The ceiling under the bathroom needs to be opened and possibly removed. If they have a fiber optic scope, they can drill a few small holes and check out the ceiling from below.The area needs to be inspected for mold growth and treated if necessary. If left in place you have no idea what's going on up there. I would have a different company do the checking as they will be more objective. If you suspect water has travelled down the wall, check those too. Let these guys know that they will be liable for the damages and any associated costs. Have someone who knows how to set a toilet do the job. If you retiled over the exiting floor or raised the toilet height, you will need a spacer or two to compensate for the difference. This will a judgement call by someone competant. Ron

Exterior paint WILL let in moisture at any small crack or void and not allow it to escape causing rot on a scale that would amaze you and fairly quickly in pine.. I am a furniture maker and I have made exterior furniture and have seen mushrooms and fungus growing out of my furniture. I have seen situations where the painted surface was there and NO WOOD was under it, just paint . Caulk every joint well and start with a penetrating primer, and repaint routinely. There is no exterior paint the will prove indestructible. Houses are designed with water shedding inherent in the design and there is still rot where there are sills and treads. This structure has water CAPTURE designed in every joint. Look at your structure and imagine that you are a drop of water. End grain is very absorbing and you have it as the weight bearing surface under the cross pieces. At least the cross piece forms a cap above it But the cross piece is not supported with any weight bearing member, just screws. I would also add some support pieces under the tank.. I no longer build exterior furniture and if someone twists my arm, I will never ever guarantee it, ever ever again and I was building out of a water resistant woods. The un painted test chairs withstood weather better, but the wood was old growth cypress, white oak and sassafras.

Believe you me, I know all about hot flashes, lol! :-) Yes, visqueen is a brand name, and it sounds like what you got is the same thing. It also sounds like you used the correct type of tape, so I'm surprised some of it came undone. On that mcgarryandmadsen.com site, you probably read their recommended method for patching, using both staples and the tape. It sounds like a lot of work, especially in the heat and under the house! I agree with you, though, I'd rather be under the house with the visqueen down than on the bare dirt. I also think you're right about the AC and the condensation being a contributing factor to your problem area. I just have a window unit in the living room, so I haven't had to deal with that. I'm hopefully putting in a mini split system next fall, and that eliminates the need for ducts, and I can't wait! You might be able to get a free mold inspection through your state and/or county. It would be worth a couple of phone calls and an internet search to find out. Your state and county also might be able to help with mold removal if any bad stuff is found. I hear you about affordability--everything is just so darn expensive! I got this house (14x64 SW) last January almost for free ($2,000). My daughter and I moved in on March 1 and the previous owners, who are good friends, were still here. Unfortunately, my friend has a shopping addiction and is a hoarder. The MH was falling down around them and they either couldn't see the problems, because they were buried underneath the hoard, or they didn't think it was important, like not thinking a fan in the bathroom needs to be kept in working order, or they "could 't afford" to fix it, like the furnace which they lived through three winters without! Yet, she could afford to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month on clothes, make up, shoes, handbags, etc., 80% of which still have price tags on them. Anyway, when my daughter Joy and I finally got the house cleaned out of the gigantic piles of hoarded stuff, and got the house as clean as we could by ourselves, we were able to see the extent of the damage--and it's bad. Really bad. There's like 4-5 really major projects that all need to be immediately if we hope to salvage the structural integrity of the home...but I am not a wealthy woman by any stretch of the imagination. So it has to be one project at a time, as money becomes available. So I've spent literally over one hundred hours researching every aspect of manufactured homes. This site has been a treasure trove of information! Last October, when I agreed to buy this house from my friend, I actually read through every single thread on this forum! It was like taking a class in MH101. I've also read all the blog entries on MHs on the mcgarryandmadsen site. mobilehomeliving.org is another good one. Joy and I figured out that we spent about 300 hours between the two of us cleaning out the massive hoard they left here and cleaning. That didn't even include the regular home cleaning and maintenance of our own stuff! There are a few things I can't do because I have pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis. The range was one of those things. I managed to get the stove top pretty clean and put in new burner bowls, but there was no way I could have scrubbed the hood, under the stove top, the oven, or underneath the oven where we found all kinds of used, greasy paper plates! Last night, a young couple I hired from craigslist came over and it took them two solid hours, so four work hours, to get it clean! It was definitely worth the $60 I paid them. Well, good luck with your mildew problem...I hope you can fix it without too much expense or too much time crawling around under the house! :-) Sincerely, Debbie

I agree with the Cooks Kitchen. We had a very similar problem. We had a paneled vaulted ceiling, painted white, in a bedroom. There was no insulation in the ceiling...just the wood paneling, then roof paper and then composite shingles. We never had a leak but we would get mold/mildew (it was grey in color) on the ceiling. This room was on the shady side (not sure if that made a difference) of our one story house, not near any bathrooms or laundry. This mold/mildew would build up over time. Every year I would wipe the ceiling with bleach (we had wood-looking linoleum so I didn’t have to worry about bleaching carpet ) . We finally put in a heater with the vents high up in the wall. This ventilation helped a bit but still had to bleach the ceiling every couple years. We are in the process of remodeling this side of the house. Hopefully the insulation will make the difference. In the meantime maybe try a dehumidifier or heater or some fans. Good luck.