How to Repair Mobile Home Bottom Board

The black material enclosing the base of a mobile home is known by several names: bottom board, belly board or paper, black board, etc. Typically, the material used is asphalt-impregnated fiberboard or fiberglass, cloth or heavy tar paper and woven polyethylene. All serve the same purpose:

• Prevent moisture infiltration
• Insulate the subfloor
• Keeps out vermin and insects

Any tear or hole should be repaired immediately.

Assess the Damage
Before repairing, try to figure out what caused the damage. If moisture buildup caused the tear, locate and repair the source of the leak. Replace damaged insulation and flooring. If pests caused the problem, remove them and their nests.

Patching Holes
Small holes can be easily patched with a 2″ bottom board tape. To repair larger holes you may need to cut out the damaged area and patch using a bottom board repair kit. The repair kit will have woven polyethylene to patch the hole and self adhesive polyethylene to hold the patch in place.

Repairing Rips and Large Damaged Areas
In some cases you may have to cut out the damaged bottom board. Remove the damaged area back to the center of the nearest floor joist on each side of the cut out. Replace with a self-adhesive bottom board large enough to cover the entire area. You can also overlay large areas with mutiple tears and holes using this product.

Finally, anytime you cut the bottom board to repair leaks, etc., patch the area as soon as it has dried out to prevent further damage.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 6th, 2011 at 10:38 pm and is filed under DIY Project Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.