Underbelly repairs

poirier · Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:19 am

So planning on moving my pressure tank into the house this week. And while I'm under there I know there is some spots where there is small holes in the underbelly as well as a spot underneath each bathroom that is hanging down. My question is what is the best way to repair this? Do I just put a piece of duck tape (or some other tape) over the small holes? And try to tape the big pieces back up? Or is there like smaller pieces of the underbelly stuff so I can just replace certain parts of it?

Spydrweb1977 · Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:07 am

Best way is to use "Flex Mend". It's available on the store's site. I prefer the 28" wide roll, but the smaller widths work fine as well. Just clean the area to be patched and dry it before applying the flex mend. You may also want to stuff some insulation in the areas being patched if any was lost or damaged.

poirier · Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:14 am

Cool thanks is there anywhere to buy it besides online?

Spydrweb1977 · Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:24 am

If you have any local mobile home parts stores, or an RV repair/supply shop of sorts near you, they should have it. I got a 28" x 50ft long roll online for about 89 buck plus shipping. The roll should last a long time, and the repairs are permanent as long as you clean the area first so you get good adhesion. The even make patches with zippers built in if its in an area you think you may need to access again in the future.

poirier · Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:01 am

ok, thanks again for your help!

Greg · Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:54 pm

You could try a search of "Belly repair". There have been a few methods discussed here, JD has a method that works well for him.

Greg

jpingram5 · Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:23 pm

I did mine not too long ago and used Gorilla Glue Duct Tape. I heated it with a hair dryer for a few seconds when applied. It seems to have helped it adhere better. That stuff alone is pretty darn sticky.

AmyH · Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:58 am

I have recently been doing the same thing, patching holes in the underbelly. Here's what I come up with. I bought a role of 6 mill plastic sheeting, a can of locktight professional spray adhesive and gorilla tape. I cut the 6 mill plastic a few inches bigger than the hole to cover it. I spray around the hole with the locktight adhesive and spray some around the edges of the plastic sheeting. Waited about a minute for the spray to get tacky then pushed the plastic over the hole and smoothed it out. This made it so much easier because the plastic patch is now stuck up there and you can now apply the gorilla tape around the edges and not have to try and hold the plastic and try to tape at the same time. The peel and seal would probably do the same thing and maybe even better. I have never tried it. But, it is suppose to be good. While I was patching I put some new insulation in the holes in some places the insulation was either pulled out the hole or was not even any there to begin with. The gorilla tape is some sticky arsh tape and weather resistant if you use some tape I definatley recommend that.

I also checked my water lines and made sure they was insulated and wrapped. Expecially the main line coming out of the ground and up to the floor. The other pipes was already under the underbelly and insulation and should be fine.

Im also putting down plastic on the ground under there that is to help create more of a moisture barrier as water in the ground will cause moisture to form on your underbelly board/plastic can cause mold etc and if there are tears in your underbelly all that moisture will settle on your wood flooring. I'll try to take some pictures later and post them so you can see what Im doing. I hope your crawl space is not as low as mine. Its hard to work under there and the next day I couldnt get out of the bed because i was so stiff. lol. Mobile homes are so much fun.