House Energy Efficiency

[PP Mguire]

So I'm sure some of you might live in a mobile home (as in double wide/single side) so I have a few questions for YOU.

Bit of background on this place. It is 5 bedroom, 3 bath, and I'd say roughly over 2200sqft. Just grazing the max size of a double wide IMO. The place is a little over 10 years old and hasn't been taken care of that great. I'm sure yall remember the problems I had over the winter with all the duct tape specials and I'm still fixing those and other things that where never "fixed". The 4ton AC unit is an 08 Gibson and I just had to replace the fan motor (the outdoor compressor/condenser) to give you an idea of how much these people really didn't care about their stuff.

Anyways I'm having a problem keeping this place cool. The major obvious fact I know that is a problem is on the opposite side of the blower, opposite end of the house (roughly last bedroom, living room area) there is a big hole in the metal ducting. You read that right, METAL ducting due to a freakin dog. Air flow still isn't that bad and the air coming out of the remaining vents is actually cold.

1/8th of the house is blocked off and sealed because it is the master bedroom and bathroom. So basically one end of the house is not accessed so the only door leading to it is duct taped and toweled off to prevent hot air from coming in. The windows are absolutely crap. Single pane, plastic latch, the works. The cheapest stuff you can buy from Lowes it seems.

Here is my idea. The windows we don't plan on using (or will be replaced later, as in 2 will turn into a nice sliding glass door later) and the 2 windows with AC units in them will have solar screen put on the outside, tin foil on the window on the inside, fiberglass insulation following tin foil, then drywall covering the whole works. So from outside to inside it's solar screen, window, tin foil, insulation, drywall, caulking filling in cracks. I hope to use this cheap but hopefully effective setup to not only block sunlight (more so heat from the sun) but also to prevent air from coming inside. The windows are crap, so air does seep in....alot. The only 3 windows I plan on leaving alone are the 2 in the main living room, and the one in the kitchen. The kitchen one is for small daylight entry (to see while pouring drinks without turning on a light) and the living room 2 windows for the Christmas tree in the winter. The AC unit windows will be a bit more of a pain but I think it's doable with a bit of help. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions against this, please let me know. The living room windows have tin foil to block sunlight anyways, but that is easily tore down for Christmas and cheaply replaced for the summer...as is solar screen.

The doors in this place are absolute junk. When I close my front door between 2pm and 9pm I can see sunlight from the western sun. The same can be said for my back door in the morning. It's not that bad, but I know bad seals cause air leaks which means higher electric bill. I don't really care about the back door, so I will probably just seal it off because until the owner cleans up the back porch we wont be going out that way anyways. I just need to figure out an easy and cheap way of fixing my front door sealage problem.

I will also be going around the house trying to fill cracks and gaps with Great Stuff like around pipes and stuff. It works exceptionally well as I've found out over the winter and this brief summer.

Any ideas or words of wisdom that isn't wallet heavy I'm open ears. I went and priced the materials I will need for the windows and I can do this with what I have now (lost my job, remember this). I have a bag of insulation already and it will probably stretch me 3 windows. The rest will have to get insulated at a later date. Before you ask, no we don't want or need our windows to be opened for anything really. Not a big fan of daylight at all and no daylight comes through the windows now as it is. I just see them as a huge energy sapper for the winter and summer.

[Joshua_Mahr]

First off I would seal all the windows take the interior drywall or hardboard or whatever off. The use "Great Stuff" alll over it. It's that foam expanding sealant. Stop the air leaks that way your ac pulls in only cold air from the house and not warm air from the windows. Covering With tin foil is a good Idea. But to completely cover them could be a fire hazard. Don't know your layout so not sure.

I myself am having to put a return vent to the A/C in my place due to too much computer heat in one room.

[sifter]

Well one good thing is you have time (sorry about the job). If you are fairly handy as it appears you are, you may want to consider some of the following.

Like both you and Mahr mentioned, use the great stuff. Heat loss during winter/heat gain during summer is cause by doors/windows/external outlets. Newer houses it’s the external outlets. Obviously any daylight should be cover. If you have any external outlets cover those completely with great stuff. Once its hard, put the insulation back and the wall back on.

