What's the approximate cost of...

[mrstovar]

... joining two singlewides into one structure and putting a new roof over all? About $2500? Or more like $5000 or even $10000?

I'm running into some hassle with local codes. The officials are telling me I am not allowed to simply install two mobile homes side by side as close as I can get them. They must be joined, and have a new roof over all, or else they must be set apart. They don't seem quite sure how far apart, but maybe five or six feet. And then I might need to get two building permits and so on and so on!

Since my personal preference would be to have them as close together as possible (this is only for one household and they seem to get confused about that also) and I'd love to eventually when we have more money put a new roof over everything anyhow (including the landings for outside doors) I was just wondering what the approximate cost would be. We would not be doing the work ourselves, at least not most of it. Thanks.

[DCDiva]

Call your local building supply place they can tell you the cost of materials,you need the size and what you want the roof made of
I added a second story to our camp--a tree when thru the roof and it was 27x 45, I ordered a cathedral ceiling for the trusses,they were 1400 delivered and set w crane, the sheeting,felt,shingles,vent--if I remember correctly it was under 3000 total,I had @ 7000 in the whole addition,including windows and 2 French doors.
I am not sure how many people in your family but we had 4-5 person work crew and we worked long hours but we had to have the house roofed in fast as we took the roof off to add the second story and new roof--we did it in one long week,of course another week to insulate and drywall/finish.

Unless you already own the MH's I would look for a used or foreclosed on double wide,check the sale lots, as you might run into issues like insurance,leveling problems,resale value and the property value. Plus you could add a walkout basement to a double wide--I think you want to have a kitchen for baking or catering??

[mrstovar]

Thanks for the info, DCDiva, that gives me a bit of an idea how much it might be.
I did check into used doublewides a little, but it was discouraging, as they seem to be more rare in this area (unless you buy new!) and a lot more expensive than we can afford. Plus, I think I'd get only one kitchen with a doublewide, and I really want two kitchens: a big one for my baking, and a separate small one for general family use. But maybe I should check around a bit more seriously.

[JD]

Codes can vary from region to region, but I think the 3' between a mobile home and another structure is pretty much universal. I have seen homes put together side by each like this with an enclosed causeway between them. It gave that family the room they wanted but going between units did feel like going into another home, to me anyways. The causeway was maybe 20' from one end of the units, making a lopsided "H" They built a deck between the two homes in front of the causeway with an entry door in the middle leading to either home. The causeway was bigger than the openings into it, which they used as a wet boot area, a freezer and pantry like stuff. It was pretty cool really. The two homes were similar wood sided as was the causeway. So after paint it actually looked real good. They still had the original front doors for entry and egress and one unit had a sliding door leading out the back half. No code violations and the teenagers were less noisy to the parents.

One thing really good with this setup is that it won't create a cricket in the roof, trying to put two eaves together. It is never a good to have a valley running the middle of the combined roofs.

[mrstovar]

JD, thank you!
I actually got inside a single wide yesterday and discovered that two trailers this size would be a lot more space than we need. It was 14 ft by maybe 76 ft or so, exremely long. If we got a big trailer like this, we would need only about 450-500 sq. ft. more to have as much house as we currently have, minus the attic. Which, we do sometimes feel crowded, but a small house costs less to heat and cool. And, I would feel more confident footing the cost of getting one trailer up to code instead of two. I'm beginning to think that if we buy this lot, maybe we should figure out how to make do with one trailer a while, and maybe later, when we've got more money, figure out how to have a bit more room. The main thing would be figuring out how to have a large baking area separate from the living area, and how to have a very small kitchen in the living area.

[hhb]

That's a pretty neat idea there JD.

We're also considering what to do mrstovar, and I think we've settled on one single wide and then build an addition on right away. The ones we're looking at are 64' x 14' 3 bedroom, but the two smll bedrooms are really small in these setups (usually 6' x 9' or so). We need 4 bedrooms total plus storage, so I'm thinking we add a 32' x 12' addition, make the two small bedrooms into one, and create two new bedrooms and another entrance / storage in the new addition. I'd like to put new trusses across both the addition and the trailer and a metal roof, creating an empty 32' x 12' section where I'd put a deck that would be covered by the new roof as well. Since this is on our own lnad, I'm going to pour a cement slab for both the trailer and the addition (one slab), hopefully that would minimize any movement of them.

At least that's the plan, but you know what they say ...

[JD]

Additions would be the easiest to permit. Some things to keep in mind when thinking add-on is, you can't enclose windows without replacing them somewhere on an open wall, in the same room. Each possible sleeping area has windows that conform to code for egress. So add-ons usually means opening up rooms to a bigger size and not adding rooms to the outside of existing rooms. Generally speaking, windows and doors can be moved but not eliminated.

Another tricky part is the roof. To have a ceiling with a minimum of 7' 6" average height, you will usually have a roof on the adds-on that is taller than the eave wall of the existing home. Building in hips and valleys to route water away from the add-on is best, but they can be built with with a gutter system to carry water away from the add-on. Building an add-on that is a step or two lower than the main coach is a way to lower the roof level, but then you got a step into the add-on.

Add-on rooms must be free-standing, but you can use flashing and trim to seal the room to the mobile home.

[break19]

My wife and I just recently moved into a place on a large lot.. it's a singlewide, with a full length porch, that goes over the trailer as another roof, and attaches to another wall on the backside of the trailer..

The previous owner ALSO built an outdoor kitchen area behind the home.. That may be an option for you...

[debijo]

Would you post a pic or two of this roof over? We are fixing to dogma roofover and wanting to see what others have done. thanks!

Debi

[quote="break19"]My wife and I just recently moved into a place on a large lot.. it's a singlewide, with a full length porch, that goes over the trailer as another roof, and attaches to another wall on the backside of the trailer..