Sloping ground

debijo · Fri Dec 30, 2011 7:59 pm

We have bought a 16x80 mh that is already blocked up and tied down. The previous owner put it in under a power line and over the water line. Needless to say, it needs to be moved. In order to keep the price down, one end is going to have to be about 4 1/2 ft off of the ground. Is this a problem? Do you have any advice as to make it as stable and safe as possible? We are in Oklahoma, which has had a tornado or two. Thanks so much!

Debi

Greg · Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:25 pm

4 1/2' is a good size lift, If this is your own land I would do some regrading and see how much you can level the lot first.

If you are in a park this could be a tough job. Most parks do not allow poured footers and would not be comfortable setting up stacked blocks that high.

You may want to contact your codes department and get their input on the problem before you go too much farther, They may have code regulations in place. No matter what, I would at least want poured piers that the home could be bolted to. At least you could find the frame after a tornado.

Greg

debijo · Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:14 am

Thanks Greg, yes, we own the land. We had a dozer operator out there today. $2000 to haul in enough dirt to make I pretty flat vs $400 to move it. Every scenario we discussed was $2000 because if we move it to get it a little flatter, we would have to put in a new septic tank. I will call City Hall Tuesday and see if they have any codes to abide by.

Greg · Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:26 am

$2000 sounds a little steep to me. A good operator should have things leveled off on a lot that size in less than 4 hours. Around here $2000 would go a long way towards a full basement. I think I would make a few more phone calls to excavators in your area.

Do you need to fill the low spots or shave the high spots? that will make a difference in price also.

Greg

debijo · Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:16 pm

He said we could shave off just a little bit, but the septic tank placement won't let us take off much. He thought it would take 10 loads of fill to do it right. He did say that he was giving us the worse case scenario and if he could do it for less he would. Yikes, the things I get myself (and hubby) into!

Greg · Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:15 pm

OK here is what I was thinking, It would still need approval from the codes officer.

I would pour the piers with anchor bolts. Once you have the placements for the piers use a transit or builders level to find the elevation difference between the piers and where the frame will sit. You could then have steel I or H beam cut to those heights have a flange welded on the ends of the beam that you can bolt to the pier and to the frame of the home.

You could also pour the pier to the proper height, but that may be harder to do since you would either need to lift the home onto the piers or pour the piers under the home after it is in place.

Hope I didn't confuse you too much. Greg