If you're looking to fix up your mobile home, you should know a few things. For the first step, you need to determine the extent of the damages. Once you know the extent of the damages, you can plan your repairs.

We'll dive into the details in this article for the next step and more, including how to handle various issues you uncover.

When Should You Fix Up Your Mobile Home?

Either you or a professional can remodel your mobile home. It depends on your budget and available free time. In this article, you’ll learn there are many things you can do without the input of a specialist. One of those is when you choose to work on your home yourself.

When should you renovate your home?

Before you rent or sell

It’s always a good idea to renovate a mobile home before you sell or rent it to increase its value in the market. Although most consider manufactured homes “temporary” housing, this is a leftover belief from the trailer homes of the 70s and 80s.

Today, mobile homes built up to HUD codes can last up to 30+ years. So, it’s a great idea to fix up mobile homes as they could retain some value. Plus, the housing crisis makes any kind of home valuable to someone needing shelter. There’ll always be a market to sell mobile homes to.

Before or during the holidays

Whether it's Christmas or Thanksgiving, you can improve the look of your home to welcome your guests and brighten the season. You can make it more festive by renovating it for the holidays.

When you decorate your home, decide on which trend to go with. Two main ones are:

Neutral tones in the interior. There is something about neutrality that humans find appealing. It’ll lend your home a classy touch.
Using plenty of windows throughout the home. Since there’s so much natural light, why not make use of it?

Fixing up your home alone might be time intensive, but it’s easier to do than you think.

Inspection and Planning Before Remodeling

The necessity of an inspection depends on how extensive the remodeling project will be. Permits and building codes for residential properties apply to mobile homes, especially if the remodel involves plumbing, mechanical, or electrical changes. The inspection involves the following:

Check around the home carefully for holes, gaps, and hanging pieces. Write the location and description of each problem down on paper.
Make sure the trailer is level.
Inspect the windows and doors for gaps, stiffness, or anything that indicates a problem.
Confirm the integrity of your floor by checking how hard or easy it is to remove. Do a stress test on your walls as well by pushing on them. If they give or bend, that’s a problem.
Do a market survey to estimate the cost of materials you need.

Then comes the time to plan the remodeling. The notion might include repurposing a space, changing the interior or exterior, or upgrading the aesthetic. Making the house more eco-friendly or constructing a small porch are great ideas too.

How to Fix a Mobile Home Skirting

When we talk about repairing the home, our minds turn to the interior because that’s where we spend most of our time. But we can’t ignore the exterior of our homes, especially when it comes to the skirting.

Proper skirting is quite essential to the home. Among others, it protects its underside from:

Animals and insects
Water and snow; and
Cold (your plumbing will freeze less)

Mobile home skirting also makes the home more attractive. Plus, you might need storage space someday. When your skirting is in good condition, you can use the underside of your home. For those reasons, you need to ensure your skirting gets some love. You can choose to do it yourself or hire a specialist.

Repair or replace?

How damaged are your skirting? If damaged in a few places, you can fix up those parts and make them look good. If there is a lot of damage, it might be better to replace the entire skirting, especially if it’s vinyl. Vinyl is a beautiful but flimsy material. There are sturdier options available. You can use:

Wood
Metal; or
Faux rock

How to Fix the Mobile Home Exterior

The paint on your mobile home exterior is fading. It fades because of direct sunlight, harsh weather, and extreme temperature. If the paint quality was poor in the first place, it'd only fade faster.

The best time to paint the exterior is when temperatures are between 60°F and 85°F, with little to no wind. If it needs sealing, use a power wash to remove the old paint layer before you apply the sealing agent.

The work you perform to restore the exterior of your home might involve

1. Windows and doors

Replacing your windows and doors will help increase your home’s illumination and energy efficiency. It’ll also provide better protection from the elements.

2. Weather stripping and caulking

Stripping around the home will improve its insulation. So will the application of caulk to the seams where your window frames meet the wall.

3. Metal siding

Mold and algae can grow on the siding, but you can clean them with a brush, soap, and some elbow grease. Still, consider switching to wood or vinyl siding. It'll improve insulation and last longer.

4. Exterior lighting system

Motion-activated lighting is an energy-saving option for an external lighting system. It’ll save you a lot in the long run.

How to Fix a Mobile Home’s Roof

If your roof leaks, it could cause a ton of damage to your floors and electronics. Never waste time before you begin roof repairs.

Repair or replace?

If you have multiple leaks in your mobile home roof, replacing them may be easier than plugging them one at a time. To reduce the stress from replacing the top, you can do a roof over instead — this is when you place new roofing over an existing one.

It’s worth it when you think about what the smallest water leak can lead to, such rotting wooden structures compromising the integrity of your mobile home.

Important point to note: Ensure when working on the roof that you do not walk on top of them. They are not designed to hold the full weight of a human.

How to Fix the Mobile Home Door

Mobile home exterior doors are an essential protection against the elements and wildlife. If your doors aren't in excellent condition, they will let out much-needed heat during winter or cool air in the summer.

Thankfully, it’s easy to know when your door has a problem. If the knob gets stuck or you have trouble unlocking and locking your door, try lubricating it first. If that doesn’t work, replace the entire lock.

If it no longer fits into the doorjamb, it usually means that the hinges are weak. You can fix this by tightening the hinge screws or replacing the hinges altogether.

If the door still doesn’t fit, it might be because your wall is shifting. In this instance, no amount of wailing on your door will help. Reshaping your door to size is only a temporary fix.

