Windows are in! I'll pick them up and store them until the big install day. I promise I'll add photos of the progress soon. Of course I'm stressing about how to keep them from breaking on the drive home. Need something akin to giant book-ends for the bed of my truck to keep them vertical. The laundr...

After adding the furring strips and vinyl, how do you trim around windows and doors? I've heard of doing it the way you propose but I can't seem to wrap my mind around trimming out windows and doors that would likely be below the surface of the siding. And to add vinyl, won't you need sheathing? Or ...

Tape and mud time! Looks good. I've you've not done it before, just remember to go slow and add thin coats. Thankfully we are applying a knock-down texture so the joints don't have to be super perfect.

Update: Getting ready to pull the trigger on the window order. HD has a sale on Anderson custom order windows for 15% off (expires on 5-15). 9 ea new construction, single hung, low-E windows with grids came to slightly over $1200.00. This includes a couple of 72" tall windows on one end and a c...

I went back and forth on vinyl or smartside panel and the added expense of having to add an OSB sheathing before vinyl made me realize that the panel siding was the way to go. Havan't installed it yet but that is the direction I am headed. I'll remove the windows and tin, wrap the house, install new...

I'm in oklahoma where it can get below zero on occasion and 20's and teens isn't out of the ordinary in the winter. My furnace quit years ago and I've been using electric space heaters (about 5 throughout the house for really cold days). Never had a waterline freeze yet. The lines in my house run di...

Piers set below the frost line would be very easy - especially in oklahoma where the frost line is pretty shallow. As mentioned above - a post hole digger on a tractor would make short work of it along with tube forms from HD or Lowes. We hand dug our piers and poured them ourselves over a few weeks...

For the second question: You can get sheetrock in 4x9' sections. You'll waste a little but also save time and other materials. On horizontal seams, you should use a furring strip, screwed to both halves of the seam, the tap and mud. Especially if the studs are thin or more than 16" o.c. Dependi...

Welcome. Are you positive the carpet runs under the walls? My single wide doesn't but also didn't use tack strips - they folded the edge under and stapled it to the floor. We are in the process of removing it and installing laminate floors. My best advice is to read, read and read some more. Then pi...

You might look at the finished Hampton Bay cabinets at HD. I believe they are solid wood (unlike the ready to finish ones).

Thanks for the reply Dale. Perhaps 2-3 14x3" toe kick grates might do the trick? Placing them in the kitchen toe kick are would make the return path the shortest due to the location of the heat pump. Another option would be a floor grate under the new island (island on feet). We could then inst...

No return ducting - that was question #1 - I will have to install a return duct and thoughts were to install it in the kitchen base cabinet toe kick. I did a quick internet search and find that toe kick return grates are available so I'll likely go that route with the addition of a filter rack in th...

I'll be crawling around under there this weekend and I'll check for level. I have the bottle jack if necessary. I suppose hardwood shims would be the way to go? Hope it's not off. The steel skirting is attached to a reinforced concrete perimeter 'curb' that extends below the frost line (home is on l...

We are remodeling our single wide and will be removing the old coleman central air/heat blower. Plans are to install a self contained heat pump with electric heat. Where the old central air blower was installed, we will seal the duct and cover with new flooring. I plan to self-install the heat pump,...

Update: Made a visit to my credit union and borrowed the funds to start purchasing the materials. I've estimated the cost of materials to be around $5000 give or take. Borrowed enough to do some kitchen remodeling and install a packaged heat pump too. On the panel siding, I see that Lowes and HD hav...