Double Wide Creation (Renewal)

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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Moderators: Greg, Mark, mhrAJ333, JD

kinyocase
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:42 pm

Okay my previous thread was locked due to I assume inactivity. It has been a seriously cold winter in my area and now that spring is working on springing I will be getting back to work on this whole mess.

Here is a link for those new with ideas to see where I'm coming from. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10342

Before winter hit I got the secondary mobile fully leveled and safe for winter. Now it's time to get serious on my below frost line footings. The plan is to remove my piers and let the mobile rest back on the wheels. While it is resting on the wheels I will space my piers 8 feet apart and dig down 4 feet into the earth. ( Now the question is what is the best way to dig whilst under a mobile. I have enough room to sit up or kneel under this house but a shovel will be incredibly difficult. I could take a post hole digger and cut the handles down, but digging into clay will be insanely difficult. Any tips would be awesome.)

Over the winter I tore the entire kitchen apart and spent some time drawing up remodel plans. I've been purchasing smart siding throughout the winter and currently have 17 of the 43 total sheets I need. I will be picking up cement bags to do my footers here in the next week or so and will start digging as soon as I can figure out how. :D

I have my roof over figured out with a cost of $3000 dollars doing all the work myself. The roof will have to be done before the siding as I don't want water running down my new siding. However the roof has to wait until after the piers which will be undoubtedly the hardest part of the job.

I hope to have updates much more frequently in the near future for those who have interest to see how we are making out.

Thank you for reading and have a great night.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

I think you are making the job harder by dropping the home DOWN. You are giving your self less room to work in. If it is on it's wheels, why not pull it out and use an auger to make the piers.
IMG_8386.JPG
This is what our's looked like before we moved the home in. 18, 18" piers 48" deep.

As you can see the dirt takes up a lot of space, much easier to work when nothing is in the way. It too about 2 hours to punch all 18 holes with a skid steer & auger.

If you can't move the home I would try renting a 1 man auger, But you WILL run into a space issue.

Greg
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"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

I just went thru the other week and locked all the inactive threads. If you would like I can unlock it, or you can just keep going on this one. Let me know if you would like the other thread unlocked. Think I can merge the two also.

As for the digging Greg is right if you can move the trailer and rent an auger, either bobcat or two man and knock the holes out that will be your easiest way. Will save a ton of time in the long run. If you can't move the trailer then I would buy a rotary hammer with a spade bit. Something like this, http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-RH328VC-8-I ... ary+hammer, think you can even get one at HF for a good price when on sale. And a bit like this, http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-HS1922-Spad ... ds=sds+bit. This will still be a little slow going since you will have to break the ground up and then scoop it out with shovel. But it will be a lot easier then a shovel or post hole digger considering your lack of room down there. These things actually work really nice. I've used them for digging in hard clay and gravel before and my back thanks me!
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Greg S
Posts: 541
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am
Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

Bite the bullet and either move the home to dig the piers or set the piers somewhere else and then move the home over that location.
There is a point in time where free labour simply isn't worth doing. Your plan is past that point. :roll:
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
kinyocase
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:42 pm

Thanks for the ideas guys. My father in law has one of those rotary hammers and I'll look around for one of those bits. While I do agree with you Greg S I'm a pretty young fella yet and haven't learned all my "what the hecks have I gotten myself into" yet, so I'm going to forge ahead on this adventure and keep putting money in the bank until I can afford to buy a place.

Thanks again for the comments and I will be sure to update when i get some progress.

As for unlocking the old thread I wouldn't worry about it as this gives me a good slate to work from.
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Greg S
Posts: 541
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am
Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

It's your choice but ignoring the voice of experience is wasting time and dollars to save pennies..
There is nothing to be gained by taking pride in making the same mistakes others have made.
Time and effort wasted can never be regained, Where as you can always make more money.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
mattjslaunwhite
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 8:19 am
Location: nova scotia, canada

some ppl like me like to try a impossible challenge such as this, if it works then amazing, if not we just move onto the next big project lol and if it does work the knowledge we gain from it will help, esp if its a different way then others thought of and it worked. greg S, i see from your point of view too but some ppl just need to do it the way they figure it out. in the end its all personal preference anyways, lol
"The only thing impossible is being impossible itself" - my life motto
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JD
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matt- I do like your gumption and hope this project goes well for you. I have worked under hundreds of homes and I would think that the only place you will have room to sit (hunched over) is at the marriage joint. The out side beams will be much lower than you are planning. It couldn't hurt to try a hole or two to see if this is feasible for you. The holes could be dug with Army entrenching tools (short folding shovel) and a hammer drill with spade bit for the tough dirt and hardpan. But my experience would make me agree with the others and recommend moving the home. The shovel work is hard enough when you can get your butt behind that shovel. Trying to do this hunched over on my knees would kill me! But I am old.
☯JD♫
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All information and advice given is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The person doing the work is solely responsible to insure that their work complies with their local building code and OSHA safety regulations.
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Greg S
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Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

JD with age comes the wisdom of knowing the greatest rewards come from working smart not working hard.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

Another thing I didn't see mentioned is to make sure you get all your utilities marked if you have any underground. Electrical, gas, sewer/septic, water, cable, etc. The last thing you want to do is hit something under the trailer. It will cost a fortune if you have to have someone come in to fix it. I'm not positive in all areas but utility marking is free around here. Also the marking company may have difficulty marking the lines under the trailer.
kinyocase
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:42 pm

Okay I have been reading tons on what is known as a Frost Free Foundation. And I think that this will be the route I take. This will all be doable using my mother in laws Kubota tractor to dig around the perimeter of both houses. Once this is done I will forge ahead on the roof construction which will run right around $2800 all labor by myself. After this I will be focusing on the siding which will be LP Smartside all around in a Volcanic Ash with White trim.

I know that 95% of people will say that this is a horrible idea, and at times I think I agree. However I am in this plan for the long run and will not give up what I can see in my mind. I hope to be able to make progress on the actual build in mid may as work is incredibly hectic right now. Spending 10 hours a day on a JD 3020 makes for terrible tiredness by the end.

Ponch - All of my lines were located before moving the tan house into place. Nothing is located within 10 feet of where this new half sits.
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Greg S
Posts: 541
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am
Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

I view the task you are undertaking like running a board through a table saw with your eyes closed. If you know what you are doing it will probably go fine but even if it goes horribly wrong what you have remaining will eventually heal.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

Can you explain more about your plans of a frost free foundation? From my google searching it looks almost like a "normal" foundation.
kinyocase
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:42 pm

Okay so for frost heave to occur you need three basic factors: subfreezing temps, frost susceptible soil, and sufficient moisture in said soil. Eliminating one of these three factors will basically absolve your frost heave. So in order to remove one I will do water. I live very high above the water table in our area. So I will dig around my homes from just inside the skirting sloping downward 1/2" or more per foot for a 10 foot section around the entire house. I'm thinking about going deeper, laying down some _ mil plastic for drainage assistance then layering rock on top of that. I live in a very dense clay which is widely known to be a non-frost susceptible soil.

Image posted for explanation. (This image was gathered from a Clayton Homes PDF)
Image
ponch37300
Posts: 622
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:12 pm
Location: wisconsin

That's an interesting theory. I'm not sure I'd try that but I am interested in some first hand experience of someone doing it.

You would be doing this to both halves correct?
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