Bay Area Siding Company re-sides manufactured and mobile homes across the Bay Area, from coastal parks to hot inland valleys. We start by learning how your home was built, then recommend a material and detailing plan that suits those walls. We don't start from a product we'd like to sell.

How mobile-home siding differs from a site-built house

Most manufactured homes built since mid-1976 were built in a factory to the federal HUD code, not to the California Building Code that governs a site-built house. Wall framing, sheathing and how the original siding was attached all follow factory practice, and that practice has changed over the decades. On many older units, the original cladding is lap metal or an early vinyl. That cladding is often fastened over a thinner substrate than you'd find on a comparable site-built wall. Newer homes vary widely by manufacturer and model. The honest answer to "what's under my siding?" is that we confirm it on site before we price or specify anything.

That matters because siding is only as good as what it's fastened to. When older siding comes off, a common finding is a substrate that is serviceable in most areas but softened near the bottom edge, around window corners, or where the roof meets the wall. The water-resistive barrier (WRB) behind it may be patchy, brittle or missing in spots. Window flashing on factory-built walls is often minimal compared with current field practice. None of this is unusual, and none of it is a reason to panic. Each of these conditions just has to be found and corrected before new cladding goes on.

Weight and fastening are the other big differences. Vinyl is light and flexible, which is part of why it has long been the default on manufactured homes. Fiber cement and engineered wood are heavier and need solid fastening into structure at manufacturer-specified spacing. On a manufactured home, we check whether the wall framing and substrate can accept that fastening pattern before recommending them. Trim, skirting, and the transition where the wall meets the skirting also deserve attention. That joint is a place where water and pests can get in if it isn't detailed carefully.

Finally, the permitting path can be different. In California, the enforcement agency for manufactured homes, especially those in mobilehome parks, is often the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) rather than the city or county building department. Some local agencies have taken over that role. We confirm which agency has jurisdiction, and what it requires, at permit time.

Questions to settle before you re-side

Our installation process

1. Consultation and wall assessment. We walk the home, check park or HOA rules with you, look at how the existing siding is attached, and discuss materials that suit the construction.
2. Permitting. We confirm whether HCD or the local building department has jurisdiction, check Cal Fire hazard mapping, and file for the required approvals.
3. Careful removal. We remove the existing siding and trim down to the sheathing/substrate, protecting windows, utilities and landscaping as we go.
4. Inspect substrate, WRB and flashing. We check the substrate for soft or damaged areas and assess the WRB. We also look closely at flashing at windows, doors, roof-to-wall joints and the base of the wall.
5. Corrections and repairs. We replace deteriorated substrate sections and review any additional repairs with you before proceeding, so the scope stays clear.
6. New WRB and flashing detailing. The new barrier is installed shingle-fashion so water sheds outward. Window and door flashing is integrated into it, and the wall-to-skirting transition is detailed to shed water.
7. Installation to manufacturer spec, then walkthrough. We fasten and gap the cladding per the manufacturer's instructions (for example, vinyl hung loose enough to expand and contract) and finish trim and skirting. Then we walk the job with you.

Mobile Home Siding FAQ