May 12, 2006

The Move

Daphne's Perspective:

In Deal On Wheels, Lonnie Scruggs advises that beginners avoid buying homes that need to be moved. Until recently, I didn’t fully comprehend the complexity of moving a “mobile” home. The breakdown and setup of a multisection MH (singlewides are a little easier) is an involved process that takes the better part of two days with a crew of 4-5.

The individual sections of a multisection MH are designed to integrate seamlessly once the home is setup. So there are a lot of steps involved in undoing this and separating them into individual sections ready for transport. The underpinning (whether masonry or vinyl) has to be removed. Any exterior attachments like decks or awnings have to be detached. All the utility (water, sewer, gas, cable, and electric) lines are disconnected and preserved if possible. Some of these connections are expensive to replace (for example, electrical wire cost $4 per foot). In most cases, the wheels, axels, and hitch have to be installed. The home is raised using hydraulic jacks and the concrete block piers are removed. Anything that is to be transported with the home (like salvaging the decks) is placed inside the now exposed home. The open sides of the home are then sealed with a heavy plastic to protect it from the elements and it’s now ready for travel. A courteous crew will take time to clean up the vacant site of accumulated debris.

Once the home arrives at its new destination the process is reversed. The toter truck has a 6 way hitch that can move the home up, down, left, right, forward and backward. This maneuverability is used to place the home precisely into position. The footings must match up to the support points beneath the home. The home sections must also be brought into alignment with each other. An oversized roll of plastic that resembles a giant garbage bag is rolled over the site where the home sits. This not only serves as a vapor barrier and reduces the ventilation requirements, it makes the dirty job of crawling around underneath the home a lot more pleasant.

With the transportation hardware still in place, the home is elevated to the desired height using hydraulic jacks. Concrete blocks are stacked to create piers from the footer up to the chassis. They are spaced every 4 feet apart and under any special areas that need reinforcing like fireplaces and entryways. A comealong is used to pull the two halves together. The halves are checked for level. If the home is level, doors should close properly and windows should not stick (‘course this doesn’t apply if they’re painted or rusted shut!). Every opening in the marriage wall should be examined. Minor adjustments are made using wooden wedges. Once everything is aligned the sections are bolted together from underneath using lag bolts.

All manufactured homes must be anchored and local regulations dictate specific requirements. A metal strap, connected to an anchor, wraps around the home’s steel I-beam. The anchor is screwed into the ground using a motorized driver. This system acts against forces of upward or sideways motion.

The roof ridge will have a small gap between the home sections. Flashing is installed and a shingle cap placed over this to make it weatherproof. The vinyl siding on the ends of the home that was removed for transport needs to be reinstalled. Likewise, the interior trim, wallboard and moldings along the marriage walls that needed to be removed for travel now have to be reinstalled.

All the utilities and any connections between the home sections are reconnected. Our toter hooks up the water and sewer lines, as well as the HVAC ducts. An electrician ran wire from the electrical pedestal to the circuit breaker. The planning department inspects the setup before the home is underpinned. Once enclosed in concrete block, this space is dark and foreboding.

The last step is to build or reattach decks for the entrances, get a final inspection and obtain a CO. Now the home is ready for sale.

Posted 4 years, 8 months ago on May 12, 2006
The trackback url for this post is http://mobilehomeuniversity.com/blog1/bblog/trackback.php/12/
Re: The Move
Daphne,

Great post, most people who experience this for the first time are shocked at the complexity. Unless you own a park or a land/home package, moving a home can be the difference between a good profit or taking a loss on a single deal.

Steve
Posted 4 years, 8 months ago by Steve Case • • • Reply
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