repair-how it's built

[dulcrayon]

Hi All,

This is for Mark or anyone who knows about Marks book or other books.

I'm wanting to do some modification/upgrades. I need to know how this thing (crestridge double wide) is put together. I just rang out the breakers and what they control. Serious FUBAR. I would like to add some breakers, but don't know how wiring is run-it looks like it's going to ceiling-is this correct. Also, I don't know how the ceiling tiles are attached. They're the foam panels 4 X 16 or so with molding between panels-how to get them down. what to do when replacing carpet with tile or laminate floors (across the centerline). are there any books on how these things are put together and how to take them apart?
I looked up Crestrisge Homes, and it looks like they are out of business. I was gong to try to get a factory tour, since the factory shows to be only 4 hours north of me in Texas. Any help would be greatly appreciated-my "honey do" list is getting really long. I don't need a book on how to wire plugs or do plumbing, etc. I know how to do that stuff, I just don't know how to get ceiling tiles down or how wireing is run, etc.

[David Oxhandler]

Crest Ridge is a brand of Patriot Homes, Inc.
Home office
307 South Main Street
Suite 200
Elkhart, Indiana - 46516

Telephone: (574) 524-8600
Fax: (574) 524-8640

Corporate E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.patriothomes.com

Most manufactured home ceilings were not built to be taken down, You will probably find that the panels are stapled to the bottom of the trusses and the staples are covered by the trim. I have never seem a foam ceiling in a manufactured home... Is is possible that the ceiling is celotex? Celotex Ceiling Board is about 1/2" thick product that consists of a gypsum core enclosed in face paper .For many years a style called "plank ceiling" was popular among most builders. It looks something like foam except it is more like a textured cardboard type product.

Here is a photo of a "plank" ceiling that needs some repair



Most of the time the insulation is sitting on a thin layer of plastic just above the ceiling boards. If you remove the ceiling boards there is a good chance that some or all of the insulation will find its way to the floor. We usually tape and texture the exiting ceiling boards. Spraying with a popcorn finish will give most MH ceilings a great new look.

For additional information See Marks Article Manufactured Home Ceilings - Repairing or Rebuilding

In many older homes (pre 1980's 12 wides) we have found a main run of wires routed down the center of the ceiling and drops down the walls for switches and receptacles.

The routing of the electric wires in newer homes is typically "daisy chained" from receptacle to receptacle in the walls. A chase way is created through notched 2x wall studs, generally about the height of the recepts. Wire usually runs from ceiling outlets, fans, bathroom vents etc across the ceiling down the wall to the switches .

The biggest problem we have run into when working on electric is often there is not enough slack in the wires to permit an easy replacement or conversion. Be prepared to install junction boxes in odd places to create enough wire length to do the things you want.

If your putting down tile on the floor you can bridge the center line with cement board. You must use the cement board under tile when applying to any wood type floor or after about three years your tiles will start to crack. In my home I removed the plywood from the center line area and reinstalled it to bridge the centerline. Tile over plywood or OSB requires a double layer of backer and specific guidelines for gapping and fastening and is still risky. There are many different types of tiles. Get specific directions for your installation from the manufacturer whose products you use, make sure you find out exactly what they require.

If your carpeting you can use a wood filler in the floor seam between the homes sections, sand to a smooth finish and use a good quality carpet pad. Offset carpet and pad seams from the center line to avoid any separation pressure from settlement..

[dulcrayon]

Hi David,

Well, I'm sorta in shock (and thrilled) by getting a response so quickly with such through information and links. Based on your response I went ahead and ordered the book. I figure it's gotta have a lot of information I can use, and, I'm guessing, income from the sales dept. finances your forum. Gotta pay the rent. I look forward to the forum, and as I get more knowledge of how MHs are made I hope I can contribute. I know there are not many things worse than flawed information. It can not only waste time, but can cause a huge amount of damage.
Again, thanks for your timely and informative response.

