Vindale mobile homes water pipes?

Question

How does the water pipes run under the mobile home,trying to install ice maker

Answer 1

Most mobile homes run the pipes along the length of the home, hanging from the bottom of the floor joists, right down the middle of the frame, or off to one side, if there is ductwork there. When it transitions to move along the space between floor joists, they normally tuck it up inside that space.

My first suggestion is if the fridge is on the same wall as the sink.... then go from there. I would even tap into it inside the cabinet, rather than under the home, becuase it would be eaiser to spot any leaks that may arise over time.

Next suggestion, is to work from under the home... first.. .drill a hole near the back of the fridge that you want to run your supply up thru.... and definitely install a shut off valve!! Ok... first things first... if you do not have a vapor barrier under the home.. now is a good time to put one there.... most people do not realize just how important a vapor barrier is. Use a 6 mil thick plastic, and simply spread it out over the ground, under the home... it can be weighted down with rocks on the corners... brick, whatever is handy. (Throwing plastic down will also give you a clean surface to work on)

To locate the nearest water supply for your icemaker.... find the kitchen sink drain... you can usually feel the J-trap, thru the underbelly, and insulation. Follow the floor joist space back towards the center of the home.... feeling for those water supply lines running the length of the home. Remember they are strapped to the bottom of the floor joists (both hot and cold supply lines will be side by side). Now you can follow this over to where you are going to drop the supply line for your icemaker. If I were doing this myself... I would assemble the shut off valve, adapter, and run the line to the fridge, before crawling under the home... if you leave about 12 to 16 inches of pipe to drop thru the floor, you will have plenty to work with, underneath the home. A long piece poking into the underbelly will help you locate it quicker too.... just have someone hold it down, from topside, until you find it.

Next, you need to open up the underbelly.... if the supply line and the fridge supply drop are very close, then simply open the underbelly up between them, so you can more easily work on the plumbing. If they are very far away, then make two openings.... one at the supply, and one at the drop. Remember, you have to close this hole in the insulation up later.

Once you have access to the supply and drop, you simply run your plumbing as you would normally. Use straps to hold the pipe up near the floor joists.... but dont make it too tight, or the pipe may squeak against the floor joist, as water pressure changes in it, hehehe.

As to the plumbing itself.... if you have the 'tubed' plumbing, you are going to have to purchase compression fittings... I doubt you would want to spend the $100 needed for the crimping tool used to put the copper bands around the fittings..... so, bite the bullet, and install the compression fittings. You should determine what kind of pluming you have, before you start this project, so you can run the same type from the fridge, all the way to your supply. This type of plumbing is normally a grey color.... you can purchase Qwest brandname fittings. they come in two sizes, so keep that in mind when buying line and fittings.
The other type of commonly used plumbing (found in better quality homes) is cpvc plumging... this will be a cream colored plastic, which may or may not have a pale yellow, or blue stripe on it. You can get the same kind of line and fittings at any hardware store, and use the pipe cement to put it together.

One last note about the plumbing.... before tapping into a supply line.... make sure you are tapping into the COLD water line, lol.... I know this sounds funny, but you would be surprised how many times Ive heard the question "why does my ice maker have HOT water?" The easiest way to tell which pipe is which.... is to have someon run som hot water in the sink for a few minutes... this will heat up the hot water supply pipe. :)

Ok... on opening and closing the underbelly.... use a utility knife to cut a flap out of the underbelly, and simply push the insulation back out of your way.... do NOT cut a HOLE in out of the underbelly... just make three cuts... to make a fold down flap.... You'll see why in a minute, heheh. Don't be too surprised to find sawdust up in there... especially, if you have followed my advice and already assembled and dropped the supply at the fridge... so, keep your eyes averted as you open this hole up... you dont want any sawdust to fall into them (this can happen even when wearing safety glasses, hehehh) Take care of your work, get it all completed, and then you are ready to seal the hole(s) where you were working.....

First, pull the insulation back in place.
Now, take that "flap" that you cut, and lift it back in place, tugging it so that it comes close to where it was cut. Use a GOOD HEAVY quality duct tape to "sticth" the flap back in place. I recommend Gorilla brand duct tape... this is the closest thing Ive found to what I use professionally. The normal tape you would find at the hardware store is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. It will fall back down in a matter of months! As I said, use your duct tape to 'stitch' the flap back in place... use it LIBERALLY... I will use two foot stretches of tape on EITHER side of a cut. I start at the corners, then work along the edges.....taping ACROSS the cut, and overlapping the tape... do NOT simply run one piece of tape ALONG the cut.... not enough tape, and it WILL fall.

When repairing underbelly, you have two basic choices.... you can goto a mobile home supply store, and buy "belly tape"... which is the same kind of plastic material the underbelly is made of, but with adhesive on one side. This usually comes in patch form, or rolls of strips. This IS a good way to seal up any holes in the underbelly... not everyone has access to this product tho.
The other type, is to use a heavy plastic, 6 mil thick, (remember that vapor barrier I mentioned?...same stuff), and a spray-on contact adhesive. "Sta-Put" is the best brand Ive ever used....but it cannot be bought at a retail outlet....3M makes the next best choice.... tall black can... get two cans of it, if you have a large hole, or more than one hole to fix. Cut the plastic (this can be either clear or black) large enough to cover your work area.... or cut several pieces..... if you have a long stretch to work on.... say, about 16" by 24". Spray the adhesive to BOTH surfaces... and let it dry a bit....if you stick it up while it is wet, it will only hold temporarily. Let it dry to the point that when you touch it, it is still tacky, but none of it comes off onto your finger. Now you just put that piece over your repair area. If you have to use more than one "patch"... you want to overlap the patches.... that means you have to spray the underside of the patch you are going to overlap....so...when doing this... only spray the area you are about to work on.... do not attempt to spray the whole area.
By the way... this stuff can be pretty potent smelling in a closed in space, so setting up a fan at an opening helps.

If you take the time to patch the underbelly, as Ive mentioned, it will not come down. If you take the lazy approach, and use cheap duct tape.... you can expect a hole in six months.

Have Fun!