fully covered front porch on double wide

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  1. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I am remodeling now. I’ve been reading and taking notes with total joy for about 2 hr’s. Found so many answers and Great ideas. Also thanks for the support for us who have found the joy in mobile home living.
    One of the best choices l’ve made in my adult life. I have heard many people make jokes and talk down with out knowing anything about these homes. Even family. However, so happy to say it is such an enjoyment to see the looks on their faces, when they see my home
    And no mortgage. Thanks

    1. Hi Sheryl,

      Thank you for such a kind comment. It makes my day! Having no mortgage is the single smartest thing we did – it allowed us to take a brake from the struggle and catch up. We were able to save and even went on a vacation! That wouldn’t have been possible if we would have had a monthly payment.

      Thank you so much!

  2. Our porch is almost identical to #5.
    We love it. With 4 rockers and a double swing, we have many wonderful
    hours there, esp when we have get togethers. Porches rock!

  3. Number 4 is my favorite as well. It does not even give a hint of being a manufactured home to me. Love your site. Lots of ideas. I will be glad when I get to move forward on the transformation of my own. I have a delivery job that takes me to some really fine homes. Then I come home to mine. lol. But, I have peace here. It cost me nothing as it is paid for. I just need to go ahead and transform it. I have always loved mobile homes. It began when I visited my aunt Bobbie. it was a sweltering hot day. I walked into her home and it was so cool and refreshing as she had something most people didnt, an A/C. lol. But she had it so inviting and relaxing inside. Live plants, cozy living room, shades blocking the sun out. A home is definitely where the heart is.

  4. My wife and I live in a 2010 single wide and would like to teplace the carpet in our living room for a hardwood floor look. The kitchen/dining room area has a rustic looking linoleum which looks like square tiles of wood and it good looking. What would be the best way to do this and what type of material would best. A friend of mine told me you can not put hardwood floors in a “trailer.” Of course I corrected him telling him this isn’t a trailer, there are no wheels, etc., and they haven’t used that term since the 70’s. Manufactured homes are extremely well built and especially when they are permantly placed as ours is.
    Love your website, and Thank You fir all the information.

    1. Hi Michael!

      Good for you giving them the correct information!

      You are probably a great candidate for laminated ‘floating’ floors. I love it because they can be installed over carpeting and there is a lot of give if installed correctly (you leave at least a 1/2 inch perimeter from flooring to wall and use trim to hide the difference). Leaving the carpet down gives you a lot of benefits: added insulation, no need to rip carpet out, and a nice padding for the new floor. We bought our floating floor at Lowe’s and it was either .69 or .79 per square foot and it has held up great over the last 4 years.

      Thanks so much for reading MHL!

    2. Hi Michael, You can lay hardwood or laminate in a manufactured home. I installed 14mm laminate in my 2010, 2100 sq ft double wide last year. When I was researching how to install it, one of the things I found out is not to lay down laminate on top of carpeting, there will be too much give and stress. I had to tear up the carpeting before I laid mine. There was a MILLION staples and I’m not exaggerating. LOL! Also, if you take up the carpet expect to find it is laid under your wall studs. At least mine was. Good luck.

    3. Interesting opposing viewpoints. I once had to tear out carpet the entire length and width of a 1975 singlewide, and swore never again. During construction, They did indeed lay the carpet down first, then put the walls, counters, etcetera on top of it. What a nightmare.
      My 1996 doublewide needs new flooring, and the floating laminate sounds like a great way to avoid weeks of pulling staples and carpet fragments loose from the walls. I have seen the ripple effect from improperly laid flooring on both old carpet and bare plywood, and have to blame the installers (along with cheap laminate). A new floating laminate should last as long as I’d need it. :-)
      Thanks for both opinions, ladies.

  5. Just found you. Love the pictures and write ups. Just purchased manufactured home that has overhang in back of the house that I call patio and kitchen door that leads out it. I had wobbly red bricks removed and it’s prepped to have concrete poured Monday. I want to screen it in so that we can enjoy sitting out without bugs and kitty can go out safely. I’m having someone make the screen enclosure, however can you steer me to some examples? Current home has white vinyl fencing and house has white trim. Not a fan of the vinyl look but I’m going to work with it. Instead of regular doors opening out into yard I was thinking of a more sleek screen slider, eliminating lots of hardware. Any suggestions much appreciated. Looking forward to looking at more of your categories.

    1. Hi Cookie,

      I’m not sure I can help as it is really hard for me to find images of manufactured homes (which is why I started this site in the first place). I have 490 articles but none are about screened in porches. Could you maybe Google and see if you can find a photo you like and copy it? That’s how I start all home improvement and decorating projects – I just find an image I like and copy it best I can.

      Best of luck! Sorry I can’t be more help!

