Your steps add to or detract from the appearance of your home. You can by mobile home steps made of cement, wood, fiberglass, aluminum, or steel. You can even build your own. However, beauty becomes secondary when steps grow rickety and dangerous.
You can try to correct rickety steps by tightening loose screws. If the wobble persists, maybe you can get rid of rocking motion by sliding shims into low areas under the steps. Take off rust with steel wool. Apply a coat of new paint to the steps so they won’t rust again—for a while.
Replace steps that are too hazardous for repair. Select new steps with care. For the right height, measure from the ground to the threshold. The steps should be just shorter than that. Consider the depth of the step risers too. Select steps that feel comfortable to climb and give you safe footing.
And while you’re thinking of safe footing, look for steps with nonskid treads. You also reduce the likelihood of falls by attaching handrails to the open sides of your steps. Railings fit on easily, whether you select cement or fiberglass steps. Installing steps and handrail should take no more than 30 minutes.

The screws holding your shutters often work loose from vibration. When they do, tighten them. If the screw holes seem stripped, fill them with a sealant like TenX. Allow the sealant to set for a few minutes. Reinstall the screws. As the sealant cures, it forms a solid bond.
Polish rust off your shutters with steel wool. Replace rusting screws with cadmium-plated ones. Paint the shutters to retard further rusting. Paint often enough to maintain the attractive appearance of your home. If you use spray paint, take the shutters off first. Wash and dry them thoroughly before any painting.
Whenever you attach address numerals or other decorations, avoid driving nails and screws into the aluminum skin. Each hole drilled in your mobile-home skin creates a leak potential. Worse danger arises if you drill or nail into electric wires. You can drill holes safely around the base of your home, for skirting. But for anywhere else, try to obtain a wiring diagram from your mobile-home manufacturer. Otherwise, play it safe: use adhesives to add decorations outside your home.

Awnings, porches, and patios add beauty to your home. They provide a retreat from hot sun and shelter from rain and snow. Prompt maintenance for awnings, carports, and patio roofs prolongs the life and beauty of these accessories.
Every spring and fall, when you’re inspecting the roof anyway, look at the seals where your awnings or patio top attach to the roof. Clean away weathered caulking. Tighten mounting screws. Then reseal. Polish the rust from steel support poets with steel wool. Protect the posts with a coat of rust-deterrent paint.
Freezing and thawing rots cement. It also crumbles as it ages. That’s why the support footings should rest at least 3 inches inside the perimeter of the cement pad. Clean away the loose chunks. Peg a board along the edge of the pad, so your patch work comes out with a straight edge. Fill the gaps with an easy-to-use mortar premix, such as Bloc-Bond. Tighten loose footing bolts as often as necessary.
Awnings and carports damaged by wind probably need parts only your dealer can supply.

Weatherstripping blocks those icy winter drafts from entering around your doors. If your home has felt or foam weatherstripping, these soft materials tear, pull loose, or wear out. They need replacing from time to time.
Foam-rubber weatherstripping comes in coils. There are several widths. One side has strong adhesive backing. To install this type of weatherstripping, first clean all the old weatherstripping and adhesive material from the door jamb. Pull off the backing paper and apply the sticky side of the foam stripping across the top of the jamb. Snip at the appropriate length with scissors. Press the strip firmly into place. Similarly, apply more strips down the sides. That’s all there is to it.
Apply felt stripping in the same general manner, except that you apply contact cement to the door jamb to hold the felt strips.
Cold enters your home through windows also. The answer, of course, is to insulate them. Storm windows offer one solution. However, conventional glass storm windows break easily. Snap-in plastic windows don’t. One plastic window consists of long strips of plastic moulding and a thin sheet of clear plastic the size of your window. A strong adhesive backs the moulding, so it adheres to the window frame. The plastic window edges fit into fold over grooves in the moulding.
Here’s how to install it. Measure the moulding around each side of the window frame. Deduct about 2 inches from the top and bottom measurements so those mouldings will fit between the side mouldings. With scissors, cut the plastic moulding material into strips that fit the window frame. Peel the backing from the adhesive. Position and press the strips around the window frame. Open the mouldings and you can see grooves which hold the window. Center the plastic pane so its bottom edge fits about ¼ inch into the moulding grooves. Fold up the bottom moulding and press firmly. You’ll hear it snap into place. Repeat with side and top mouldings.
Anytime you want to take these storm windows down, just pry open the moulding. Take out the plastic pane, and press the moulding closed. Store plastic panes in the back of a closet or under your sofa until you need them again.

Some have drip rails; but to give your home a finished look, prevent waterborne stains, and protect your landscaping, you need gutters. Once they’re installed, gutters take minimal maintenance. Clean out leaves and trash twice a year. Tighten bracket screws then. Paint the gutters before they look shabby.
Professionals usually install gutters best. Yet, there’s no reason you can’t do it yourself. Check your tool box for an electric drill and a hacksaw or tin snips. You’ll also need plenty of waterproof sealant.
Measure the length of your home. A 50×1 2 foot home needs about 125 feet of guttering. Don’t forget to add more for pullouts and porches. You’ll want to install downspouts at downhill corners. Measure the height from ground to roof seam. Buy preformed end pieces for each downspout.
Call your mobile home dealer or manufacturer before you drill into top wall studs. Make sure it’s safe. Hang guttering with a gradual slope for drainage. If you have a downspout at each end, make the middle of the gutter ½ inch higher than the ends.
Begin at one end and hang the corner piece. Drill ¼-inch holes for the brackets. Space brackets 2 feet apart for aluminum gutters, 3 or 4 feet apart for galvanized. Overlap the ends of each length of guttering, with the piece toward the middle on top. When you reach the halfway mark, go back and put up the other end or corner piece. Work toward the middle from there. Where you meet the other gutter, cut one piece to size with a hacksaw or tin snips. Seal all the joints.
When you have finished the roof guttering, slide the downspouts into the corner pieces. Anchor downspouts with brackets also. Provide a trough long enough to carry water away from landscaping and walkways.