Two Story Manufacured Home?

[CANative]

You're going off track, Terrel. And IMO this is something that bears more thought. Factory built houses are engineered and when they get holes cut in them, sawed in half and welded back together they can be dangerous or suffer from pre-mature failure. Heck, I know most appraisers get away with lot of things and most of the time nothing bad happens to them.

I was just saying...

FWIW, HUD is even stricter on this and has better documentation.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

You're going off track,

S'plain please. No local law or code applies. No secondary market involved. Value of property was basically the land + a metal shop building. It's garbage as a dwelling but apparently she is still living there after ten years. People live in barns, old diary parlors, hog houses, and chicken coops. And community banks lend on them all. And no one requires them to move or get engineering approvals...only in town would the city inspector approve a COO...the county only approves septic tanks.

 

[CANative]

I didn't mean to insult you Terrel. I posted what I posted not to chide you or tell you what to do. Fannie, FHA, VA, USDA, Freddie all have these requirements for a reason and the reason is a legitimate one. Especially out in cow town USA where you work and I work. When you change the structural engineering of an engineered building the result can eventually lead to failure of the structure or harm to any occupants. Even on a private appraisal I would describe the issue.

 

[Mr Rex]

I recently did a Home Inspection on a modified doublewide (no permits) and the addition was simply nailed to the band of the existing doublewide with no additional support. They had also cut a large opening in the wall to allow for a "eat in" kitchen counter that extended over into the new addition. When I crawled under the house, the block pier nearest the enlarged opening was crushed. The seller had me do an inspection on the house next door that he is buying and said the previous inspector made no mention of the structural issues with the addition or the need to have a structural engineer check it out. Apparently the appraiser didn't either, if there was one I dunno they may have paid cash.

The problem with additions to HUD code homes (and on frame mods) is that the outer band is cantilevered with the main frame +/-2-3 feet in from the band. Conventional construction typically allows only 2 feet of cantilever and no added loads to the cantilever.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

In the one above, I doubt any one of the 3 were even HUD code (pre-76) and yes structurally they were the pits. When I first went to work in the oil patch, I spent 2 weeks learning how these "logging units" were constructed and watched, did, or helped do everything from building walls to building instruments and calibrating them. Even when they are designed heavy duty, they take a beating. When I went to work for another firm, they put instruments in a regular RV trailer and the first trip with one arrived on site with a gap between the wall and the floor of about 4" as it came apart.

A buddy who worked at a MH builder told me that all the injuries were from falling thru the roof and they used an old fashion round 12# maul to punch a hole in the floor for the dryer vent.

I found an interior pix of this little jewel and for me, the structural part was a cakewalk compared to the potential fire hazard. I don't think I could have slept there a night. But poor people have poor ways... The shop building OTOH, was really quite good and I'd rather insulate it and live there than in this thing.

 

[spittman]

This one gave me a good chuckle...