Insulating cathedral ceiling in a double wide trailer, no attic

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cjsplitter

New Member
Aug 22, 2009
36
breckenridge, MI
I have a double wide trailer with cathedral ceilings and would like to check how much insulation is up there. No attic, it was built in 1991. Any easy way without pulling down the dry wall? Thank you.
 
Better than pulling shingles and plywood.

Do you have a bathroom fan that goes through the roof? Pull it from the inside and check.
 
cjsplitter said:
Thanks guys, Now how would I go about adding insulation if it needs it?
Well if you have no crawl space to add insulation then you are up the creek without a paddle. The only thing to do is tear up roof and add foam insuation up there then plywood and new roofing. The only other way is remove drywall extend studs to 2x8 or 2x10' reinsulate and redrywall. Lots of work... I would make sure you have a ceiling fan installed and pull that heat back down into the room.
 
It's probably not worth it on a 17 YO double wide. The codes in 1991 were pretty decent so the improvements can only be marginal.
 
Roxul on top shingles.

Kidding.
 
Given the age, you may be needing a roof in the foreseeable future-- which opens up options of peeling the roof off and adding some insulation into or over the roof, or, if you are feeling cheap and lucky about how strong the roof's framing is, adding polyiso foamboard over the shingles, then sheathing, then a new roof, and closing in the jump in height around the edges with trim. I would not recommend the second without input from a very, very good carpenter, engineer, or architect.
 
call the mfg of the home and check with them on the type of insulation installed. Best replacement insulation for that type of ceiling is sprayed on foam by a pro outfit. Going to be a bit pricey depending on how much you do yourself but you end up with a total fill sealed tight and no gaps to collect moisture as there are always penetrations of the moisture barrier which are going to leak. Just got out of my mobile home about a year ago. mine was much older though early 80's vintage.
 
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