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I am looking into purchasing a Repo 1998 Palm Harbor, SW home. The home is in need of several repairs. Ceiling and roof appear to be in good shape, although the walls have several holes and need to be replaced throughout the home.

The wallboard or Sheetrock seems to be very thin, I haven't seen home in perons yet only pictures, does anyone know what type of wall material would be used in a 98 Palm Harbor home?

Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim,

You're most likely looking at 1/4 inch wall board in your home. Most of us have that whether covered in wall paper or a type of paneling. Fixing wall are real a real easy DIY job!

What you want to do before the purchase is to really inspect the floors and ceilings in person. Both ceiling and floor damage are real common in our homes and can be easily disguised. You really need to walk through the home. Walk all over the home. Really feel the the areas you're walking in. Check for squeaks and soft spots in the floor. If this is a double wide, check down the marriage, check the bathrooms and the kitchens. These are areas where water leaks most occur and damage sub floors.

Other areas to check are ceilings! Keep in mind that paint can hide some minor damage. Look at ceilings inside closets etc.

Another thing to look at is to make sure that the home is level.

Last, but not least. If the home has holes in the walls, you have to ask yourself how well other maintenance was kept up. All appliances, etc. Include the furnace and water heater in that list please.

Maureen

The home is a single wide which I will move from where it is now. So being level currently is not a big issue, unless being unlevel could have caused other damage. I plan on replacing all the wall board, the current walls have numerous holes and very dirty. Correct if I'm wrong but I was going under the assumption that if the floor and more importantly the ceiling were in good shape I could handle the rest. Replacing some of the floor would be O.k, I plan on installing new toilets and floor covering in the bathrooms as well. Would also put in new range and refrig. I'll try to upload a picture or two of what would be a project.







Thanks,

Gut that thing and go to town!

Hi Jim,

You have a few extra items on the floor, but I think that this home will look real nice flipped. I would tend to agree with you on ripping out the walls and starting with fresh sheetrock, especially if that is the vinyl coated wallboard.

If you decide to go without the batten strips, just expect some cracking in paint and/or texture. This will almost certainly happen when you move the home. That one bedroom door is very close to the wall. I imagine it helps give the bedroom more usuable space. But you can see the factory way of installing the wallboard. Straight pieces up the side of the door and then fill in the top above the door. This is a bad practice for sheetrock. Almost always ends up with cracks at those seams. But again, the door is very close to the wall, so if you cut the door out of one sheet of sheetrock, it may still crack because the pieces are so thin at the ceiling.

All in all I think this will be a great looking home when you are done.

JD

Thanks for the input, couple of other questions. What thickness of Sheetrock would you recommend? in regards to metal siding or the wood on the outside (Palm Harbor seems to put alot of wood on their homes) which is better in your opinion.

I haven't check yet and probably depends on area you live in, but does anyone have any idea what the going rate for moving a SW is?

I would use 1/2" sheetrock on the walls. I do see a lot of 3/8 sheetrock in mobile homes, but the 1/2" is much stronger and makes for quieter walls.

The best siding is a bit of a personal choice. The wood panels like Smartside (pretty good product) look more up to date than aluminum, but will require a lot more maintenance and eventually maybe replacement down the road. The flat vertical aluminum siding looks more mobile home like, but installed properly can last as long as the home will be usable. Painting makes aluminum siding look nicer, but not painting won't degrade the aluminum. Personally, I liked the aluminum lap siding when it was available. A little harder to work with than the vinyl, but I liked how straight and flat it would lay.

Set-up prices can vary greatly depending on how far and local codes. But for just a plain move and set-up (no awnings, decks, etc.), guys are getting more than $2k in my area.

Hope this helps

JD

Hi,

Here in Eastern NC moving and set up of a singlewide can run close to 3000.00.

We just went thru this in May of last year. Thought we were going to move the singlewide onto a piece of land, after permits and all other stuff involved. This was going to be about a 4.5 mile move. This also did not include any decks or storage buildings.

This was hiring a legit MH mover. Some people find cheaper ways of getting there home moved but if you go this route be informed of exactly what they will do when moving your home. Make sure that they have insurance etc and have copies of everything.

~Yanita~