  6. I have a 50 x 30 manufactured home built in 2010 (my first home and I’m a very proud first time home owner!). My pet peeve with this home is the ugly white skirting on the bottom and would like to switch it out and then maybe possibly put up a small, front porch. Could you give me any ideas on how much this would cost? I got my mortgage through USDA Rural and Development loans and I’m having a hard time convincing them that this would be good for the property value as well as insulation for the pipes in the sub zero Minnesota weather (the skirting). Thanks!

    1. Hi Marcia!

      It’s usually about $1500-2500 to have the white vinyl skirting installed and that’s usually the cheapest skirting. Unless you go with a cheap tin or metal or recycle materials (wood, rock, etc) you’ll likely be looking at a couple thousand at the least.

      A small porch (8’x8′ or so) usually runs between $800-2000. For both, I would budget at least $4000-5000.

      Best of luck!

  7. Hello Crystal,

    I have fallen in love with a new concept of a new home, and it mobile home living. The stories of the transformations of the manufactured homes is the best keep secret ever. I have been searching and searching for a new home idea that is off the grid and affordable. I live for rehab and DIY I can hardly wait to transform my new home from a manufactured home. Thank you for sharing this website.

  8. I stumbled on your site today by doing a search of mobile home makeovers and I greatly appreciate your posts! I felt a sense of hope for ours, it is not old but it could use a face lift. We did take our guest bathroom down to the studs last summer and used bead board, wood grain laminate flooring and replaced the tub shower with walk in shower. We also added a deck too, which felt like another room addition. Our kitchen has freaked me out a little with the press wood cabinet doors so I have pretty much gave up on it until now. If you have any kitchen ideas or pictures of small kitchens please send them my way! Your site has definitely inspired me to keep trying and I needed that greatly! Avid follower now, thanks again for creating your site!!

    1. Thank you so much for writing that comment! It made my day!

      I was in the exact same place a few years ago. I wanted to remodel and decorate but I couldn’t find much on mobile homes, so I started MHL, some how it caught on and now I get to be inspired every day! These homes and homeowners really know how to make a house a home and I’m sure yours is no different. Perhaps when you get finished you’ll let me feature your home? I’d be honored!

      Thanks again for such a moving comment. I appreciate you reading MHL!!

  9. All nine of these are great ideas! I have been thinking about adding a porch to my manufactured home for a while now and this has inspired me to take on the project. Number 4 is my favorite, the home is unrecognizable!

  10. I would love to email you a picture of what my husband did for our front porch on our mobile home

  11. BHG calling a manufactured home a trailer house would not be considered rude if it was an old issue. In the 50’s and 60’s they were called house trailer, trailer house or mobile home. They were used to travel from place to place, had wheels and were popular with military families and construction workers who moved frequently. Our family of five lived in a thirty foot house trailer. When they began building them larger and set them up permanently they were called manufactured homes.

    1. Hi Mary!

      You’re absolutely right! The term trailer refers to a factory-built home built before 1953/54 when the national trailer association changed its name to the mobile home association in order to better represent the units built for full-time living. Mobile home refers to homes built between 1953/54 and 1976 (I’m not positive but I think 1954 is the correct year). Manufactured home is used for homes built after 1976.

      Here in WV we still use the term trailer for any and all factory-built homes. It’s set in our culture and I don’t think it will ever change.

      Thanks so much for commenting and for reading MHL! I appreciate you!

  12. Just found this site. Love it! Do you ever do any landscaping ideas for homes in communities and not on land?

  13. I have been reading your website for about 2 years now.I found it when trying to find information about remodeling a manufactured home. This is the second manufactured home we have owned. I enjoy all the articles you post. Thank you for doing a great job to inform people of all that can be done to a home.

    1. Hi Ramona!

      Thank you so much for reading MMHL and for your kind words. I appreciate you so much and hope to hear from you more.

      PS. I’m always looking for new homes and projects to feature, I bet you have a gorgeous home (hint, hint)!

  14. Crystal these are fantastic!! I love #4 and #9. Do you have #4 in your archives? I’m curious how they got that log cabin look siding!!
    #9 is a genius way to create a roof over and covered deck!
    As always, thanks for finding these treasures! :)

    1. Hi Jeni!

      The log sided single wide is awesome, huh? I found it on Front Porch Ideas and More’s Pinterest board. I tried to find more info but the original website only had the one photo.

      You can buy traditional log siding and then pick traditional or saddlelocked corner kits from a log siding supplier (as opposed to the trimmed corners). With the corner kits you can save a bit of money and still get the same look by buying locally milled logs which is usually cheaper than buying from a log siding company if you want real wood though I think the fake log siding is pretty popular too (I’m not sure what it’s made with, maybe vinyl or foam?)

      Here in WV, lots of people rent or build their own sawmill to use trees from their own property. I guess that’s the cheapest method of all.

      Thank you so much for reading MMHL and for commenting! I always love to hear from you!

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