Mobile Home Decor
I'm not sure the mainstream media even understands that someone living in a mobile home might want to make their home look nice. That seems like an oversight to me and I would like to do something about it.
Unfortunately, while I do OK with repair and renovation, I have no gift for those deft, inexpensive, touches which can make such a difference. For that reason I need help with this project.
If you have made a difference in the decor of your mobile home and would be willing to share your "secrets", please use the form below to tell me about them. If you have before and after pictures I will send my email address so you can email them to me. With your permission, we will publish the best ideas on Mobile Home Doctor so others can see them. Thanks in advance for your contributions.
Comments or questions are welcome.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
My choice to purchase and live in a used older mobile home was driven by my small income. I need to be creative if I want a handsome home. I am looking for ideas…
1) for a small porch that doesn’t have a roof… I get soaked in the rain trying to unlock the door… are there places to buy used mobile home parts, like a door overhang? The new ones are so expensive and then who/how do you install one?
2) the molding in my home is particle board covered with a vinyl-like paper, it’s an ugly faux wood color, can that be painted?
3) the outside of my house looks like a cracker box… just a white box… what have people done to add some character to the outside? Can I attach stuff to the vinyl siding, like an artsy decoration of some sort? What factors into driving a nail through the siding?
4) why are there decorative shudders on mobile homes but only on one side of the house and not all the way around?
5) what would happen if I put up trellises and grew vines to climb up the vinyl-siding… I have a single roof as well… would I be doing damage to the trailer, the siding, or the roof (if it got that high)? Again, can you attach stuff to vinyl siding?
Thanks!
1. Used parts like that don’t work very well. The economics don’t work. You have to invest time to take them down, spend money to store them, and then remember what you have in stock when someone wants to buy one. You never have the one they want. Since you live in a park you might keep your eye out for homes that are being moved out and ask about salvaging stuff you need. Homes with nice decks, etc. are actually worth less because of the cost to tear down and dispose of the extras.
2. It would need to be primed.
3. The vinyl siding won’t hold anything. You need to make sure you hit a wall stud. I don’t much like nails. You need to save up for a cordless reversible drill so you can drive screws.
4. It’s cheaper. “You only see one side from the street, who cares what the back looks like.”
5. I would think vines, etc. would be fine. You would want to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn’t send branches under the siding.
Oops, that’s a “shingle” roof.
Good point about the used parts and looking for salvage within the park! Hmmm… vines could easily grow up and under the vinyl so that’s out… plus, the garden shop said in my climate the vines will only grow on a north side, bummer!
How do you find the wall stud from the outside?
I suppose if I put a long screw in and leave it exposed I could hang something like a wreath on it… maybe I should get a galvanized one that won’t rust and eventually stain the siding? Should I caulk around the hole so I don’t get water damage under the vinyl… or am I over thinking this whole thing? hahahahhah!
Appreciate having someone to bounce these sometimes silly but real questions off of… thanks!
We have a drywall-type material on our walls, but instead of being seamless and smooth, there are small strips of the same material covering the seams. Is there any way to remove these strips and create a smooth surface that can be painted? Thank you.
I’m assuming this is vinyl covered sheetrock. You can take off the strips and fill the joints with drywall mud and flexible mesh. You will want to prime the surface so the mud sticks.
i bought roof sealer. i want to know how to do roof without stepping onto roof. i have rollers ladder.
You can buy roller handle extensions that should be long enough to apply the sealer from the side.