reb
Veteran Member
My wife and I decided to buy a double wide for our retirement home about three years ago. The option was to build our own from scratch. We have had some experience and have relatives in construction, so we could have kept costs under control, we figure at about the same level. After much research, we bought a unit with a steel frame that was welded to steel plates set in concrete stem walls, with a concrete slab with 18" deep footers.
The promised construction was, in our opinion, a great concept. We updated nearly everything we could think of--sinks, faucets, plumbing (copper vs plastic), windows, walls, insulation, etc. However, everything else was the cheapest available. We had to repaint everything inside. The paint washed off when we tried to remove scuff marks. The drywall work was substandard. We are still getting cracks.
The window framing was not square. I have had to add storage. In doing so, I found the walls were not square nor plumb.
We connected the utilities ourselves. That was a major headache. The info provided by the manufacturer was inadequate. It took a lot of extra effort to ensure the proper slope for the sewer lines. If we had let someone else do it, we would probablly still be fighting backups.
The standard wiring is inadequate for our lifestyle. There are not enough outlet circuits. There is only one light controlled by three-way switches.
I could go on, but you get the idea. If we had to do it over, we would build from scratch.
reb
The promised construction was, in our opinion, a great concept. We updated nearly everything we could think of--sinks, faucets, plumbing (copper vs plastic), windows, walls, insulation, etc. However, everything else was the cheapest available. We had to repaint everything inside. The paint washed off when we tried to remove scuff marks. The drywall work was substandard. We are still getting cracks.
The window framing was not square. I have had to add storage. In doing so, I found the walls were not square nor plumb.
We connected the utilities ourselves. That was a major headache. The info provided by the manufacturer was inadequate. It took a lot of extra effort to ensure the proper slope for the sewer lines. If we had let someone else do it, we would probablly still be fighting backups.
The standard wiring is inadequate for our lifestyle. There are not enough outlet circuits. There is only one light controlled by three-way switches.
I could go on, but you get the idea. If we had to do it over, we would build from scratch.
reb
