Turning A Mobile Home Window Into A Door

Carrie describes her mobile home makeover in her own words.

Turning a mobile home window into a door.

In 2011 i began shopping for property in bartow county georgia where i would be relocating to be close to family. Nail all the frame pieces with a nail gun into the sides of the opening. Remove the caulk and trim of the window and begin pulling out nails to remove the window. To have your sliding glass door work properly you have to have openings on the inner and outer wall.

When it comes to converting a mobile home into a stick built house you don t need to hire a professional. The patio door after it has been installed. Saw the outer wall with the proper saw for siding or brick revealing the inside of the house. Unlike traditional homes mobile homes are built with materials such as wood paneling which makes remodeling your mobile home much easier then if you were doing a traditional house.

That doesn t mean the project is easy my cuss o meter is tipping out at 5 out of 5 but the gist is that you first remove the window and then remove the building. Not only do you have to manage securing permits and the window company but you may also have to hire additional trades like drywall installers painters or electricians if you want the work to look seamless. Actually unless its a double skinned brick wall the timber internal walls will be the load bearing component of the structure as a lintel will no doubt already be installed over the window to take the weight of the external bricks nothing will change structually by knocking out the brick course under the window to make a doorway. If necessary cut a rabbet in the 2x6 bottom plate to fit over the finished floor in the room.

Turning a window into a patio door may seem like an overwhelming project for a homeowner. I found 10 5 acres less than one mile from my parents home that had a 1984 doublewide mobile home on it that had not been lived in for several years. The good news about turning a window into a door assuming it s wide enough is that the advanced carpentry required for altering a load bearing wall is pretty much done for you. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva shows the proper way to install a new window into an old and oversized doorway opening.

If you re using a drip edge at the top highly recommended if the door is exposed to weather be sure to slip it. Remove the existing door and doorframe. Here the steps to take to convert your new home. Just changing the window to door the same width would be no problem though.

Doors offer almost everything a window can offer and more. If you want lots of light to come in a door can do that better than a window. And one of the most cost effective remodeling jobs you can do is turn a window into a door. Then build a short wall to span opening.