For the external doors, check the door seals. IF they look fine, you may be able to reset the door. Basically remove the door and then replace it. If you have never done this before either google for replacing external doors or stop by your local library to find a home improvement book. You may want to invite a friend over that has tools, as it will make the job easier. Parts wise: new caulking, a couple shims, and nails or long screws. Don't rush it.

As for the whole in the mental ducting, try duct tape. I always used a special tape for the ducts in a house, but once worked with someone who installed vents and they said duct tape works just as good.

[James86]

Like others have said great stuff works great. I would try to make sure the home is as airtight as possible. climb in the attic if ya have one and make sure the insulation is covering everything and if the home is on a raised foundation go under it and make sure the insulation is intact under there as well.

[Blacksmith1]

as for the windows, there is a polystyrene insulation that has a foil covering one side. when i rebuilt my slide in camper some years ago, I used this as the only insulation. the little bitty ac on the roof froze me out after that. use this stuff to cover the windows after you seal them, and you will have your insulation and be able to pull it down if you need the light, or to open the window for any reason. if this is one of those prefab houses that is basicly a trailer, then as you redo the walls, sticc that stuff in using a double layer, foil pointing in and out. cover that with a plastic sheet (visqueen SP? they call it here)to make a mosture barrier and then your drywall/ paneling/whatever. and you'll be living in an igloo cooler.
advice from my a/c mech roomate. go over all your ducts to make sure they aren't leaking your cold out to place you don't want it. wrap the outside metal duct with an insulation made for that purpose (so it handles the weather), make sure the inside coil is clean, and the filters are cleaned/replaced regularly.

[PP Mguire]

I have great stuff on my windows already actually. I did that over the winter to make sure most of the windows aren't letting cold air in (more air was coming in due to HIGH winds than heat going out). That foil/insulation stuff you are talking about sounds like a better idea than my fiberglass insulation and tin foil idea. What is worse is I was showing MM this stuff a week ago and forgot about it lol.

Went under the house yesterday and I in fact have 2 small holes that I can see. One is under the metal ducting that goes straight to the vents and the insulation/covering that covers the whole bottom of the house is all tore up in that area. I have no idea how to fix that cause it looks like a large black tarp with insulation on the inside. The other hole is a small gap in the plastic/insulated ducting that connects the 2 sides of the house on the end of the house that is sealed. I'm guessing it's to make sure proper air flow goes all around the house and not just blowing hard on one end and soft on the other. My parents old double wide had this problem and I suspect they never checked the actual metal ducting for holes. Problem is, I couldn't do anything due to a rattle snake being in my way under the house and I was way to tired to even attempt to move him. I went ahead and forked the cash for actual HVAC tape to cover these holes as I want to get the job done properly. Eventually I will take a steal plate and screw it on then use Great Stuff to seal it. I also noticed more piping that I will need to insulate before the winter hits *facepalm*. This house is a wreck =/

Honestly, I think the main problem I'm having is sunlight and heat through the windows. I have really good air flow through 90% of the vents in my house but the one end just will not cool off.

Oh I should clarify a bit since it seems I wasn't understood. What I wanted to do was the foil and insulation inside the window cavity then cover it up with drywall to make it look on the inside as like I have no window to seal it up. Instead, I will just use this foil/insulation stuff to cover the window up, then drywall it on the inside to make a seal.

[Blacksmith1]

that sounds like you may need to up the circulation so that the heat moves to the intake of the system. think of it like a giant comp case with all the airflow going out at the mid height level. put a fan above that and you move the heat, right? as for that black stuff under the place. clean an area around the hole, square shaped, stuff the hole full of fiberglass, then find a sutible material that you can make a patch out of. cut it to fit the area you cleaned, and mount it using contact cement. (follow the instuctions on the can) this is a common problem usually caused by dogs, raccoons, or other pests. this is also one of the major "heat leaks" that never get fixed cause most people don't even look under there. the beauty of that place is that it was built so cheaply it should be easy to fix (not the same as cheap to fix)

[MtDew]

What type of roof do you have? If it is shingle, then there is not much you can do. If it is the normal mobile home metal roof, then there is insultating roof paint you can put on. I helped my wife's cousin put this on her roof, had it cut her cooling bill by about $50 a month. Also, if you have underpinning, then I would put 1" insulating foam sheets behind the underpinning. If you don't have underpinning up, then ask the land lord to put some up.

