UPGRADES from A to Z

In alphabetical order below, you will find a list of upgrades suggested by our readers. We welcome submissions to this site. If you have a comment, please contact us.

APPLIANCES
Write up needed.

CUSTOM CABINETS
Write up needed.

DOORWAYS
Be careful if you are old or handicapped. My husband is in a wheelchair. We told them to make the doors large, and the salesperson said they would. But the house arrived with narrow doors, and my husband can’t even get the chair into the bathroom. When we asked the dealer about this, he said it was just too bad, but that it wasn’t on the written contract to have bigger doorways.
                               —Mrs. Albert K., Clearlake, California

FLOORS
If I had it to do over, I would gladly pay for the extra underfloor. At the time we bought, this would have been about $4,000 to pay for an extra layer of plywood over the cheaper particle board. After 5 years, we already have a few nails piercing through the linoleum in the kitchen, and I worry that we won’t be able to effectively install hardwood because the floor kind of sags in places.
                               —Paul F., Clearlake Oaks, California

FOUNDATION
Pay for a real foundation, not just those stacked cement blocks. We think the installers didn’t dig deep enough into the soil when they poured the concrete for the stacks to sit on. We are on a hill, and when they ploughed they built up the lowest side and did not compact the dirt and so it is fluffy. The floors on that side of the house seem to go downhill and that made house sink, which we know because a contractor friend said the house was lower on one side by about an inch, and the dirt is washing out from under the house, which we know because we can see the holes when you look in the crawlspace door.
                               —Mrs. Janice H., Nice, California

Our house is built on swamp! Our realtor didn’t tell us, and the dealer didn’t check the soil conditions and let the installers put the house on jacks on plastic squares sitting directly on the grass. We have a triple-wide and it looks wavy from the outside. Our cupboards and one door won’t close. And the paint is cracking – it looks like spiderwebs everywhere, and you can see the joints where the gyprock sheets meet because they are separating at the crack.
                               —Mrs. P. H. Lucerne, California.

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION
If I had to do all over again ... I wouldn't have bought a manufactured home. I think I would have asked for the steel floor, studs closer together, 5/8" sheathing on roof, 50 year shingles ... ummm ... all I can think of right now.As for interior, I would not have had them do any upgrades. I would have tried to get the house gutted and put in my own floors and carpet. We had the super duper kitchen package, which I wouldn't do again ... I would have ordered all that separate.
     I would have put in the contract a $100 a day penalty for every day past the 45 days the house was not finished. This was an absolute horrid nightmare. We had no recourse. The dealer wouldn't help. The licensing board was useless. HUD represents the dealer. We tried the attorney route, but all attorneys want to do is a lawsuit that would have cost us $75,000 up front. We were on our own. We kept some money in escrow and refused to release it until we were satisfied. This was the only way we kept from taking a bath.
                          —Mrs. Elizabeth Karman, Yucca Valley, California

INSULATION
Write up needed.

PAINT
Write up needed.

PLUMBING
Our plumbing kept backing up until we finally figured out why … the pipes go sideways or uphill! I don’t suppose there is anything you can do about this because that is the way they come from the factory, but new buyers should hire a plumber even if they have to pay extra and check all the plumbing for leaks and that the pipes go downwards to the sewer system.
                               —Joe F., Vallejo, California

ROOF AND SIDING
You’d better add on to your contract that your roof will have actual tarpaper (not felt) and your siding will have weatherproof sheathing (some kind of Tyvac) under the siding. Our OSB is moldy under the windows and exterior doors because the rain runs under the sill and the water directly wets the particle board.
                               —Paul F., Clearlake Oaks, California

SIZE OF HOME
Write up needed.

WINDOWS
Write up needed.

Readers' research is welcome. Email: