Adding a door ???

[shantz]

My mom bought a pair of beautiful french doors that she'd like to add to her mobile home. She'd like them added to an existing room that currently does not have an exterior door or window in the desired location. I'm cautious about cutting a gaping hole into the side as this is a mobile home and not 'standard' construction and I can't seem to locate any information about this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. There really is no difference in a mobile & stick built. Make sure you have enough head room for the door and a triple header for a door that wide. Remember that there WILL be electrical in the wall that will need to be moved. Greg

[JD]

What is the thickness of the wall framing? Measure the thickness at a door or window and subtract the thickness of the trim, interior panels and exterior siding. The wall framing may need to be beefed up to fit your new door.

The framing itself should be very similar to standard construction. You may find a strap coming from the floor and roof area. If so, you may need to check with your local code office for a work around to replace them. You may find diagonal braces and/or horizontal nailing strips

JD

[Groo]

one difference between stick and mobile is that the roof that it has to hold up is much lighterand the top board is pretty much nothing. That means you'll probably want to put up a temporary load wall before you start to cut, and not worry so much about the the header boards that span the opening so much. a pair of 2x6s should be more than enough. you might want to cut a grove in the middle to run the electrical through if its going to be solid wood above the door before you sandwich them together.