Double-wide combo of mobile and modular

[Guest]

Greetings,

I am the proud(?) owner of an "antique" double-wide located in a marina mobile home park (Lake Ontario, NY) (with 50 feet of dock space ) The paperwork I have indicates its a 1966 "Home Active" brand...

I've been studying the construction of it in preparation for re-leveling (which I'd like to discuss in a separate thread).

As near as I can tell, one half was towed in on its own chassis. This side has all the plumbing, furnace, electrical box, etc., and sits on a rectangular steel I-beam frame (and the axles/tires are still there!). The other half appears to be made of wood only, and I suspect that it was either transported on a flatbed, or was assembled from components on-site.

Does this theory make sense? Anybody seen one like this before?

Here is a picture. The left side is the steel side, and the right side is wood (and has the added-on porch).

[JD]

Hi hiperco,

I have never seen a unit built as you described. I have been working in mobile home repair for the last 18 years. It does look like both units were designed at the factory though. Maybe that was an attempt at improving or adapting a manufacturing process. With all the services located in the steel beam portion of the home, maybe they thought it would be cheaper to build the more passive side onsite. This is pre-HUD home, so it is possible that one half was considered an add-on to a mobile home and was subject to different code. Just guessing here.

JD

[Yanita]

Hi,

To me it looks like many homes that are in my area.

Again not sure of the addition as to how it was built. Around here some additions can be ordered and then trucked in as you described and set into place.

Personally I think it is just an addition that has been added to the home. Nice looking place by the way.

Welcome to the site! Look forward to your future contributions.

I also commend you for examining your home and getting to know it's construction prior to releveling. Make sure you hire the proper company to do the releveling.
Have a great day.

~Yanita~

[Guest]

Hi,

To me it looks like many homes that are in my area.

Again not sure of the addition as to how it was built. Around here some additions can be ordered and then trucked in as you described and set into place.

Personally I think it is just an addition that has been added to the home. Nice looking place by the way.

Welcome to the site! Look forward to your future contributions.

I also commend you for examining your home and getting to know it's construction prior to releveling. Make sure you hire the proper company to do the releveling.
Have a great day.

~Yanita~

Thanks for the replies so far.

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the right side "porch". The matching (right) half of the structure is made differently, since there is no I-beam visible, and it looks to be tied into the I-beam of the left side.

Regarding leveling, I am most likely going to tackle it myself, since I've gotten estimates for $2400 and $8300 so far

[Yanita]

ok, gotta yeah this time...

Could you take some pics of how this is "tied in" to the I beams underneath?

At this time I am guessing that previous owners wanted/needed more space, possibly created their own version of a doublewide. Looks great though...

My BIL's MH in Vermont is part MH and stick built completely around it!

If you attempt to do the relevel on your home, continue educating yourself, this can be a very dangerous DIY if not fully aware of all that is involved.

We have a moderator, Greg, that is in Central NY, hopefully he can shed some light on this when he checks in latter this evening.

~Yanita~

[JD]

WOW! That seems like a very high price to me. What all did they say they would do for that price? How is the wood side being supported? Wood posts on concrete footers? Concrete block? Adjustable metal piers?

JD

[JD]

Looking at the picture, it seems that the left metal I beam side was certainly built to be a double wide. With the window configuration, especially the angled fixed window, it is unlikely that this is a modified single wide. An overhang on the roof looks a bit suspect, only because not many 60's mobile homes were built that way.

JD

[Guest]

WOW! That seems like a very high price to me. What all did they say they would do for that price? How is the wood side being supported? Wood posts on concrete footers? Concrete block? Adjustable metal piers?

JD

Sad thing is nobody wants to tell me the details of what they intend to do for the money. So they won't be getting any (money) from me.

Unit is supported (poorly at this point) on cinder blocks that have settled into the sand. My main complaint is that the left side is sinking badly, making for a noticeable slope as you walk from the right side to the left side, starting at the seam.

Should I make this my leveling thread as well?

[Maureen]

Hi Hiperco,

I'm sort of leaning towards the fact that this home may have had some major renovations that weren't properly constructed!

I'm with JD as far as the roof line and the windows. I haven't seen a factory built home, with that type of roof peak and the windows newer than the very late 1970's, early 1980's. You may have a roof on your home that the framework can not support.

The porch to the right, may have been attached to the house. This should have been a freestanding addition. There are certain ways that we have to make modifications to our homes.

In my area, it would cost me about $700 to relevel my old home. But, my home was properly set up again in 1999 with a foundation, or what is considered a foundation in my area.

