What are the costs involved when it comes to maintaining and upgrading an older park home? Specialist name Fred Wood Park Home Refurbishments explains more and outlines how his company can help…

Fred Wood has been working on the repair and refurbishment of park and holiday homes for more than 30 years. Over that time, Fred and his team have covered everything from small repairs to complete rebuilds.

This puts Fred Wood Park Home Refurbishments in a unique position to pinpoint some of the potential pitfalls that owners of older park home owners can experience.

Fred said: ‘The first thing any owner of an older park home should appreciate is the level of costs involved when it comes to refurbishing and upgrading a mobile home. Many home owners seriously underestimate these.’

Kitchen costs
In Fred’s experience, the kitchen is often the most expensive room to renovate. He said: ‘Normally, when we do a kitchen, it includes upgrading the plugs and lights, while the ceiling and walls are all striped and then reboarded with plasterboard and ceiling boards.

‘We also allow for some tiling, and fit as many wall and base units as the size off the kitchen allows. Then there’s the new oven and hob with an extractor fitted.

‘Prices for a complete overhaul like this start from around £7,500.

Bathroom/ en suite shower
Another popular upgrade on a park home owner’s wish list is the bathroom.

Fred explained: ‘In most cases the customer asks to have the bath removed and a new shower installed.

‘The most popular is a 900 x 900 quadrant shower encloser, which gives maximum room. In some homes we have to move or fit a smaller window as you do not want a window by the shower.

‘As with the kitchen, we reboard the ceiling and walls – in most cases using a watertight room liner that comes in a range of colours meaning there’s no decorating needed for the walls.’

When this is done, there’s usually a new vanity unit, sink, taps and close-coupled toilet, along with new bathroom light and extractor fan. Prices start from around £5,000 for a package like this.

Bedrooms
If bedrooms are to be stripped and reboarded, this will involve a new door, real timber frames and skirting boards being fitted. The room is then painted with a 90mm cove around all walls. Small rooms can cost from around £1,250 and large rooms from £1,750.

Electrics
Fred explained: ‘We offer a total rewiring service, as we have a qualified electrician who works for us. This is all checked, and a certificate is provided on completion of the work. This includes new consumer unit lights and plugs. A total rewire like this can set you back around £3,250.

‘Some of the insurance companies now require an electrical check certificate on older homes.’

Central heating and boilers
A new boiler with all-new central heating can cost you around £3,000 on a single unit park home and around £3,500 for a double unit park home.

External upgrades
To put a new roof on, Fred and his team erect scaffolding on all older park homes in order to do the job safely. A new roof, which may involve upgrading of the insulation with new felt and battens, typically costs from £5,000.

Underneath a park home
Are there adequate jacks installed, as in some cases the answer is ‘no’? Installing more jacks underneath a park home can start at around £250 to £900. The chassis is the most important part of the home, as all park homes, including holiday homes, are classed as caravans and should be moveable, so the chassis needs to be kept in good condition or the home could be in breach of the Mobile Homes Act. Cleaning down and painting a chassis starts from around £1,200. For a single unit home, underfloor insulation starts from £1,800, with double units starting from £2,400.

Other costs
To replace fascias and soffits right the way around a park home, prices start at around £1,200. The cost of windows and doors from manufacturers has skyrocketed – as with most things lately – with prices starting at around £5,000. Bay windows alone can cost £1,800 each. Get in touch with Fred Wood Park Home Refurbishments if you’d like help with any of these improvements.

Info point
To find out more about Fred Wood Park Home Refurbishments, please call 07796 400 370, email
info@fredwood.co.uk or visit parkhomerefurbishments.co.uk