Total Renovation Possible?

[JD]

I am jumping in kind of late here but you have received some excellent replies so far.

I would add that on your appliances, lights, doors, bath fixtures, etc., go with standard home store products rather than mobile home specific products whenever possible.

Weight is more of an issue for the roof and the walls. On a stickbuilt home, there will be a concrete foundation under the walls. In an older mobile home, typically there is nothing except skirting. So all the weight of the roof and walls are supported by the floor joists that are supported by the I beams approx 18" away.

Mobile homes will settle over time and in cold zones they are subject to frost heave. There is actually a lot of movement compared to a stickbuilt home. The vinyl siding that is buckling towards the bottom of your walls is probably due to the home settling lower while the brick skirting is not.

Newer homes are often set with perimeter piers to support the added weight of sheetrock walls and composition asphalt shingles. While this does a great job of supporting the weight, the home owner has to be more vigilant about keeping the home level, as a third row of piers per unit can cause some damage as the home settles and goes out of level.

Add-on perimeter outrigger supports that are available through the Books & Parts link above may offer enough support for what you want to do. These supports are best installed before additional weight is added to the roof and walls. Once the joist framing begins to "bend" due to excess weight, there is not a lot you can do to truly repair it.

I hope this helps.

♫ JD ♫