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Hello, this is my first post. My wife and I purchased a Crestline Ranch style on-frame modular home that's approximately 2,400 sq. feet about 3 years ago. It's built really well top to bottom and is well insulated, as we've seen with the recent low temps. in our area. Anyway, I noticed that some of the I-Beams supporting the "Pod" which is an add-on family room have some rust on them. What would you guys recommend I put on them once the rust is scraped/brushed off? Is there anything out there that is environmentally friendly (I have severe breathing issues) that will protect the I-Beams from any futher rusting? Thanks for any info.

I would suspect that the rust is only surface rust. Not as in rusted through.

Ours is 21 years old and 2 miles from the ocean and I have not seen dangerous rust.

There are things you can paint over rust that turns it gray and it becomes a primer, but I would say that it's not that bad.

If you can scrape it and it starts to show bare, bright metal, then it;s ok.

Yeah it is surface rust. I just don't want it to spread any further. The home was only lived in for 1 year and sat for sale for 2+ years. It is setup properly and has plastic underneath covering most of the ground, just like site built homes. I know the I-Beams see alot of temp. change, changes in moisture with seasons, etc. and they are coated with some type of asphaltic paint (according to what the manufatcure told me). It just started to rust on the surface of a few beams.

I have found some rust converters online, but they are expensive and time consuming to apply. I guess I can brush it off down to bare metal and then apply something like Rustoleum paint or what you speak of and see how that works. It has to be better than nothing.

I wouldn't worry about those things rusting through as they are fairly large, being at least 12 inches wide. I know with them supporting the weight of the house it's got to be fairly strong steel and the manufacturer knows they're going to be subjected to the elements and have to stay strong. Anyway, thanks for the info. Later!

Proper ventilation under your home will also help. Unless you have major rust it's nothing to worry about. Greg

You can check at Lowes for some Brush on paint that might Stop the rust. In Aresol cans they have Rustoleum spray paint.
Like they said, it is normal for the beams to have rust on them. If you have a kid in the neighborhood that wants to make some extra money, let him crawl under there and get dirty.

Thanks for all the replies.

Regarding ventilation, because it is an on-frame modular it is fully enclosed with real brick and has plenty of foundation vents. It also has thick plastic covering 60-70% of the ground underneath to help with excessive moisture from weeping up. Should ALL of the dirt underneath the house be covered with plastic? I've never seen any home that was covered 100%. I guess there needs to be some breathing going on......

I think part of the problem was that the home sat vacant for at least 2 years and there wasn't any heat/air being used to help regulate the temperature/humidity under the house and I doubt the previous owner ever opened/closed the vents with seasonal changes. I don't think there is a moisture problem at all as it's very dry under there now.

I do have a bit of an issue with water seeping through the brick when we have alot of rain and keeps one small area damp most of the year. But the I-Beams in that area are about 4-5 feet above the dirt. This area of dirt that the water wicks from is under our deck and needs the dirt under it to be covered with plastic because the grading allows alot of water to run against that wall before heading downhill. I intend to fix this by going under the deck and covering all the dirt with thick plastic and hopefully water won't wick under that area and simply runoff. It's not a big problem but is annoying.

Anyway, I'll get under there with a respirator, scrape the surface (I-Beams) rust off and paint it with something. Thanks again!

Hi,

The moisture/vapor barrier under your home, when installed correctly each sheet of plastic over laps the first by 6 inches and then taped together. At each pier the plastic is also placed 6 inches up the pier and attached in place as well, same as the exterior walls.

Mark sells automatic vents in the Books/Parts link if you are interested.

Yanita

OK. The entire bottom of the house is covered by a thick black membrane-like fabric. The ground is covered maybe 60-70% with thick clear plastic. Should ALL of the dirt be covered? Or should some of it be exposed for breathability?

Regarding venting, I think there is plenty of ventilation under the entire house and I think I know where the problem may have been. The beam(s) that have the rust are near part of the ductwork. The house is split into 3 sections, both long sections are 14' x 72+' and the 3rd section is the family room addition and is only half the length of the 2 main sections. There is a crossover duct (around 14") that goes to one opening in the family room floor and that splits into 3 smaller ducts to heat/cool the room. About 1.5 years ago I noticed part of that large duct was hanging down. Apparently it was never installed properly and who knows how long it was blowing cool/warm air under that part of the house. Anyway, I think that temp. change in that area caused the rust to form on the beam(s). Just my thoughts. I have since fixed the ductwork and will tackle the rust now. I plan on wearing my respirator, brushing/sanding the excess rust off and painting it with a thick coat of Rustoleum Heavy Duty exterior paint. Sound good enough? It will surely beat what's on the metal now. Later!