Adding a shingle roof. A reader question

A reader asks, “I have a 1989 14×70 mobile home. When I bought it and moved it into a park the manager of the park told me I would have to update the roof the following year. The roof on it is the older metal type roof. It does have a peak on it but it still has a little curve to it. I am a roofer by trade but work specifically with shingles. I was told that if I were to put sheeting and then 1 layer of shingles over my existing roof that it may not support the weight and eventually bow and cause some problems. Is this true? Is there anyway for me to put shingles on my home? or am I going to be forced to put a metal roof on?”

Shingles are heavy. Mobile home manufacturers keep engineers on staff to make sure the homes they build meet the HUD requirements but no more!! That means they have been carefully designed to support the weight of the materials they were built with plus the expected snow and wind loads. Unlike site built homes there is little or no over design.

I think you have two choices. You can do a metal roof being careful to add as little additional weight as possible.

If the park and/or local codes allow you could do a roof over. That would mean building a new roof, that was entirely supported by posts going directly to the ground and strong enough to support the weight of shingles. That would avoid adding any weight to the roof. It might also allow you to add some insulation between the old and new to reduce your energy costs.

If you feel like sending some before/during/after pictures when you are done, I can always use them.

Paul
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Todd
The roof over a roof is called a Ramada. They are legal in nevada but I have seen older ones leaning against the home. They look like a hazard to me and a hell of a job taking them down. A foam roof offers excellent insulation, water proofing and it’s light weight. A single wide will cost about $3000 to have foamed.