Manufactured Housing

Think carefully before attempting repairs

By LEN BONIFIELD
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 29, 2003

Last of three parts.

Like many men, I consider myself handy around the house. In my youth I remodeled the first home I owned. I rewired, added a bathroom, replaced the siding, installed new windows, dug out the basement, tore down a barn and built a garage -- all with help, mind you. Good experience, nonetheless.

I have accumulated almost every tool needed for simple repairs. I expanded our shed by eight feet to hold them, and use them at least four or five times yearly to replace a doorknob, hang pictures, etc.

All of this has convinced me I can handle simple repairs around our manufactured home, at least until I am stymied and have to call a contractor to succeed where I have failed or to take on those tasks I know I will not tackle, such as climbing on the roof or crawling under the house.

My point is that it is important to know what you can handle and when to call in the experts.

Here are some important maintenance functions you can perform that might save you money:

Check frequently around, under and in your home and shed for evidence of termites. Daryl Brown of All in One Contracting, whom I mentioned in Part Two of this series, suggests that homeowners buy the needed chemicals at a home supply store and spray for termites and bugs themselves, if they are willing to crawl under the house. Everyone gets termites in Florida at one time or another. Check for them or have the work done professionally.

Install stainless steel braided hose on your washer. Daryl is frequently called out on repair jobs that involve leaking hoses.

Clean the lint out of your dryer after every load. Clean the vent and pipes. This will prevent fires.

Have several fire extinguishers in your home: in the kitchen; the shed; near your washer and dryer. Replace the batteries in your smoke and fire alarms twice yearly. Small fires provide All In One Contracting with a number of jobs each year, and 90 percent of the fires were preventable with some diligence on the part of the owner.

Check behind the refrigerator for leaks from your icemaker several times yearly.

Check the dishwasher for leaks. Remove the face plate (just four screws) on the bottom front to check for a leak.

When you change, repair or install new washers in the kitchen faucet, also replace the rubber grommet under the sink where the hot and cold water pipes connect.

Never put your grill in the shed until it has completely cooled.

Don't attempt electrical wiring unless you have a great deal of experience and know exactly what the building codes call for. Check your sprinklers. Is the water hitting the side of the house and going under the house through the ventilation areas?

Still convinced you can do repairs yourself? Then check out some of the resources that are available to you. For example, Foremost Real Estate Co. (a subsidiary of Foremost Insurance) publishes the Foremost Mobile Home Fix-It Guide. This 192-page book is available for $19.95 plus $3 shipping by calling Mobile Home Advantage toll-free at 1-800-853-7119. Or order by mail from Mobile Home Advantage, P.O. Box 2588, Naperville, IL 60567-2588. You can order online at www.mobilehomeadvantage.com/fix_it.htm.

The Foremost book was published in 1993 and could use updating, but it does have some excellent instructions. It is divided into four major sections: exterior; interior; systems and seasonal; and safety and security know-how. Each section has a number of chapters, including windows and doors, roofing, tie-downs and anchors, plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical wiring, and moisture prevention.

If you have access to the Internet, type in "mobile home repairs" on a search engine to find hundreds of sites with information on repairs.

Never lose sight of the fact that manufactured homes are unique in many ways. Perform all the checks mentioned in this series and you might save yourself hundreds or even thousands of dollars. When a repair is required, approach it carefully to ascertain whether it is something you can do yourself or if you need someone with more knowledge, experience and/or the right tools. Doing a poor job yourself is a money machine for the professionals, if you have to call them to finish what you started.

WINTER RESIDENT NOTE: Follow this biweekly column online while you are up North this summer. Go to www.sptimes.com. In the upper right corner ("Research the St. Petersburg Times Archives") type in "Len Bonifield" and click on "search."

- Send comments or questions to Len Bonifield at elb@gate.net, or fax to (863) 853-8023, or call (863) 858-1557. Please include your e-mail and mailing addresses. Because of the volume of mail and calls, he can't respond personally to every query. Bonifield is a manufactured-home resident and a past HOA president and former officer of the FMO District 1 board of directors.

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