One thing that I have done, but will take some time (years) to help, is to plant shade trees on the southwest side of my house. I have 2 trees that I planted 6 years ago that are just this year starting to help shade the west side of my house from the late afternoon sun.

[Pablo 54]

PP,

Be careful going under the house. When I was stationed at Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK you never went under any raised building unless you were certain it was clear of Black Widows, snakes and scorpions (little clearish ones).

Along with what has already been said, I second MtDew's comment about the roof. It will probably give you the quickest monetary return.

Are you guys in drought conditions right now?

[Momentomoir]

PP,

Be careful going under the house. When I was stationed at Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK you never went under any raised building unless you were certain it was clear of Black Widows, snakes and scorpions (little clearish ones).

Along with what has already been said, I second MtDew's comment about the roof. It will probably give you the quickest monetary return.

Are you guys in drought conditions right now?

funny thing you say that lol
so yesterday he goes under the house and finds a rattle snake..hopefully the snake left

[swmeek]

funny thing you say that lol
so yesterday he goes under the house and finds a rattle snake..hopefully the snake left

That would end my under-house crawling lickety split!

[Blacksmith1]

I heard you can catch them with a little milk, probably BS tho'

[PP Mguire]

that sounds like you may need to up the circulation so that the heat moves to the intake of the system. think of it like a giant comp case with all the airflow going out at the mid height level. put a fan above that and you move the heat, right? as for that black stuff under the place. clean an area around the hole, square shaped, stuff the hole full of fiberglass, then find a sutible material that you can make a patch out of. cut it to fit the area you cleaned, and mount it using contact cement. (follow the instuctions on the can) this is a common problem usually caused by dogs, raccoons, or other pests. this is also one of the major "heat leaks" that never get fixed cause most people don't even look under there. the beauty of that place is that it was built so cheaply it should be easy to fix (not the same as cheap to fix)

Sounds like a plan. I was just gonna staple something to the outer area of the black stuff and straight into the boards. There is nothing in that area except that metal ducting so wont hurt anything. Deff gonna replace the fiber glass. Also gonna go around and fill all the holes between pipes and the flooring like in the bathroom area. ALot of cold air comes in through the drywall cracks in the winter. Nobody notices because the cold is behind the walls.

What type of roof do you have? If it is shingle, then there is not much you can do. If it is the normal mobile home metal roof, then there is insultating roof paint you can put on. I helped my wife's cousin put this on her roof, had it cut her cooling bill by about $50 a month. Also, if you have underpinning, then I would put 1" insulating foam sheets behind the underpinning. If you don't have underpinning up, then ask the land lord to put some up.

One thing that I have done, but will take some time (years) to help, is to plant shade trees on the southwest side of my house. I have 2 trees that I planted 6 years ago that are just this year starting to help shade the west side of my house from the late afternoon sun.

I know about this, but unfortunately it is a shingle roof.

PP,

Be careful going under the house. When I was stationed at Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK you never went under any raised building unless you were certain it was clear of Black Widows, snakes and scorpions (little clearish ones).

Along with what has already been said, I second MtDew's comment about the roof. It will probably give you the quickest monetary return.

Are you guys in drought conditions right now?

Lol like she already said found a snake under there. Lucky for me haven't found any spiders yet and I hope I don't because I really need to get this stuff fixed.

That would end my under-house crawling lickety split!

Nah not me.

I heard you can catch them with a little milk, probably BS tho'

Never heard of that, but don't wanna get close enough to find out.

Well got one insulated/drywalled piece up covering a hot window. Seems to have helped a bit.

[Blacksmith1]

one down 937 to go...

[Saryn]

Lived in a modular for 5 years and just moved back into one. They are a pain in the ass to keep up with. Usually you can buy better windows fairly cheap.

Landscaping can help a lot with blocking the elements. Trees, bushes. Provide shade, insulation, wind break.