I can see a relevel costing close to 3 grand if you have attachments to your home and a roof that is not properly supported!

It's like I have always said, you have to work from the foundation up. Structure is key to all of our homes! Everyone can get away with modifications for a few years. But, at some point, all that pretty ends up costing someone down the road!

In your case hiperco, I think I'd hire a mobile home inspector to look at the structure of your home first. If your not knowledgeable about mobile homes, then you need a pro to come in and access things before you plunk down some big bucks for repairs.

Just my opinion!

Maureen

[Yanita]

Good morning,

Could you post some pics of the underneath before we get into the relevel.

~Yanita~

[gram2logan]

I have no idea how this home is made, but wanted to let you know that there's a home in my area that is made from 2 separate single wides hooked together. They aren't even the same length. But the outside has been sided and it actually looks like a double-wide. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it was 2 trailers.

Point is...........the original owners could have done just about anything with the home to get what they wanted!!

[Guest]

I appreciate the feedback so far

This is a "summer home" for me, so I'll have to wait until this weekend to take pictures.

It is certainly interesting to hear that I have an unusually built home. However I strongly suspect that the two halves both came from a factory, rather than somebody doing something custom on their own. The interior matches as well

I don't think the roof is causing any structural issues. My leading theory is that the left side (steel frame) simply weighs a lot more, and therefore has settled more. The porch attached to the right side may also have helped keep it "afloat".

[JD]

I also believe that the 2 sides of the mobile home was factory designed and built. Not so sure about the roof though. The puzzling thing is the lack of "I" or "C" beams under the right side. Maybe I am just not understanding the post. What do the concrete piers go to on the right (wood) side of the home?

The left side of the home is also a concern. You say that the concrete piers are sinking into sand. 8x8x16 blocks should be stacked perpendicular to the main steel beams, with a 16x16x4 concrete pad or 12x20 treated wood pad at the base of the stack. Piers requiring more than 3 blocks need to be double blocked. There is also supposed to be a cap block at the top of the pier unit. Pier spacing in California is 5'o.c. A quick and unverified check on New York code says 6'-8' o.c. I am not real sure of that info. Hopefully Greg will let us know. I would think that much of the Northern state would require concrete footers as well. Again, not sure of NY code.

Anyways the point is, if the piers are sinking, somewhere at the bottom of that stack should be a wood or concrete block. If this is wood and is buried, it is most likely deteriorated beyond use and possibly collapsed. Pressure treated pads left in dirt will rot eventually. So, dismantling one pier unit, filling in the void under the dirt level and resetting the pier with a new pier block will leave this pier on fairly soft and uncompacted dirt. Seems to me that the pier unit would settle back down below dirt level pretty quickly.

Let me know if this info is helpful and if I am on the right page with your leveling problem. Also, let us know how the right (wood) side of the home is supported.

This mobile home may have been set up 40 years ago and may be set to old code. This may or may not be something you are concerned about. Having the home set correctly to current code would probably require a professional familiar with local codes and common problems and a whole bunch of money.

hope this helps.

JD

[Guest]

Definitely helpful information, keep 'em coming

My leveling strategy (still being formulated) is to focus on the left (steel) side only, as much as possible. I plan to add new pier structures along the steel I-beam on the perimeter, near but not on top of the old ones. I plan to do the lifting in small steps (waiting maybe a week in between steps to let things get used to the new position), preferably lifting the entire side simultaneously with a bunch of bottle jacks.

I may shore up (add new piers) to the center I-beam before doing this, leaving the level intact and building the piers to the existing level.

Although there probably isn't a level area in the whole place, I don't want to disturb the structure any more than necessary. But I can't stand walking down hill from right (center) to left side, especially when walking into the kitchen after having an adult beverage or two

The support of the "wood" side still has me baffled, it is resting on piers but there isn't a joist or similar structure visible at the pier locations, so they must be hidden beyond the uniform wood appearance that I can see. (I know some pictures will really help!)

[JD]

Your leveling strategy sounds real good to me. As all your piers scoot over you may need to add one more pier per beam to the end you begin on. Also, I believe the corner piers should be double blocked. We use steel adjustable piers so I am not totally up on my concrete blocking info. You can check the level of the wood side and if it seems to be within reason, leaving it alone is an excellent strategy.

We use three 20ton bottle jacks and a tube level. Also, I don't know if waiting a long time between movements will really make much difference. We will often lift parts of homes 2+ inches when leveling.

JMO

JD