Look at your weather stripping, too. It wears out quickly, and it’s often the first thing to go on a mobile home door. It’s also easy to replace too.

Repairing door knobs and hinges is one of the most cost-effective ways to address door repair issues in mobile homes. Beyond that, you might as well change the door. There is a point when it's more prudent to replace the entire door and lock system than to perform piecemeal repairs.

Also, consider adding entrance steps to your mobile home exterior to improve your home’s accessibility and appeal.

How to Fix the Mobile Home’s Windows

In some cases, the mobile home window isn’t parallel to the floor, or one side is slightly larger than the opposite. Before you begin repairs, you need to address this issue.

How to replace the window glass:

Measure all sides of the window
Carefully remove the siding
Unscrew and remove the old window
Carefully clean the area of old caulking
Put in and fasten the new window (make sure to use new screws)
Along the edges of the window, apply caulk to seal any gaps
Double-check your work

How to replace the window pane:

Changing a single pane is more complex than replacing the entire window. That’s why we’d advise either getting a professional to handle it or changing the window.

How to replace the window frame:

Unscrew and remove the old window and then clean out the old caulking
Measure all the sides of the window space
Get a new window ¼ inches longer on every side than the measurements
Confirm the fit of the window and verify there are no gaps between the frame and the inside of the wall’s window space. If there are gaps because of the window frame, straighten it out. If it’s because of the wall, address it appropriately before installing the window.

Also, ensure the window is closed while you’re installing it.

Apply caulk along the edges of the window when you’ve installed it. Fasten the window with screws.
Double-check your work

How to Fix a Mobile Home Floor

Most older mobile homes use particle board for a subfloor. The particle board absorbs water readily and retains it. Exert a bit of force on it, and it disintegrates, just like tissue. A textbook case of a soft spot in your mobile home.

Replacing your mobile home floor is easy. You can place new floor material over the damaged portion (go for OSB or ¾-inch plywood) before you use the finish of your choice.

However, this will raise the floor. If it's close to a door, it becomes an unwanted wedge. It’s better to replace it with new material. Just be careful when cutting close to the joists — they're essential to your home's integrity.

Ensure you check adjoining rooms for flooring damage. Since it’s wood, moisture can, and usually will, spread through the flooring, even under the walls. If the damage has extended under a wall without joist support, you can’t remove that section.

How to Fix a Mobile Home Shower and Tub

When water leaks, it causes damage to whatever surface is in the way, especially the subfloor (since they’re wooden). That’s why it’s essential to repair any leaks as they occur. Even a few days is enough to do grave damage.

There is good news, thankfully: shower repair is easy. If you have the right tools and parts available, you can do many forms of shower repairs yourself.

Cracked bathtub or shower pan?

All you need is a bathroom repair epoxy kit. Apply the waterproof epoxy to the cracks and give it 20 minutes to set. It works for fiberglass, ceramic, and plastic. If the fissure is large, you can get more kits.

Broken or leaky bathtub faucet?

That’s easy!

Turn off the water at the mains and open the faucet valves to drain it
Unscrew the old faucet with a pair of pliers
While you’re there, why not clean up the area a bit?
Apply some plumber’s grease around the inside edge of the new faucet
Mount and tighten the new faucet on the wall
Turn on the water at the mains. Verify there are no leaks.

How do you change the bathtub or shower pan in a mobile home?

No DIY for this, unfortunately. Unless you're an expert, you should get an appropriate replacement bathtub or shower pan and hire a professional to install it.

How to Fix a Furnace in a Mobile Home

Furnaces designed for site-built homes are not suitable for mobile homes. They have unique designs and require special venting and ductwork to keep them cool.

The size and power of the furnace you choose to use should depend on a few factors, including the climate in your area.

If you experience warm conditions, your furnace should not be more than 25 to 35 BTUs per square foot. You should get a furnace that produces 45 to 60 BTUs of heat per square footage in cold regions. You can multiply that by the square footage of your home to get an estimate of the ideal furnace size.

Your options for fixing your mobile home furnace depend on whether it’s a gas or electric model. If it’s gas, forget DIY. You need to call a professional to fix it up for you; one who charges reasonably and has a history of satisfied clients. If it needs replacement, it’s up to you to choose the proper size for the job.

If you use an electric furnace, it’s possible to replace it yourself. Here’re some instructions to make things easier.

How to replace the electric furnace in your mobile home by yourself:

Turn off the electricity for your entire home as a safety measure
Carefully check for wear and damage on the hoses, duct connector, return grill assembly, and thermostat. They may need replacement.
Disconnect the furnace from all its attachments (electric cords and circulation hoses)
Take out the old furnace and replace it with the new one
Reconnect the electric connections and the tubing. If the new furnace has allowances for attachment to the wall via screws, make sure you use them.
Double-check your work before testing it.

Bottom Line

Fixing your mobile home is easier than you think. You’ll need money to do it though, and quite a bit of time will be spent on trial and error, depending on your experience in matters like this. So, gear up and take your time so you don’t worsen things.

If the whole project is too overwhelming, or it’ll cost more to repair and rent or sell than you feel it’s worth, consider donating the mobile home to someone. By gifting your home, you’re aiding the fight against homelessness, and it doesn’t cost much more than calling Banyan Mobile Home Removal (or texting, if you prefer). We’re professionals at mobile home donation and removal so you can make space as needed..