little impatient.....

[Tammy]

My husband and i are wanting to "downsize" from a res. home to a mobile to save a lil money.... since this would be our first mobile, i did indeed order the dble package of books,... everything to save $$ and the campairsion guide. i am itchin' to get started.... i orded the e-books because i figured i would get the information instantly.....i orded them yesturday... is there a long wait or am i just to impatient? lol


also i have been to several dealers out here in louisiana and i had mentioned i wanted the vents in the ceiling like a house and he said that wasnt a good idea because over time mildew forms up there and can become toxic, my husband is allergic to just about everything so this wouldnt be a good thing... another dealer said it wasnt true, but i tend to believe the first guy.... being that the area up there is a small space and moisture could form because of the heat causing mildew. its a good point to think about.... anyone have any imput on that subject?

thanks a bunch
Tammy

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Tammy,

I just sent my e-books to you. Let us all know how things turn out, thanks.

Randy Eaton

[Tammy]

Thank you!....off to read them now. You'll prolly see me on here in the future, since we are just getting started
thanks again!

Tammy

[Joe Wiggins]

Tammy,

I'm like you--considering my first manufactured home after owning site-built homes for over 20 years. So far, I have found that the snake oil salesmen have moved to manufactured homes in many areas, so do your research!

I would definitely insist on vents in the ceiling. Dealers like to push floor vents because they are standard on most brands I have looked at here in Texas. The ceiling vents cost more and usually are special order only. They don't order ceiling vents on many homes here in Texas for their sales lots unless a customer ordered it that way then backed out of the deal. Why is that so important to them? Because when you are ready to buy, they are going to be PUSHING you to buy one of their existing units off the sales lot rather than special order one with the things you like.

Two things to keep in mind about floor vents--they catch trash and loose objects like coins, pins, and other objects. In addition, if you have floor vents, you can't put ANYTHING near or over the vents. You might as well build a fence around each vent because that area of the floor is unusable. If you go tour a factory, you'll see that ceiling vents are very similar to floor vents. The are insulated and sealed if the home is built well. They are no more prone to mold than floor vents-- they simply go up from the central unit rather than down.

The mold problem is with the design and manufacturing of the homes, controlling moisture in the walls and the lack of a vapor barrier, not the type of vents. Any salesman that tells you that ceiling vents is LYING--so he should be avoided. If he was telling the truth, then nearly every site-built home in the South with central air would have mold problems because nearly all of them have ceiling vents.

Here are two very good reports completed by industry experts about mold problems in wood-frame homes, including manufactured homes:
http://www.forestprod.org/Moyer.pdf
http://www.forestprod.org/Weston.PDF

By the way, Louisiana is VERY humid, so I would insist on an exterior moisture barrier. So far, Palm Harbor has tried to tell me it is no big deal, but we are having a terrible problem with mold in Texas homes, especially those in costal areas. It is so big of a problem that Farmers, State Farm and Allstate all worked together to get the state to allow them to write a policy that excludes coverage of mold damage unless you pay extra for the coverage. The experts say a vapor barrier makes a huge difference; Palm Harbor says another--guess which one I'm going to listen to?

Good luck!

Joe

[Sandy]

Sorry Joe but what you said about the floor vents is not really true. You said you cant put anything near or over them. We have our daughters bed over the floor vent in her room, our entertainment center over one of the vents in the living room and our dresser over the vent in our bedroom. We just closed those vents, tah dah!! But, if we did want to use them then I would just open the vent slightly so the flow is directed out to the side or I would get the air flow directer shield. Now in my opinion it is much better having the vents on the floor instead of the ceiling cause you are closer to the ground then you are to the ceiling meaning the cold air or heat reaches you much faster. Which in turn means you use it for less amount of time.

[Joe Wiggins]

Sandy,

Yes, you can cover floor vents with furniture, but I wouldn't recommend it, especially when running the air conditioning.

Most cooled air could cause condensation if it blows directly on to a surface. SInce most furniture uses particle board, or masonite or some other composition board, the excess humidity could cause it to warp or break.

You could also have a similar problem with heated air blowing directly on to the furniture. Most wood products will shrink or warp if dried out too much. Heated air is usually very low in humidity, and could dry out the wood in your furniture.

Joe