1996 NEW ADVENTURE My first Mobile Home

THE ARRIVAL
1996...after waiting in desperation....from October to mid Dec. for the arrival of our doublewide mobile home to roll in on our 9 acres ...living in our 20 by 30 shed with only outside cold water from a well, heat by space heaters and no stove OR toilet AT ALL....Showers at relatives when we drove the hour into St Louis,Cold wind whipping at my behind while squatting in the woods in 35 degree weather ...... we were REALLY ready for our home to come!! WAY PAST READY....

Needless to say it was supposed to take 2 weeks.... HAHAHAHA! Not the 8 weeks it took.
I felt like a cave woman flushing the toilet again and turning the facet on .. HOT WATER!! A switch on the wall regulated the heat!WALLAH...the Wonder of it all.
That 8 weeks felt like 8 months.What an adventure!

I guess you ask Why a mobile home?..After livng in real houses all my life...My first ever (you are supposed to call them "manufactured homes" the salesman said) at the age of 50.!

A well know story today by many ...the company I worked closed down in St Louis area.

My "good" job had allowed me income enough to buy 2 story home in a middle income somewhat rural suburb and live nicely for 20 years , never having too much month left before my paycheck ran out.

With the job gone,I had a small early retirment , i was in the perfect position for an adventure and to cut my bills down and have my dream home both...The most viable option was a mobile home on a piece of land.
Also My last of 4 children was graduating from high school ,
Owning land I could grow my beloved flowers in any number i wished and could have as many pets as i wanted.plus enjoy nature that i loved so dearly.

So on a trip to pick up some recently purchased Daylilys and iris...I happened to see in a rural area the "For Sale" sign on a pretty piece of land that lead me to stop and see the view that made me want to own this land no hter.
I could see 5 miles into the town and yet was surrounded by cow pastures and woods.. houses were within seeing distance but not too close.Towen was 6 minutes away. I HAD to have THIS land at any cost.

My plan was to not have a house payment . A brick and mortar home wouldnt allow me to have the beautiful land i wanted and a built home so i started my adventure that has now lasted 14 years... in my first ever manufactured home.

I have never regretted the move

My home was a nice one by 90's standards...not drywall and taped or the extra tall roof which allowed regular height doors and windows like they have now but its peaked in the center and the windows had wood sills

A Commadore about 1500 sq ft with a large 12 by 28 covered porch out of the kitchen sliding door.Lots of windows.
I really love the layout of it 3 bedrooms but none huge. Still a nice house.

Afer living her many years I ONLY have 2 regrets about my home;
More closet space .
We didnt have a basement put under it.
NO Basement
The postive;... keeps you from having any dranage issues
The negative; tornado safety

You can have a shelter built but then you have to go outside sometimes at 2 am to go in it...Not the best choice...
I would opt for a partial basement or full which ever you can afford.

REDECORATING the BEGINNING

Coming as they all did then with plastic coated drywall and little sticks of plastic covered wood between each panel ...it didnt take me long to decide it needed to be painted at least.
The "PAPER" choices I had had were discusting so most of the house was white.
NOT my cup of tea..white.!! BOR___ING!!!

My first change was a pretty Wisteria vine wallpaper border and wallpaper on one wall in my bedroom and the other 3 walls painted bright pink.

Lesson ONE ;-- always use SATIN paint as the flat does not somehow look very good on a mobile home wall over that plasitc wallpaper.

Wallpapering is easy in a mobile home and really makes th walls look just like they should in any home.
You do have to mud and tape to get the right effect however. A little time consuming but not too hard.

ISSUE WITH MUD AND TAPING
There was a wall here and there in my house not as flat as the others were so the mud and tape is slightly bulged out only at some angles on those seams. LUckily it isnt but a few seams in thw whole house.Some you can hammer more flat but others there was no hope of doing that..
Doesnt show too much except in some lights so if you used a texture paint or colored plaster they have now I imagine it wouldnt show in any way at all.
Wallpapering also covers the fault well. A pattern tricks the eye into not seeing it.

The AMBITIOUS PERSON
Some people take all the drywall down and redo the room in the regular 5/8th inch so al ltheseamsd are even.
Older Mobile homes have 1/4 inch drywall which is an issue when hanging some things on your wall. Not thick enough to hold a nail and picture in some places.
.With no prior knowledge of how to do this i jumped in and did it. In spite of the couple lumpy seams it astill makes the ouse look so wonderful i dont regret it at all.
Now the room looked like a real house room.

Later as i painted each room I also mud and taped the whole house too.
Well worth it and has lasted many years now.