The mobile home (bottom of the picture), is a 1970 Glendale, 12'x48', which originally had two bedrooms, 12'x10' and 6'x9' and was suited to a newly married couple with one child, but not for a family. In 1980, when we got the place, there was a small lean-to attached to the wesr side which, after 9 years of weather, was starting to show its age. We lived with it for a year, then decided to add two bedrooms and an entry/storage area of sturdier construction. We decided on a size of 16 feet by twenty-four on the basis of finances and the availability of material, and the thought that if we moved it at some later date it would not be an unmanageable size.
I wanted to build sturdily but economically so bought a garage package from the local lumberyard and added some pieces of my own.
Since I am not a fan of basements, considering them to be, as as a rule, expensive holes dug to create trouble, I erected the floor on 12 spruce pilings which I cut on the place and treated with preservative. On these I placed three 6"x6" built up beams and layed the floor joists across them. I used 5/8" tongue and groove OSB flooring (pretty new at the time) and built on this platform.
For improved insulation capacity, rapid external construction and ease of wiring I went with a staggered stud double wall system with each wall studded 24" on centre. This way I could whip up the outer walls, sheet them in, get the roof on and shingled and be weather-proofed to work on the inner walls and finish work over the Fall and Winter.
The system worked well, I insulated the outer wall with friction fit fibreglas batts (24"x48"), then framed the inner walls, swung them into position and slipped the top plate in. I then weaved the electrical wiring between the studs drilling only at the door and window frames and nailed the junction boxes into place. I then put up the batts for the inner wall and a vapour barrier. It was then a matter of drywall, paint and trim to finish and installing 9" of fibreglas in the ceiling.
Addition #2 built in 1992 followed pretty well the same pattern except I used built up piers mounted on poured concrete pads as a base.
I also installed a new furnace since the other was under capacity, old and inefficient. I found it a real money saver to go directly to the manufacturer with my rough plans and let them figure out what vents and reducers I would need and provide them along with the furnace. My total for the furnace and ductwork, including gasfitters for approved hookup, was under $1300 for a high efficiency induced draft propane furnace with electric ignition.
After two years of settling and weathering in I finished the entire addition with 8" cedar with a 6" outlook. It has been weathering now for five years and looks good.
Since we now had a new living room it was time to remodel the kitchen/dining area. We put down new lino, installed an island and increased the counter and cupboard space by four feet and added a kitchen desk. I installed some new light fixtures and receptacles, we bought a new pine table and beechwood chairs, and a pine buffet, painted the whole place fresh and clean, and relaxed.