manufactured home bathroom renovation: drywall questions
i just bought a 1985 mobile home and found mold in the bathroom. i gutted the entire thing. i've got a new baby and im not taking any chances. the new ABS plastic tub/surround, vanity, toilet, drywall and all the layers of vinyl on the floor are out. im having trouble swallowing the $30-$40 per sheet cost for mobile home specific 5/16 sheetrock and since it's harder to get locally, im considering putting mold and mildew resistant 1/2 or 5/8 drywall in the bathroom but i won't be able to fit the tub in with the thicker stuff around it. im considering putting one sheet of 1/4 on one end of the tub and 3/8 on the other to match the wall clearance around the tub. and then putting another sheet of 1/4 over that from the tub flange to the ceiling to match the thickness of the 1/2 or 5/8 that would be everywhere else in the bathroom. are you allowed to use 'regular' drywall in mobile homes by the building code 24 CFR 3280 or do you have to use the fancy expensive stuff? im not concerned with the added weight, and i think the fire spread and shear ratings are better with the thicker stuff. would it make the wall stronger if i glued the doubled panels together and also glued them to the wall studs in addition to the screws or nails? i know that they have different edges(square and tapered) but i'll still be using the wood trim mouldings over the panel seams. i know i have to use drywall clips at the inside corners of the walls and since some of the kraft paper vapor barrier got moldy im going to have to replace that too. i need to decide between using more kraft paper, poly sheeting or the vapor barrier primer paint. any suggestions? im just trying to get as much information as i possibly can to help get the job done right so that god willing, i won't have to deal with it again. thanks How are you going to address the water issue? Drywall is not accepted inside a wet area. I understand your problem with spacing, but you need to figure out if you plan on tiling the surface or installing surround type waterproof panels. Tile would be my preference and it ain't rocket science. I would omit the last sheets of 1/4 on the walls and install 1/2 concrete backer underlayment to the tub rim. Then install tile starting at the tub rim base, covering the flange and continuing upward. That spacing will keep water from wicking up into your walls from splash. If you plan on tiling, let us know and we can walk you through it. The only time I've ever used 1/4 drywall in a MH is when I had to just patch some damage. Otherwise I'll use 1/2 or maybe 3/8 [the older I get the more I'm starting to like 3/8] it can be finished like you would in a conventional house. More than likely you won't be drywalling the ceiling, a piece of wood molding usually dresses that up nicely.... or you can flat tape the joint and then caulk where the finished drywall meets the ceiling. i know i have to use drywall clips at the inside corners of the walls I don't understand What's a drywall clip? btw - welcome to the forums! As Larry asked, what was the source of the mold and how have you made sure it's not coming back? i will be using the ABS plastic surround above the bathtub. i've been told that tile is not a good idea in a mobile home because the home shifts from not being on a full foundation and it causes lots of cracking. the same is said about tape and mud on sheetrock, hence the trim moulding. the mold was caused by a leaking toilet wax ring, leaking fittings to the tub faucet, not caulking around the tub and a cracked old tub that was replaced right before we bought the home. i have already patched the rotten sub floor under the toilet and replaced the leaking fittings at the tub. i have all new seals/gaskets and hardware for the toilet. the only thing left would be to make sure that no water gets in underneath the tub after i reinstall it. the original vinyl on the floor was cut out around the toilet, vanity and tub and then they laid the new vinyl and 1/4' underlay. they did not run it under the tub, vanity or toilet. i will, since i have everything out, be laying one big sheet of vinyl wall to wall so that will help to protect the floor from water. the drywall clips are necessary because when they built the trailer, they built up all the outer walls and sheetrocked them, and then put up the inner walls so the inner walls don't start at studs and there will be nothing to attach the sheetrock to. the 'prest-on' brand sheetrock clip website has some helpful information on their framer-back drywall clips: Prest-On - Prest-On Product Categories i would really like to use 3/8 sheetrock all the way around if i could but that would reduce the clearance around the tub and make it too tight to slip it in. with the 5/16 sheetrock, there was a 3/16 difference between the length of the tub and the space in the room for it. if i used 3/8 around the outside of the tub i would only have 1/16 freeplay to fit the tub give or take any wall irregularities. i could check the straightness of the wall and maybe get some 2x2 panels of the 3/8 to see if it would be possible, but then i still would not be able to use mold resistant drywall because they don't make it in that thickness. so i would solve one problem and cause another. yipee. i appreciate the advise, keep it coming. thanks i lied. i went and remeasured the length of the tub and the space in the bathroom stud-to-stud. the tub is 59 7/8 wide and the bathroom is 61. so the 3/8 would work. now maybe i should think about stuffing the 1/2 mold resistant in there. that would give me a nice snug fit. i will be using clips to secure the tub flange to the wall so the tighter the fit, the less stress on the flange, right? i plan to call the tub manufacturer to verify proper tub-to-wall clearances in the morning. I've only tiled one tub surround in a MH, the one I used to have in fla. I sold the property about 5 yrs later and the tile job was still in great shape. I've also hung and finished drywall in several MHs and never had any issues with the finished joints. The house I live in is a MH surrounded by an addition. Some of the drywall was hung/finished over 15 yrs ago and hasn't moved any. That said, all my MH experience has been in the south - things might be different further north. I'd attach a 2x2 [or whatever the wall thickness is] to the end of the wall and screw the drywall to it instead of using the clips. i've been told that because of the change of seasons, the footings will shift when they are not put down in the ground below the frost level. people still tile anyway but there's just a higher risk of cracking especially in older mobile homes. the new codes for supporting mobile homes are much better and shift a whole lot less. the bracing idea isn't so bad except on the exterior walls that have insulation. but the clips are only $15-$20 and they will also help to support the rest of the old sheetrock behind the wall. thanks for your guys' input. i ended up using the 3/8 sheetrock in the entire bathroom. i also used the vapor barrier paint instead of plastic or the kraft paper. i fixed all the leaky plumbing, put down new vinyl flooring and sealed up the bathtub/surround so i should be good for awhile now, god willing. i spoke with the local building inspectors here in minnesota and he said that the vapor barrier paint and the regular non-mobilehome specific sheetrock was okay to use. my tub fit perfectly and now i've got a working bathroom again. so on to the other bathroom, same problem, leaking toilet and bathtub.
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