Anyone who has lived in a manufactured home for any length of time has needed to repair something or wanted to add something new. Off you go to your local home center or hardware store, only to return home to find that the part you bought doesn't fit or won't work in a manufactured home. So you make another trip to return the item. Then you have to find a place that carries the right part.
If your home is relatively new, you can contact the manufacturer. Manufacturers are continually changing models and styles of many items in your home, so they may not be able to match what you are looking for if yours is an older home. When our home was just a couple of years old, we needed to replace two kitchen cabinet doors. The manufacturer no longer made the style. We couldn't find a match at any home supplier, hardware or cabinetmaker in Central Florida. Our alternatives were to replace all the cabinet fronts and doors, have one custom-made, or live with the damaged doors. We went with option three.
In the Tampa Bay and Central Florida areas, I estimate at least 60 stores stock parts and supplies for manufactured homes. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Mobile Home Supplies."
I interviewed Charles "Speedy" McCorquodale, an owner of two of these stores. He and his partners own Broke & Poor Mobile Home Supply stores in Auburndale and Lake Wales. (A third Broke & Poor in Plant City is under different ownership.) His stores are among the larger mobile home suppliers in Central Florida, which is why I selected him for the interview. A home-repair contractor had told me that these stores tend to specialize in selected items, and Speedy confirmed this. Thus when you are looking for a particular part, you might want to let your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages. When you call a store, if it doesn't have the part, ask for other stores to contact. It seems that word of mouth is the only way to ferret out all the retail outlets and who carries what.
The yard and buildings at Speedy's contained a large supply of new and used items. Speedy prides his operation on carrying a full supply of doors and windows for manufactured homes, and if he doesn't have it he can usually get it within a week. Broke & Poor's Auburndale facility sells around 60 replacement doors for older homes weekly and 200 windows each week.
Ninety percent of sales are to individuals for do-it-yourself projects. The store also carries aluminum products for the after-market: adding on a room, a carport, orawnings, or installing a ceiling fan that requires a fan beam.
Speedy buys used doors, windows, toilets, tubs and shower enclosures from individuals who are remodeling. He carries a substantial supply of plumbing items.
I noticed a pile of used bathroom sinks, particularly an old steel stand-up model that was rusted, and asked Speedy who would buy that! It is for sale for $132. I learned that these near-antiques are popular with homeowners who want to give their home an old-fashioned look. Speedy has several four-legged metal tubs that also command high prices.
If you are working on a do-it-yourself project for your manufactured home and you need parts, you would do well to begin your part search with any of the many mobile-home suppliers throughout the area. Use the phone; ask for references to other stores and save yourself from driving all over. You will find the mobile home suppliers the answer to those do-it-yourself projects.
- Send comments or questions to Len Bonifield at elb@gate.net or fax to 863 853-8023, or phone (863) 858-1557. Please include your e-mail and mailing address. Bonifield is a past HOA president and former officer of the FMO District 1 board of directors.
