How to Build and Add a Room to a Trailer

Steps

• 1

  Find out what the city, county and state building codes are to ensure that you comply with them. Once you learn the codes, you will most likely have to obtain a building permit. The permit is applied for within the building department in your city, which is also the department to handle building code inquiries. If a permit is required, a floor plan will need to be submitted to the building department before any building can begin. A building inspector will be sent to your home to evaluate whether or not there are underground utilities or power lines in the way or a leach bed or septic tank or another obstacle preventing the mobile home add-on from being built.

• 2

  Create a floor plan that complies with the building codes you inquired about by simply drawing a simple map of your home. In your floor plan you will need to show where the door to the addition will be cut. The back door cannot be used because fire codes forbid this unless the addition will have a door going to the outside. You will need to assess whether or not the furnace is powerful enough to heat the addition or if it is capable of being extended to the added room. The same applies when plumbing is needed in the room. Consulting with a plumber and an electrician also specializing in HVAC can help you complete your floor plan since all of these elements will need to be accounted for in the plan. You will then submit your floor plan to the building department with your application.

• 3

  Dig trenches with a shovel to pour your concrete footings. The trenches must be deep enough for the footings to be below the frost line, which will prevent slipping that can cause cracks and other forms of severe damage. The concrete must be level to give the underpinning foundation a sturdy foundation to rest on.

• 4

  Build the underpinning foundation with concrete blocks. Ensure the blocks are the same height as the existing underpinning foundation so as to avoid any variations in the floor leveling from room to room.

• 5

  Erect your frame. It should be made of the same material that your trailer is made of or of something sturdier. You do not attach this frame to the home, but allow it to sit independently. Your roofing and any siding or your chosen method of closing the gap between the two pieces, such as metal stripping or siding, can close the gap. If the mobile home addition is a horizontal addition, you want the roof sloping downward from the main structure. Since the trailer roof is most likely metal, metal roofing should be used to complete the roof and allow for proper water runoff. Add to the gutter system to ensure water is directed properly and this will complete the frame.

• 6

  Build the walls to your mobile home addition, which can be done with plywood or the wood used throughout the rest of the home. You want to ensure that the wood you use is compliant with building standards. Finally, you can insulate your walls and then use wood paneling, drywall or your chosen material for your interior walls.