Les Smith--dulcrayon

PS: this is a 32X56 with 4'X16' panels in ceiling. the strips between panels appear to be the "T" type. I ran a putty knife under the seam and it seemed to hit an obstruction about where the joint would be. I'm going to remove the center garnish covering where the two sides are joined and look at the edge of the ceiling tiles to determine composition/thickness and method of joining. I've got a hunch the tiles may be glued to rafters. There are no screws/nails/staples anywhere, and while the tiles are quite hard that's a huge span without being secured, so glue seems likely. I don't know how these are made, but I have a good bit of experience with RV's and the "T" strips are used extensively on ceiling paneling and wall paneling (those are just plain 1/8" vinyl covered paneling).

Thanks Again

[David Oxhandler]

At one point in time or another the MH industry has experimented with gluing just about everything... What is the year of your home? Does the ceiling look like the one in the photo in my previous post?

Thanks for ordering the book. You are correct about the book sales helping to pay the rent for the free forums. I think you will find Mark's book invaluable over time as you make improvements and handle the routine maintenance of your home.

We have a growing collection of free repair and renovation articles that you can find indexed at www.mfdhousing.com/repair.php

Please share with us what you find and how your projects progress

[dulcrayon]

oops, I was wrong about ceiling. I pulled the garnish off and the ceiling is, I think, 3/8" sheetrock although it maybe ½", but not 5/8". It's stippled like you would get if you rolled a mud mix, but it's definitely a painted surface of sheetrock. The inserts between the panels are in the shape of a capital J. The insert being slipped over one sheet with the top of the J being on the appearance side of the ceiling and holding the other piece. I'm assuming it's screwed to the rafters and mudded over. Am I correct in assuming the strips were used, rather than tape and float, to prevent cracking during transit?

We had it built in November 1999, so, probably, a 2000 model. It was to be a temporary thing until we built in 2009. The property where we intended to build got oak wilt. We decided to stay here because we have 2 acres with 98 mature oak trees, but I really hate the way it's wired.

Projects on the "honey do" list for today include installing a recepticle in the hall for vacuuming. This is done by removing the recepticle on the opposite side of the wall (the recepticles used during manufacture can not be reused cause it takes a special tool to put them together). You then cut out a hole on the wall you want to install the recepticle in. You use what's called "sheet rock" boxes. These do not require a stud. They use wings that secure to the sheetrock, so they can be installed anywhere you have wire. You then jumper over from the old recepticle to the new one (each recepticle has four screws and four slots to insert wire. The advantage to this is it's really easy. The disadvantage is it adds another recepticle to the breaker, so you really need to know what's on each circuit breaker. This keeps you from overloading a breaker. Determining what is on each breaker is very easy, but takes a little time. If anyone is interested in knowing, just reply to this post and I will provide a step by step on how to do this. It requires NO tools, just a little time. I found out that (on my house) the master bed and master bath are both on the same 15 amp breaker. This pretty well eliminated my jumpering a recepticle from the bedroom wall into the bathroom so momma could use a space heater while doing her thing. I'm now going to have to run a circuit from the breaker panel to the bathroom.

Well, I've rambled enough.

Thanks again,

Les Smith

[David Oxhandler]

One of the great advantages of running new wiring in a manufactured home is the fact that there is minimally a crawl space under the home, so you can rout your wires under the home from the panel box to just about anyplace that you want.

Your absolutely correct about the gaping of the ceiling. It prevented cracking as the home traveled on the road and as it was racked during installation. The new homes being built today require a bunch of rework on the walls and ceilings to deal with cracking after installation

It is doubtful that the ceiling panels were screwed to the rafter bottoms. It is more likely that that they were staples or glued. Screwing and Mudding over fasteners is not an efficient assembly line task so if you dont see any fasteners it is likely that the ceiling is glued.

The ceiling panels you described came to the factory prefinished. You may be able to find replacements at The Mobile Home OnLine Parts Store You can treat these like any other sheetrock and tape the joints and retexture to your taste. We rent a spay gun and usually popcorn but have had good luck with knockdown also...