belly??

[Winningham]

I am in the process of replacing the floors with new 3/4 inch plywood along with new insulation. At one time I found a website that had a cross section of mobile home construction and it showed something named belly ???. What is this and do I need to also install this along with the new floor? This trailer is 30 yrs old so don't even know if it ever had one.

Need answer ASAP
Thank you

[rmurray]

This home did have "belly wrap"..It is the stuff under the insulation that holds it in the floor. Most belly wrap also acts as a moisture barrier. It also acts as a bug deterrent to stop bugs from coming in.. Most in the industry call this stuff "bottom board". The parts seller here on this web site has numerous products available for repair or replacement see them here;

http://mobilehomepartsstore.com/Merchan ... y_Code=BBR

while educating your self you might want to try the repair manual avaiable in the bookstore here it has a section on "FLOOR AND BELLY REPAIR

1) Underbelly repair & replacement
2) Dead rodents - finding & removing
3) Rotten floor - repairing & replacing
4) Installing a laminated floor
5) Replacing a cross-over heat duct"

You can find the book here;

https://ssl.xpr.com/mfdhousing/mfdcart/ ... sid=633945

Good Luck with your project..

[Winningham]

When we purchased thia home we replaced the insulation at that time with encapsulated (plactic wrapped) insulation and if there was a belly board it was long gone. We installed chicken wire to hold the insulation up. This insulation is going to stay and more insulation put down on top of this prior to installing the new plywood floor. Would it be wise to put some type of barrier film between the new insulation and the new plywood or would this be overkill?

Thanks for the quick response

[David Oxhandler]

The belly board serves to support the insulation that is under the floor.  This also serves to makes the home much more energy efficient than one with nothing between the floor and the soil,  Putting a vapor barrier between the insulation and the floor boards is not recommended...  You want your vapor barrier between the insulation and ground to prevent moisture from settling in the floor space and becoming mold.   Plastic just below the floor boards will not permit moisture condensation from the plumbing in the floor to evaporate   It is also recommended to install additional insulation from below so that the plumbing in the floor is on the warm side of the insulation   Once you install the insulation you can purchase rolled vapor barrier material (Bottom Board) install it from below, stapling it to the bottom of the floor joist so it supports the insulation. You can find bottom board products at The Mobile Home Parts Store For details about installing rolled insulation and important safety tips see How to Install Fiberglass Insulation and Crawl Space Insulation, from the U.S. Dept of Energy. For  information about maximizing insulation by blowing it  into the floor see: VIDEOS: Adding Insulation To Your Manufactured Home