What Are the Cheapest Ways to Redo a Mobile Home Floor?

The floor space of any room significantly affects the overall look. Having a clean, new surface that harmonizes with the room's furnishings is key. While a floor doesn't have to cost a lot, it does need to add the right color or reflect light appropriately.

Use new flooring as a starting point for any room remodel.

Changing all floor surfaces in a mobile home is a relatively quick way to give the home a nice makeover.

Durable Sheet Flooring

Vinyl sheet flooring or linoleum provides a convenient option when installing a new floor covering in a mobile home. At mark-down sales, these materials can cost less than 50 cents per square foot, and they often last 30 years or more. By installing sheet flooring yourself with some help from friends, you can save hundreds of dollars in redoing the entire mobile home. It's possible to leave old flooring in place and install new flooring on top, if there are no serious flaws in the original flooring.

Peel-and-Stick Tiles

Individual vinyl stick down tiles cost less than $1 each and are easy to install; you just peel off the backing and place the sticky tile directly on the subflooring. These 12-inch square tiles can create various interesting patterns, too, such as alternating white and gold tiles in a bathroom for a checkered look. Another advantages of these tiles is that they come in various textures, including slate and marble finishes. Peel-and-stick tiles are any easy fix if the room is perfectly square of rectangular. It's labor-intensive to fit the tiles to a floor that is irregular in shape, however.

Carpet Remnants

Inexpensive carpet is sometimes available in remnants; you can purchase what's left on a roll for a fraction of the cost of carpet cut from a brand new roll. It's sometimes cheaper to buy carpet rather than install vinyl flooring or linoleum. However, don't buy inappropriate carpet -- such as a light color that will easily show dirt -- to save money. While this might work for the short term, it will waste your labor efforts if you have to redo the floor in a year.

Porcelain Tiles

If you plan to sell the mobile home, and it's on a permanent foundation, install porcelain or ceramic tile. Tile can give your home an impressive upgrade, and it's worth the investment to attract a buyer right away, especially if you need to sell the mobile home as quickly as possible. Close-out stores have tile left over from past years that is drastically reduced in price. If you can lay the tile yourself, you can purchase enough for a 200 square-foot room for $200 or less.

Hardwood

Buying hardwood flooring labeled "seconds" in bulk or boxes means that some of the boards will be damaged or inferior. The good news is that you can pull out first-class boards to complete your mobile home floor. You will need to make sure the wood all blends well and comes from the same factory production run. Savings are substantial if you install this type of flooring material; you can install a hardwood floor for approximately one-third the cost of first-rate boards.