When Dave Weil听moved into Mapleton Mobile Home Park in the late 1990s, the 1963 manufactured home he purchased was in such poor condition it wasn't听livable, he says.
Weil, 61,听immediately rolled up his sleeves and began upgrading the single-wide, 10 by 50 foot unit.听Since moving into the Boulder, Colorado听park,听he has replaced the porch, added a storage shed听and upgraded the appliances, including the furnace, refrigerator, range and water heater as well as听some of the electrical wiring. He also replaced the roof and windows and added insulation to the ceiling to make the unit more energy efficient. A听few years ago, he added hardwood floors.
The cost and effort were well worth it, says Weil, who has lived in the same manufactured home for 22 years.
"In Boulder the options for affordable living are very limited," Weil听says. "And one of the few options available in the late 1990s/early 2000s was manufactured housing."
Dream plans
Weil is looking to update his manufactured home again and make it more energy efficient. He says the听biggest flaw with older units听is the tremendous听heat loss through听walls. Even heating small mobile homes equipped听with a modern 95-percent efficient furnace can cost $200 or $300 per month, he says.听
CU Boulder's Community Engagement Design and Research Center (CEDaR) is helping Weil make his dreams come true by听organizing and facilitating the remodel. Called "Mobile Home Retrofit:听Design &听Demonstration,"听the project's goal is to design and build a mobile home retrofit that is听energy and resource efficient, yet听very听livable, says Brian Muller, CEDaR director. CEDaR听connected Weil with students from The Rural Project, a student organization听that seeks to engage and empower communities in Colorado through design-based activism, Muller says. These students听and other CU Boulder听interns helped Weil conceptualize what he wanted听within his budget and then worked with the city and others to get approvals. The students are also working听on the "deep design issues," including听determining the most efficient technologies, the roof height and methods of听building a kitchen within the confines of听narrow lots. The remodel must听be built on the existing chassis.
"We听are focused on creating affordable and highly livable spaces that are very attractive and beautiful," Muller听says.
Through interviews with Weil听to discover his preferences and interests, Elsa Jerde, an architecture major who graduated from CU Boulder in spring 2020,听developed the听conceptual design.听
"Elsa is a delight to work with," Weil says. "She seems to have a lot of expertise in her field of study and has a high degree of confidence to get this project done."
Weil says the plan calls for adding rigid foam insulation to the walls and possibly the ceiling to reduce听energy loss. It also听includes removing the walls and probably the roof, stripping the structure down to its chassis听and rebuilding it with the same footprint but a different听floor plan. The plan听also includes repositioning the windows to let in more light and听obscure听the view of parked cars as well as raising the ceiling. He's also hoping to add solar听panels to the south roof as well as solar听battery storage. Jerde's听design also allows for preserving听the existing hardwood floors听and leaving听the freestanding porch in place.听
For Weil,听one of the most difficult issues with his manufactured home has been听the "substandard plumbling and electrical." If听large sections of the electrical and plumbing need to be replaced, the project will require more engineering, more inspections and more permiting, which will slow the process.听He guesses the renovations will take one to two years to complete. At CU Boulder a studio class is planned for spring 2021 with the build planned听for summer 2021.
Weil plans to purchase听an old motor home, park it in one of his parking spaces, plug into the power source the contractors will be utilizing听or run off of solar听and live in the vehicle听until the construction is completed. He admits he hasn't yet run his plan听by the Mapleton Homeowner's Association (MHA), but in the past other residents were听granted听permission for a similar听process, he says. To听date听the MHA has听asked only for certain forms to be submitted for approval and for the applicable city building permits.听听
This summer CEDaR is also conducting a post-occupancy survey of its 2005 project,听Trailer Wrap听I, a beautifully remodeled mobile home once slated for the dump,听to determine the owner's satisfaction with the student-designed/built remodel as well as听what the neighbors think about it.听 Similar to the current project, the goal of Trailer Wrap I听was to improve the manufactured home's spatial quality and energy efficiency and听to sensitize student designers to community needs through a real-world experience.
"Preliminary findings听show Trailer Wrap I听was highly successful鈥搗ery energy efficient and quite popular in the community,"听 Muller says. "The owner has enjoyed living there. And the neighbors and the Mapleton听community by and large seem to like it."
Voices: Dave Weil, Part II听Park governance, inequity and legislation