Replacement Window Article

Mobile home window replacement

If you have a mobile home and you need replacement Windows you truly have a problem. One of the hardest things in Windows to do is replace them in a mobile home. And we're talking about mobile homes that have wheels. The kind of mobile home one would find in a trailer park or one that is pulled behind a pickup or other vehicle. Some people don't realize the distinction between a modular home and a mobile home.

A mobile home is just that, a home that's mobile. Mobile meaning that it can be moved from place to place whatever one wants to move it. A modular home on the other hand is a home that's built to a specific standard usually in a factory in sections or pieces called modules and erected on a foundation or abasement. So now that were on the same page and talking about mobile homes and replacement windows, let’s see what we can come up with.

The image at the left might be an example of a window that you might need to replace. Chances are you wont find one exactly like it anywhere in the county, but you may come up with a suitable replacement for it that will serve your purpose just as well and add some elegance to your mobile home as well as you can see in the next piture down the page.

It's not uncommon to have a mobile home and need parts and not be unable to find them because the manufacturer has either gone out of business or quit making a particular style. In fact it's more common than not for this situation to occur. Some of the biggest headaches in owning a mobile home can be finding the proper replacement parts you need.

So what we do when we can't find the parts we need for our mobile home? We have to be inventive. Whatever part we’re looking for that we can't find, we have to think about and decide what it most closely resembles in general housing hardware. If you need a light fixture, does it look like or resemble any fixtures you've seen in other homes. If it does, it might be that the local hardware store or home store will have something that will work just as well as what you have.

But when it comes to Windows it's a whole different ballgame. Mobile home Windows tend to be made of aluminum frames and varying casement thickness. Making it very difficult to find an exact replacement if the manufacturer can't supply one. So how do we get inventive about replacing a window we can't find replacement for? We go back to basics. What is the overall size of the window? Does it have an aluminum frame? Does the overall frame size compare anywhere close to any window in the local home store?

The reality is this, if you can't find a window with the local home store that comes close to what you need and you can't find a manufacturer replacement it may be that you have a single recourse left. And that's to have a custom window made.

And even this may not be the easiest thing to accomplish because to do so you need very accurate measurements of the window you are replacing. These measurements may not be easy to attain without removing the window first leaving a hole that you can't fill until after you have the new window made. That little glitch aside it still may be your best if not your only recourse for getting that window replaced properly.

Once you have your measurements, accurate measurements, for the window you need to replace take those measurements to your local home store. Most times the people at the home store will be able to assist you in picking the right manufacturer to have a custom window built. This may not be as easy as going to the home store and picking out a window and slam it in the whole but it beats having to go without a window at all. Keep in mind that even having the custom window made, once you get it you may need to add some custom modifications such as aluminum flashings around the edges to be able to mount the window properly.

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Reprinted with special permission from Scott Best Articles.Com