From Cheap To Chic: Replace These 3 Items To Give Your Mobile Home A Contemporary Look

3 March 2015
 Categories: Industrial & Manufacturing, Articles


Mobile homes, also referred to as manufactured homes, provide an affordable living space for a large amount of individuals and families. In some states, nearly 18% of residents live in a mobile home. There are numerous advantages to owning a manufactured home, but there are also some drawbacks. Unless you purchased a high-end or custom-made manufactured home, you may currently own a home with low-quality pieces that scratch, bend, or break easily. Revamp the interior of your mobile home by replacing these 3 outdated items with modern, durable pieces as soon as you have a chance.  

Windows

High-quality windows enhance the appearance of a home, but that's not their only role. Windows help regulate the temperature of your home by blocking hot or chilly air from the outside, and they also keep dust and debris from finding a way into your dwelling. Energy Star-rated windows can help you save hundreds of dollars a year on utility bills, and they also give your home a classy, polished appearance.

Buying windows for a manufactured home is similar to replacing windows in a traditional home, but there are a few differences. Here are some things to keep in mind as you shop for windows for your mobile home:

  • Distance from the ground - Is your home easily accessible to robbers? Mobile homes often have windows that are fairly close to the ground, so it's important to choose windows that can't be pried open quickly from the outside
  • Fire safety - Thousands of mobile homes catch on fire each year. Can your family open the new windows without struggling and escape to safety during an emergency evacuation?
  • Weight - Some manufactured homes have vinyl-covered walls without any drywall beneath the surface. Heavy, oversized windows may weigh down your home's walls and cause structural issues, such as sagging.

Flooring

Is the linoleum in your kitchen or bathroom older than you are? Mobile homes are notorious for using cheap flooring, but you may be hesitant to replace the factory floors that came with the home. Do any of the following concerns sound familiar?

  • What happens if I have a double-wide trailer and the connecting joint for the two sections of the my home is not even?
  • Will my tile remain in place if my home sinks into the ground on wet days or shifts slightly out of place on windy days?
  • Do I need to order specially cut flooring to fit around the trim that covers the joints between the wall boards?

These are all excellent concerns, which is why you may not want to wander through a hardware store alone and blindly shop for new flooring. Talk to a home improvement expert who works at the store about your worries, and bring pictures of the rooms where you want to upgrade the floors. This will help you get helpful advice tailored to your unique living situation so that you can select the right style of flooring for your home.

Walls

Mobile home walls are unlike anything you will find in a traditional house or apartment. The walls typically rely on VOG, which stands for vinyl on gypsum, and can be very flimsy. You may have already discovered that it is difficult to hang paintings or other objects on your walls, and that might be something you want to rectify. If so, you can tear down the walls and start from scratch, but that can be time-consuming. If you want a simple, do-it-yourself upgrade for your walls, consider the following options:

  • Install sheet rock or bead board
  • Paint the walls (keep in mind that you will also have to paint over the trim that runs from the ceiling to the carpet unless you remove it and fill in the gaps with caulk) 
  • Apply wallpaper

These methods work well for single-wide and double-wide homes, and they are reasonably priced. You can also combine options, such as painting the walls and then applying wallpaper as a border.

When you buy a mobile home, you don't have to keep the same VOG wall panels and linoleum flooring forever -- unless you want to. Visit a reputable hardware store to learn more about how you can upgrade the interior of your manufactured home.


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