by Home Nation • Published Feb 16th, 2024
The ‘Basic Installation’ of a Mobile home (aka ‘Manufactured Home’, ‘Singlewide’ or ‘Doublewide’) or Modular home is not the entire home installation, but it is the most difficult part of the installation. It is all the ‘heavy lifting’ that can only be done legally by a licensed installer. The homeowner can still save $$ by completing the rest of the installation themselves, or hire other subcontractors to do that work.
Here is what the ‘Basic Installation’ does and does not include:
Single Wide
This includes the ‘Block-Level-Tie’ only. That is supplying and installing the concrete blocking under the steel beams of the home on the owners foundation, leveling the home on that blocking, and anchoring the home down to the ground anchors driven into the ground around the home with steel straps as required by code. This scope of work must be completed by a licensed contractor, homeowners are not permitted to do this themselves. In almost every state even a licensed General Contractor cannot do this work either. This work does NOT include the foundation itself, (as the type and cost of foundation varies widely) nor the skirting or steps, or any other of the following finishes or utility hook ups needed after the home is set.
Doublewide
This includes the ‘Block-Level-Tie’ only. That is supplying and installing the concrete blocking under the steel beams of the home, mating the both halves of the home together onto the owners foundation, leveling the home on that blocking, and anchoring the home down to the ground anchors driven into the ground around the home with steel straps as required by code. This scope of work must be completed by a licensed contractor, homeowners are not permitted to do this themselves. In almost every state even a licensed General Contractor cannot do this work either. This work does NOT include the foundation itself, (as the type and cost of foundation varies widely) nor the skirting or steps, or any other of the following finishes or utility hook ups needed after the home is set.
Modular
This includes the ‘Rough Set’ of both halves of the Modular only. This includes raising the roof, mating the both halves of the home together onto the owners foundation (usually by lifting them with a crane), supplying and installing all materials to anchor the home, and anchoring the home down to the foundation as required by code, and basically ‘drying in’ the home (finishing the roof ridge and the completing the gable ends with OSB but NOT covering them with siding). This does include the crane cost itself, but does not include the foundation itself, (as the type and cost of foundation varies widely) nor any of the interior or exterior finishes or utility hook ups needed after the home is set. Unlike a mobile home, any individual homeowner, or licensed General Contractors can do this work, although we do not recommend that homeowners attempt this scope of work.
