Great topic. I'm a young man(61)and live in FL in a 35yr. old Skyline. I survive on SS but am still interested in eco green living and saving energy(money). So far I've replaced all my old bulbs with CFL's and turned down my hot water heater. My project list includes new wiring,insulation under the mobile home and I'm going to see about installing blown insulation in the walls. I've also bought some white metal paint for the porch roof which cuts down on the heat produced by the sun. There are many people living in mobile homes all over the country and I hope to read other peoples ideas.

I am planning to expand my 12x45 mobile home to a 16x45. I want to do this without any columns if possible. If you can help with this pls. e-mail me at jhbbuford@yahoo.com

It is about time someone is showing that moble or manufactured homes are easy to fix or make a old one look new. If some one would look at the amount of people that live in one it might surprise almost everyone. HGTV should do a show how to fix and make them a home just a mobile home. I have redone alot of them for me and my friends. This is a progam noone has touched.
Thanks, Banner

749523

I am a 54 year old married male and we live in a 1996 Liberty mobile home. I have changed all my light bulbs and set my home on a concrete foundation 8 inches thick wi a 4 foot crawl space with concrete floor. I also have the electric water heater turned down. We have bought front load energy efficent washer and drier.
the newer mobile homes are affordable and efficent. There are a lot of ways to go green. I have been doing some checking on solar but the only one that will talk to me is out of California. There is no one in South Dakota or close by that I know of that install or sells solar product.
If you are on a tight budget amd looking for a home Mobile home living is a nice option.

My husband and I are near retirement and have purchased land off the grid with plans to build as green as possible, but have found what you say to be true. It is very expensive and will put a dent in our budget. Plus, now that home values have dropped drastically we have to decide how much less we may have to spend if we don't put off our retirement. So any advice is appreciated.

I have wondered why we don't see more mobile homes being built with structural Insulated Panels (SIPS). Their cost is offset by reduced labor, they are as energy efficient as you could ask for , and they are extremely sturdy. I also wonder why we don't see more standard homes built with the SIPS system

I am joining this conversation because I recently moved into a mobile home and feel that HGTV should definitely consider starting a show regarding the general set up, maintaining, remodeling of mobile homes starting with the structural similarities and differences from stick built houses.

Hi, My husband and I live in a manufactured home,it is a 1993 marrlet.We would like a bit more space and really don't want to pay for a new home (stick or manufactured) how do we enlarge?

I also would like HGTV to do a show on manufactured homes. We have lived in ours for 5 years and becouse it has no archtectural design I would like some ideas on how to make it look like something besides two halves put together.

Hi, I like the blog about the average owner can increase efficency w/o a 20-year payback period. Not sure how to do it beside retro- air-sealing. Most 40+ year old homes & practically every mobile ever built are like colanders. If water was pumped in from the roof, the water would probably leak out the joints btw. the walls & floors, openings for plumbing, HVAC & electrical fittings & even around the door frame & window sills just as fast as it could be pumped in. That's great if you are trying to circulate outside air into the house, but lousy when it comes to heating/cooling. Best thing is to start by closing off those openings. Some, like drains going throught the slab into the dirt below are less serious, but poorly sealed HVAC ducts are possibly the most important. Most of this sealing will be a PITA, but at least it will be cheap if DIY.
Another thing I just found out about was in a home magazine from 1997(!). If you have a heat pump, there is an exchange box by Lennox (maybe they own the patent?) that will take the heat removed from the inside air during the summer and will use it to heat the water in the hot water tank before sending the now-cooler fluid to the outside condenser to be super-cooled for cooling the house. Have no idea the cost, but for those who don't want a tankless or solar water heater and can't afford a geo-thermal heat pump, this seems like a magic bullet for energy savings! I have a tankless, so it wouldn't work for me, but I thought this is the coolest idea I had never heard of!

WONDERFUL IDEA!!! Not only would I watch I would be the first to volunteer my home LOL!!!! Hope they really do pick it up! It would be invaluable to the millions of us who live in them!