy to put down and you can get some really nice hardwood floor looks. It stands up extremely well - very comparable to lino. We put this down in our living room and it looks great. I find it better at absorbing sound than similarly priced laminate flooring.

It's currently half price with free shipping - can't beat $1.48/sq ft.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.6...001048806.html

[molly]

Originally Posted by Spidey

Rather than lino, it would be worth checking out vinyl plank flooring. It's very easy to put down and you can get some really nice hardwood floor looks. It stands up extremely well - very comparable to lino. We put this down in our living room and it looks great. I find it better at absorbing sound than similarly priced laminate flooring.

It's currently half price with free shipping - can't beat $1.48/sq ft.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.6...001048806.html

Lucky for us, the owner is going to put in vinyl plank in the kitchen/dining area anyway; we are hoping he will redo the two bedrooms and bathrooms and hallway so it all matches! Some rather awful carpet in the living room and master bedroom, but not sure how much he is willing to spend...

[MrDave]

I have been renovating my whole life, one way or another. We have been doing our trailer to get rid of old memories, so its been rewarding.
With all click joint flooring, clean the joints thoroughly. I don't leave the 1/4 gap at the ends anymore, as trailers move so much the joints pop if they have enough room.
Our master bedroom we repaneled. Looks great, took a couple of days.
I am expecting to have to rip the wallboard off the bathroom walls to make the repairs needed. The old nails or screws are popping through the wet resistant wall board put on in a previous project.
We put metal roof on a year and a half ago. Strapped over top of the shingles. Very happy to have it done.

Always expect to get surprised when you are working on trailers. Nothing is square, walls don't run straight, floors aren't level. I changed out my range hood and found out someone had hammered a hole into the wall for the vent, that was all they did.

Expect rot around the windows, under the tub, and toilet. Sometimes you get lucky and the trailer has been looked after. I guess it boils down to how well it was built in the first place, how well it was maintained and who did any work on it.