How to Replace a Single-Wide's Walls With Drywall

How to Replace a Single-Wide's Walls With Drywall

How to Replace a Single-Wide's Walls With Drywall

Single-wide mobile homes are intended to be light, but the walls of the majority of them still contain wooden studs. Manufacturing companies often cover the walls with 1/4-inch paneling, but the studs may encourage drywall, so there’s nothing preventing you from removing the paneling and replacing it. You won’t run into any difficulties fitting the drywall, because the studs are spaced to encourage 4-by-8 paneling. Drywall adds considerable weight to the construction, though, and that could become a problem in the event that you ever need to move it. Moreover, moving the mobile home will probably crack and damage the drywall.

Disconnect power to the mobile home by turning off the main breaker in the panel. Removing the wall covering reveals the electrical wires, and you are going to have to reposition the electrical boxes; it is safer for you if all the electricity is off.

Eliminate all the trim in the walls, such as the baseboards, corner trim, door and window casing and ceiling molding. Pry it off with a hammer and pry bar. De-nail the trim as you remove it so that it doesn’t become a hazard for you or anybody else. Stack the trim and put the nails in a jar.

Remove the covers from all the electrical fixtures, using a flat-head screwdriver. Store the cover and screws in a secure place.

Pry the older wall covering the walls, using a hammer and pry bar. Start prying at any corner or seam that is loose enough to get the pry bar supporting it. Pull the nails as you eliminate each panel and store them with another nails.

Pry each electrical box off the fireplace to which it is attached and move it outside so that the front edge is flush with the surface of the drywall. If you are using 1/2-inch drywall, reset the poles with their front borders 1/2 inch in the studs.

Hang the masonry by fastening it to the studs, then as long as you would if you were installing it within a stationary construction. The framing might be flimsy, so use 1 1/4-inch drywall screws to fasten the sheets so you do not gamble displacing the studs by pounding nails. Drive the screws with a screw gun.

Tape the seams with fiberglass mesh drywall tape and warm mud. Unlike traditional combined chemical — or mud — warm mud sets to a hard consistency which resists cracking. Put a coat of mud on each seam with a drywall blade, cover the flux with tape along with top-coat instantly with more mud. Scrape the mud attentively with the knife — once it sets, you can’t sand it easily.

Finish the drywall with two or more coats of all-purpose non-setting joint chemical. Implement and scrape every single coat with a progressively wider knife to feather the edges into the wall. Allow each coat to dry overnight.

Sand the final coat of mud with 120-grit sandpaper, then prime the wall with PVA primer. Paint with 2 coats of interior latex wall paint.

Replace the electrical device covers, the baseboards, and the door and window casings after the walls have dried. Nail the trim and baseboards to the studs with 1 1/2-inch finish nails. Caulk the top edges of the baseboards with latex caulk before you paint them with inside latex enamel.

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