Help- This is our first time giving our mobile home a makeover!

This project is going to be so much fun! Do you want the tub? If not - if you totally removed it, redid the floor, and installed a glass door, you'd have a very decently sized shower!

That does sound like a nice idea but I have a little girl who will need the bath tub for bath time.

I admire your initiative, but whatever you do, research every part of your project online. There are many resources on the internet.

You can start here:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/remodel-mobile-home-bathroom-1288.html

Good luck, take lots of photos, keep detailed notes and let us know how you did.

BTW. I read about a woman with three teenagers in Arkansas who desperately needed a home for her family on the cheap and she and those three kids totally built their house by watching YouTube videos. The only thing she contracted out or had someone do for her were things like electrical wiring and grading of the property. If she can do a two-story brick house, you can do this easily.

Did you know, that no interior mobile home walls in older homes are support walls? So you can change the footprint of the rooms really easy. Open up a kitchen to a livingroom, eliminate the barriers to a dining room, etc. You can use a wheeled island for versatility in the kitchen. , or create a storage island with stools where a wall was. Remember the interior walls are not usually 2x 4 so be careful on weight on side walls. I like glass tile back splashes. Floors can be anything you like. You can replace kitchen cabinets with those for houses. If you retain original cabinets I'd stay away from heavy counter tops (marble quartz) as the originals are just front and sides screwed to walls. Counter tops are just set on top of cabinets and screwed from bottom. So unscrew and pull up with hammer for persuasion. Home depot or Lowes make laminate tops to order. Their decorators know their stuff, like over hang issues etc. Ceilings can be replaced with either mobile home ceiling tiles from only mobile home dealers,or you can use ultra thin drywall but you have to glue and screw on each truss to support the weight. You can put in modern lights at the same time, but make sure you use trusses for support. If the tub is n good shape just replace the side walls with new fiberglass kit, and get good caulk. They have built in shelves. Otherwise you have a window issue, which becomes a siding issue. Side walls are paneling, they are stapled on with thousands of staples (arghhh) but can be replaced with new paneling or drywall (but then you have to mud and do finish sanding messy!)

I would definitely place a shower wall insert in there; and that way, you could use the shelving on the vanity side to reduce clutter..... be aware; depending on the age and/or model of the home, the sizes of everything is not standard; showers, doors, etc are specific to mobile homes. just keep it in mind as you are looking and buying things, as it may be a bigger job to make them fit.

Just a few more ideas to the excellent list above:

• Laundry: consider a stacking washer/dryer set. The extra space will give you enough room for a laundry closet.
• Kitchen counters: I don't have a good experience with pre-made countertops because water tends to infiltrate the particle board which leads to swelling and rot. I suggest instead to layer two 1/2 inch plywood (glued and screwed together) then place 12X24 porcelain tiles on top. You can have some that look like granite, marble, or slate. They are cheaper, lighter, easier to install, easier to replace if you prefer another look.
• Mold (especially black mold) would be my biggest concern, especially in the bathroom, laundry room, and kitchen. For the bathroom, when you remove the paneling, inspect the studs for traces of mold. Remediation is easy: spray or "paint" undiluted bleach (wear a mask) and let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with a wet cloth and let dry overnight.
• As mentioned previously, install fan in the bathroom and in the laundry room. Buy a larger size than needed so that you have a faster air exchange rate. Minimum is 3 complete changes per hour but I would aim for more. You can also automate the fan based on the humidity level. There are switches for that in any of the big box renovation stores.