Mobile homes are becoming more a practical and eminent choice of homes for anyone looking forward to having a decent home.
Such homes are often installed on raised foundations.
One of the most important installations on these structures is vents.
Vents can either be installed on the skirting parts, the roof, or the floor.
So, Why Do Mobile Homes Have Vents On The Floor?
Ventilation is the reason why mobile homes have to be vented. You are looking forward to having a room with maintained temperatures and serene air conditions. As such, you want to make sure that vents are adequate.
If you are considering installing vents on the floor of your mobile home, you have landed on the right site. Installation tips are ideally similar.
Whether you are installing vents on the roofs, skirting sides, or the floor. In this guide, we have also added more vent installation tips and ideas.
Why Should You Install Vents On The Floor Of Your Mobile Home?
Perhaps we should start by shedding some light on the importance of venting.
Pest and animal infestation is a common problem not only for mobile homes but also permanent ones.
Weather is also a factor to worry about.
Skirting is often the best solution to this problem.
But then, you still want to moderate the room’s temperature at a pristine level. Venting is the deal.
Here Are The Reasons Your Mobile Home Needs Vents On The Floor:
1. To Control the Room’s Temperature
People often think that mobile homes are naturally cooled because they are raised.
Well, that might be true to some degree. Your rooms deserve better temperature control measures.
Installing vents on the floor adds to that natural effect.
So whether it is in a summer or winter month, vents help to avoid extremes of temperatures.
Keeping the room’s temperature at a controllable level saves you a lot on cooling and heating costs.
2. To Ensure Proper Ventilation
Most mobile homes have skirting.
These boards block the entry and exit of air in your rooms. As a result, there is a need for proper ventilation.
While it is necessary to keep the foundations of a mobile tightly closed, a steady flow of air underneath your homes is required.
That’s what vents do. And there is much more.
Proper ventilation of the underside clears away potential moisture developments that could lead to the growth of molds and rotting of the wooden parts of the structure.
3. Vents Help To Clear the Room of Hazardous Gases
A buildup of hazardous gases can occur beneath mobile homes.
Vents help to oust them and maintain proper living conditions.
Plumbing lines carrying wastes water, for instance, are known to emit fumes.
Carbon wastes like carbon dioxide are also dangerous if they accumulate to high levels.
Major sources of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in mobile homes are cooking and heating fuels.
Natural gas and wood are some of the most common sources of oxides of carbon.
Unless proper ventilation pathways are installed for these gases to move out, they could build up to dangerous levels.
Of course, that jeopardizes the lives of the occupants.
4. Vents Aid in Gas Fixtures Combustion
Your mobile home is going to run with a lot of appliances that require a constant supply of air.
Vents help to let in the fresh air.
Gas fixtures like cookers and even hot water systems need to operate in a very well-aerated room.
Combustion cannot operate without air.
That tells you how important vents are in your mobile home.
Three Factors to Consider Before Installing Floor Vents
1. Cost
The mobile home installation puts the budget at a top priority.
Every project is set to be accomplished at a certain financial expense.
Vent installation as well requires a financial budget.
The cost materials like vents and labor must be looked at. The magnitude of work all affects the project’s budget.
2. The Number and Size of Your Rooms
You will need more materials if your mobile home is big. Bigger rooms require better ventilation.
You should, therefore, install more vents in such rooms. Also, you need to position them properly to maximize air ventilation.
3. The Region’s Climate
Climate affects elements of weather in a place.
If you are living within the tropics, you will experience extremely hot days.
You need more vents to cool such rooms. On the contrary, mobile homes set in temperate and cold regions may not require more vents.
How Should You Install A Floor Vent?
Requirements
- ︎Drill motor
- ︎8 by 16-inch louvered motor
- ︎Tape Measure
- ︎ Jigsaw
- ︎Marker
- ︎Screwdriver
- ︎ Jigsaw blade cutter
- ︎ 0.25-inch drill bit
Steps To Get It Done
1. Locate Ideal Venting Positions
The number of skirting points depends on the availability of vents and the size of your mobile home.
All the same, it is important to identify these spots before everything else is executed.
Corners are ideal placement points for vents.
If you had a surplus, the remaining vents can be evenly distributed on other parts of the structure.
2. Lift The Strip of Your House’s Skirting
This enables them to unsnap from the top channel.
Proceed to remove all strips from your previously skirted sections and release the panels.
It is usually possible to make errors in placing vents upside down.
You can avoid this by the prior marking of the panel’s tops.
To disengage the panels from the skirting boards, lift the panels.
3. Measure the Height of the Skirting Panels
Once you’ve taken precise measurements of the height of the skirting panels, put marks on the centers of all panels.
Use a marker and a tape measure to get this done right.
From these points, the vents must then be laid horizontally on the marked panels.
Be sure to ensure that the bottom of the vent faces the vents of the marked panel.
The top part faces upwards. Its louvered openings, on the other hand, should face the lower part of the panel.
4. Accurately mark the skirting of the installed vent
Proceed To Mark The Skirting Of The Vents Holes.
As You Did on the Panels, use a marker.
This should be done around the vent where it comes in contact with the mobile home’s skirting.
Then set the marked vent aside.
5. Drill the Corner of the Vent
In this procedure, drill a hole on the opening of the marked vent. Use a drill bit. It makes it easy to cut it later with a drill blade.
6. Cut the Hole of the Vent with a Jigsaw Blade
Caution and precision are crucial when executing this cutting.
Any mistake creates irregularities throughout your work and spills the final quality.
So make sure that the cutting is close enough to the marked point. You want to ensure that the flange on the vent will entirely cover the hole.
7. Fix the Vent in the Created Hole
This is the installation of the vent in place. And the fixture is done using screws and a screwdriver.
8. Placement of Skirting Top Trim
The final step is to position and place the strip in place. Make sure that it is fastened firmly to fit in the space on the channel’s top.
Final Words
The benefits of proper ventilation in homes cannot be overlooked.
Your mobile homes must be designed to enhance and offer pristine and comfortable living conditions.
If you had no vents on the floors of your rooms, it is okay to do a placement later on.
You should, however, be ready to face some disturbance and stretched budget.
It is a good idea to put in vents during the initial stages of your building work.
Related
References
https://www.hunker.com/13401470/why-does-mobile-home-skirting-need-to-be-ventilated