Lay a New Floor in a Mobile Home
Your mobile home flooring was likely made from particle board at the factory. When particle board comes in contact with water from a leak or spill it becomes weak and breaks down and will crumble in your hand. Anywhere you feel a soft spot on your floor, there is water damage. Water damaged particle board must be replaced. You can patch up the damage one area at a time or you can lay a new floor that covers the particle board completely. The best method to correct water damage is to lay a new plywood floor over your old floor. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove the carpeting from the carpet strips. Roll the carpet and move it out of the room if you plan to reuse it. If you are laying new carpet, cut the old carpet into 3-foot-wide sections with a utility knife, roll up the sections and tie them with string for disposal. Pry up any carpet strips with a claw hammer. If the old floor covering is linoleum just leave it in place on the floor. Remove the baseboards and door strips. Clean up any debris from the work area.
2. Measure the width and length of the room with a tape measure. Find the joists, which are located 16 inches apart, by feeling around the floor. Make a pencil mark 1 inch from the floor on the walls to show the location of joists.
3. Lay a sheet of plywood starting at one corner of the room. Lay the side of the plywood with the most knots or imperfections facing down. Use a drill and 2-inch galvanized screws to screw the plywood into the joists. Lay the next sheet of plywood flush against the first sheet to avoid any gaps and screw the plywood into place. Continue the process until all the full sheets of plywood that will fit in the room have been screwed in place.
4. Cut the remaining pieces of plywood to fit into place with a circular saw and secure them with a drill and 2-inch galvanized screws. Countersink all screws (sink the screws heads slightly below the level of the plywood).
5. Use wood filler and a putty knife to fill in over the screw heads, cracks or imperfections in the wood. Sand the wood filler with sandpaper or a sanding block after allowing it to dry thoroughly. If linoleum is laid over the plywood subflooring bare screw heads and cracks will show through the flooring over time. Remove all dust and debris to reveal a clean, smooth surface to lay the floor covering on. Install the new carpet and padding after screwing or nailing down new carpet strips. Lay new linoleum over the new floor. Replace the baseboards and door strips.
Tags: particle board, carpet strips, plywood into, 2-inch galvanized, 2-inch galvanized screws