Use roll insulation to cover the bottom of your mobile home to hold in the heat.
Mobile homes are an inexpensive answer to home ownership. Many modern mobile homes are built to withstand the rigors of intense weather. Unfortunately as a mobile home ages it loses much of its energy efficiency. Heat loss through the floors is a major worry for many mobile home owners since the floor of the structure sits so far above ground. Vinyl skirting surrounds the void under the trailer to block most of the wind from robbing the mobile home of its heat. Insulation under the floors will block the rest.
Instructions
1. Use the blade of your screwdriver to lift the top track of the underpinning around the base of your mobile home. Pull the underpinning up and free of its tracks. Take all of the underpinning from under the edge of the mobile home so that you will have enough light to work. Wear work gloves, safety glasses, a dust mask, a face shield and a disposable protective suit to protect your body, eyes and lungs from the minute fiberglass shards in the insulation.
2. Remove everything under the mobile home. Dispose of the refuse and store any items you want to keep. Cover the ground under the mobile home with plastic tarps.
3. Open a can of expansion foam. Twist the applicator hose onto the can, hold it upside down and shake the can vigorously for 90 seconds. Inspect the underside of the mobile home. Fill all of the cracks and holes with expansion foam.
4. Unroll a piece of insulation with the paper side down. Drag it gently across the tarps to where you want to install it. Lift one end of the insulation to the wooden subfloor of the trailer. Secure the insulation by placing a staple through the paper tabs on the side of the insulation every 8 inches along its entire length. Cover the entire subfloor from underneath with insulation.
5. Remove the tarps from the work area. Replace the underpinning into its tracks. Lift the face of the top track and push the top of the underpinning into its seat after you have interlocked all of the pieces of underpinning in their original configuration.
Tips Warnings
An assistant with a flashlight can shed a bit more light on the work area and make the job go faster.
Caulking all of the windows and vents around the mobile home will seal the trailer and eliminate drafts.
Wrap duct work with roll insulation. Use duct tape to fasten it securely to prevent heat/cooling loss through the thin metal duct work.
Work gloves, safety glasses, a dust mask, a face shield and a disposable protective suit are required when working with insulation.
Tags: mobile, home, mobile home, mobile home, disposable protective, disposable protective suit, duct work, dust mask, dust mask face, dust mask face shield
