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In听2005听a trailer slated for the dump听was transported听to Mapleton Mobile Home Park and renovated听there.听After completion in 2008, the remodeled Boulder home went on sale for $40,000 in an area where the median sale price of homes now tops听$1.5 million.

The 570-square-foot home features听solid oak hardwood floors, high ceilings that run from 9 to 11 feet,听a听clerestory (a high section of wall that听contains听windows above eye level听to admit听light, while maintaining privacy)听and a front porch.

"I saw the potential right away," said Tom Sundro Lewis, a professional photographer and former听licensed contractor who purchased the home in 2008. "I really felt like the place was made for me.听I still feel that way."

CU Boulder and its partners pursued the "TrailerWrap" (TW) remodeling project听as an experiment in rehabilitating a deteriorating manufactured home听(MH), with the idea that such renovations听could be replicated by others.听Since the 1950s, manufactured homes听(previously called mobile homes) have been mass produced to provide听low-cost housing; however unimaginative design combined with inefficient energy strategies and poor construction techniques made these homes difficult to maintain, often leading to disrepair and abandonment.

The TW听remodeling project听was a collaboration between Thistle Community Housing; tradesmen from CU Boulder鈥檚 Department of Facilities Management; an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the university鈥檚 College of Architecture听and听Planning;听and the Children, Youth and Environments Center (now the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center (CEDaR), which originated the idea for the TW project.听听

Obstacles and challenges
Willem van Vliet, CEDaR fellow and professor emeritus in CU Boulder鈥檚 Program in Environmental Design听(ENVD),听initiated the project with Michael Hughes, then an听ENVD instructor. Van Vliet听wrote grant applications and coordinated between college administrators, teaching faculty and the Mapleton听Home Owner鈥檚听Association.听

Van Vliet noted that there were听many challenges听 during construction. Students had difficulties getting听academic credit for their听work; obtaining grants to fund the听project presented continual challenges; continuity lacked with three different instructors听leading the project over the course of the renovations;听and a series of unforeseen events caused听set backs, including a听sewer line that backed up听in the unit, necessitating replacement of many installed components,听and a heavy branch which fell on听and destroyed the roof after听the unit was nearly completed.

But he also noted that there were many successes around听creating the听affordable and award-winning home. More than 50 students gained听a valuable learning experience; ENVD gained positive publicity; and the project听held听lessons for future project-based learning, including听an upcoming CEDaR-led manufactured home renovation.

Portions of the home were听purposely not completed to allow the buyer to personalize it.听Lewis estimates he put more than听$100,000 into the home, including the unit's initial cost, his own labor, the听impact-resistant roof听he installed, and various upgrades, including the听furnace and other appliances.听

While Lewis says the unit in its current state of remodel would not be affordable听for low-income residents, the home worked for him听because he听could perform听his own renovations.

"I听didn鈥檛听want to rent听a tiny postage stamp of an apartment," Lewis said. "I could have bought a听condo, but it would have taken every penny I had. And I could have moved out of town."

A quality home
Lewis says he "loves" the layout, kitchen, high ceiling, hardwood floors听and the front porch, which in the听summer, functions like a听room because of its two walls.听 He also loves the living room, which also serves听as his听dining room and听office as well听as his photography, yoga and dance studio.听

"I get lots of compliments about the interior," Lewis said. "Four out of every five people who come here听for the first time听exclaim, 'Wow! This place听doesn鈥檛听feel small at all.'听And it听doesn鈥檛听because of the high ceiling. If you imagine an 8-foot ceiling, like听old trailers,听it鈥檚听just a completely听different experience, a completely different space.

"I听really听mean it when I tell you this place is perfect for me. I love it that it is not any bigger. Because being as small as it is, it makes it much more economical听to heat in the winter. It鈥檚 easier to clean. And I live right in the middle of Boulder. I can walk to Whole Foods. I can walk downtown. I can walk to听McGuckins (hardware store). And I pay like a third听of听the going cost to rent or buy a place like mine."

CEDaR plans to begin its second rmanufactured home remodel project this fall, also within Mapleton Mobile Home Park.听The start date will depend on the state of the pandemic.

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