I was installing vinyl siding?

Question

And I think I ran screw through a wire because one whole side of the trailer is out any advice?

Answer 1

On most mobile homes, the wiring is run around the outer walls, to the perimeter outlets.... All of the wall studs are pre-notched to run the wiring... and as wiring is placed in these studs, then the manufacturer puts a metal plate over the notch containing the wires. All of these notches will have that metal plate at about the same height on the wall (usually about 2 ft up from where your vinyl siding starts). You can use a stud finder, or even a good strong magnet, to locate those plates.... once you know where they are at, with regard to height... then you want to find the one that you shot a screw thru, lol.

If your home has the OSB sheathing (wafer board, some call it), it's most likely 7/16" thick. If you set a circular saw blade to that depth... then run it across the board that you found the problem at, you can simply remove a cross section of that waferboard... rather than peel the whole thing off.... there's no sense in peeling the whole thing. Remove any screws holding that cross section to the studs, and pry it off... dont throw it away, you can put it back on, when you're done.
Now that you can see the wiring, locate the short and repair it (AFTER you turn the power off!) If your screw happened to go between the wires... then you can probably just seperate them, and apply electrical tape. If it looks like any have been cut, then you will need to use a wire nut to re-attach the wire. (I like to apply electrical tape OVER the wire nut, wrapping it all around, and to the wire itself.... prevents it from loosening up later on, and helps seal it)

Once you have the electrical problem fixed, pop that cross section of wafer board back on.... making sure not to screw thru that metal plate, again, lol.... and apply some caulk to the seam, where you cut the cross-section with the saw blade. The caulk will help seal the board, and prevent wind from getting thru.

Now, you're ready to re-apply the siding, if you happened to have taken any of it off. I figure, once you locate those steel plates... you might have to remove 2, or 3 pieces of vinyl to expose the cross section you need to pull in order to fix the wiring.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Before doing all that work. unplug everything in the house, flip all the breakers on and see if they pop off. If the breakers stay on, start testing each outlet with a lamp or radio to see if that trips the breakers. If that's good, plug in all your normal items watch to see if a breaker pops. You might have a short in one of your appliances.

Can you verify the problem with a volt meter ? ( Flip the circuit breakers turning off all power.) With an extension cord plug into an outlet that was having the problem. Then check conductivity between the extension cord and the screws near the problem area. If you get a reading .... there you go......start pulling off siding and fix the problem. Remember check both sides of the plug, not the ground. Hopefully there is only one screw that hit a wire. More will be more test and work.

Answer 3

Did you blow a breaker when it happened? If you screwed through a wire that should have happened. If you did screw through a wire, you need to find where it happened and after turning off all power to the house cut out the damaged wire and splice it back together at a junction box.

Answer 4

I agree with the previous answer. Contact a professional, Your safety and piece of mind are most important. I don't know your specific situation, but next time consider using a roofing nail that is shorter in length. Sorry not much more help. Good luck.

Answer 5

Call a pro