Wiring in older homes

[Nancy]

Another question here. I've been told that older manufactured homes have aluminum wiring. Does anyone know when the cut off date for that is? A friend who is a retired fireman said he would not live in a mobile home without a smoke detector ever 15 feet because when they go..they go quickly. He said that the aluminum wiring has historically caused more fires.
The Manufactured home I looked at is a 1979. How safe would an older home be?

[rmurray]

Aluminum wiring went away with the HUD code...June 30, 1976...No 1977 model or newer will have aluminum wiring...Not all older models had aluminum wiring..

By the way..the trouble with aluminum wiring was not the wire,,,but the places where it connected to fixtures and switches...aluminum and brass in contact over long time..cause the aluminum to corrode and become loose..causing heat in the connection..It has been said that aluminum wiring is safe as long as you maintain the connections..that means taking them lose...cleanning and tightening every few years...BUT who does that????????????????????

[Nancy]

Any statistics as to the safety of a manufactured home in comparison to a house house in a fire situation?

[mac]

A modern home constructed with sheetrock will be just like a site-built home. Older ones without sheetrock except in the furnace room will go up quickly. It is possible to sheetrock an older home.

[jgn]

Yes you can drywall an older home but the method you use depends on the age of the home. If you have panel walls you can rock over it or remove the panneling and attach to the studs. You need to find out how the house is wired before you nail anything because you don't want to put a nail through a wire. Some older homes have the wires run alond the base and some at outlet height. If you have 2x2 it might be best to go with 3/8" drywall instead of 1/2" and use a mastic with nails or screws every other stud and along the top. 2x2 studs will have a lot of rebound and hard to nail into. If you are going to do the project make sure you know how to tape.