Repairing a pre-fab home that was cut in half.

I'm working on a pre-fab home that was cut in half and trucked in two pieces. The movers basically sawed it in half and then re-attached the two halves, leaving a big seam along the hardwood floor, the textured ceiling, and the textured walls. I'm using a vinyl spackling product on the walls and ceiling, and trying to match the texture by "swirling" the vinyl spackle before it dries. I'm thinking that it might have been better to caulk the seam first and then apply the spackle, but I've never used caulk on a drywall crack before.

I'm clueless as to what to use on the hardwood floor seam. It's about 1/8th inch wide. The owner has just been covering it with a rug.

Eric

Other than a transition strip like you would use going from wood to vinal I don't know.

How about Duct Tape You might win the $10,000.00 prize with that one.

Holding 2 halves of a house together with Duct Tape, Ha.

I read about a guy getting divorced who was told his wife would get 1/2 of the house so he cut it in 1/2. I'm sure more than 1 guy has done that. Another guy in the heavy equipment buisness bulldozed his house down after it was awarded to his wife.

To fix any joint so it won't show up after the next winter, you must make a structural connection that is as good as the basis structure. The first step is a foundation that will have NO differential settling, followed by a joint that is as good as the original structure.

That is very difficult and usually requires doubling up the underlying structure and extending it some distance beyond the joint. You don't want anything that seems like a hinge at the joint.

You might fix the floor by putting a plywood doubler under the subfloor and then routing out a section at the cut to install an inlay running across the original wood strips.

A few years ago a guy with a penchant for colonial had a house more than 200 years old cut in half and moved to a new lot. I know the people who did the restoration. They were not called in to consult on the moving and were dismayed that the cutting had been done with a chain saw.

Bob NH said:

A few years ago a guy with a penchant for colonial had a house more than 200 years old cut in half and moved to a new lot. I know the people who did the restoration. They were not called in to consult on the moving and were dismayed that the cutting had been done with a chain saw.

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I try not to let peoples' stupidity amaze me. Sometimes it's hard though.

Jason