Bad Setup

[Maggie]

Our MH was set on the concrete foundation in Sept. 05, and over the past 2 years, we've had what we thot were settling issues. Specifically, we have several dips in the floor (unlevel areas between the studs), cracks in the ceilings and marriage line, and bowing in the front door frame thru which you can see daylight; these gaps periodically shift to different areas. The toilet in the master bath is also unlevel. The Hardiplank siding also started pulling away on the south side of the house.

The house is located outside Cedar City, Utah and due to the location, the manufacturer extended the warranty deadline for completion of cosmetic repairs and correction of the above issues. When the service techs came in this week, we asked them to evaluate the setup as we had come to the conclusion the house probably needed releveling. We found out that the contractor did not set the house to manufacturer's specifications, as follows:

The marriage line should have been supported by pairs of jacks. The contractor apparently used single jacks and pieces of wood to support both halves.

The house should be supported by the perimeter cinderblock stemwall, and it was never placed on the stemwall. It sits entirely on jacks. As a result, there is a gap of about 6-8" between the stemwall and the house, which is hidden from view by the Hardiplank siding.

Obviously, these issues need to be corrected. The manufacturer's reps took photographs and they think the problems we've been seeing are due to the setup deficiencies. The question is how can we get the contractor to correct these things without ending up in court? The contractor no longer sells homes built by our manufacturer, so presumably there is no leverage there. We had problems getting the contractor to finish the work to begin with so we expect they will not be amenable to correcting the setup, and we have no faith in the contractor licensing board.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanx!

Maggie

[rmurray]

Sounds like you are a victim of the he said..she said circle of blame..Unfortunately this is common in the industry...I sometime wonder if factory rep training consists solely of "BLAME the dealer and/or blame the set crew" classes.Never take responsibility..never admit fault classes and foul up anything you fix classes...Fortunately things have been getting better in this regard in the last few years...The set crew IS responsible to set the home EXACTLY to the specs in the set up manual..You can and should file a complaint with your states agency that administers the HUD code...The state inspector will come and look for HUD code violations...if he finds any he will order the responsible party to correct them in a timely manner....He has the power to fine them and/or revoke their license to do business if they ignore him....Your state's agency contact is:




Mr. George (Jud) Weiler, Manager
Construction Trades Bureau
Division of Occupational and
Professional Licensing
Department of Commerce
160 E. 300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 530-6628 or 6731
FAX: (801) 530-6511


Sorry the most recent info from HUD is:



How and Where to File a Complaint

Information by State
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Manufactured Housing and Standards: State Administrative Agencies (SAAs)
All residential manufactured homes (mobile homes) must comply with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards. Since June 15, 1976, manufacturers have confirmed compliance with the Standards by attaching a red label to the back of each transportable section of a home produced.

The extent to which HUD can help a homeowner resolve a complaint depends on the seriousness of the problem. In cases where safety-related defects in homes create an unreasonable risk of injury or death to the occupants, manufacturers must correct the defect in a short period. HUD cannot require correction unless the defects were introduced into the home during the manufacturing process. The on-site installation of a manufactured home is not regulated by HUD.

If a problem arises with a manufactured home, the first contact should be the retailer. Most problems can be eliminated quickly. If the retailer cannot help, the second contact should be the manufacturer. Manufacturers, for the most part, are quick to respond to consumers.

It is important to put a complaint in writing. Also, make a copy to keep with your records. The letter should include the serial number of the home with a list of the problems. List any known factors that contributed to the problem. Also list any secondary issues related to the problem.

If the retailer and the manufacturer do not resolve your concerns, there are offices within most state governments with staff that are knowledgeable about manufactured housing construction and related issues. There are 37 States participating with HUD in a State and Federal partnership to regulate and enforce the Federal manufactured housing program in their state. Many state governments regulate all, or part, of the manufactured housing industry in the state. Some areas that may be regulated in your state are retailers, transporters and installers.

To find the contact for your state, use the table below and click on your state's abbreviation.





UTAH
Daniel S. Jones, Director
Construction Trades Bureau
Div. of Occupational & Professional Licensing
Department of Commerce
P.O. Box 146741
160 E. 300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-6741
PH: (801) 530-6720
FAX: (801) 530-6511

You might want to reasd the Consumer FAQ section of this web site:

http://www.ibts.org/manufactured_housing.htm
I doubt that you can take this guy to court... Most dealers and ALL manufacturers have arbitration policies which you would have signed somewhere in the pile of forms at your closing when you bought the home..You might want to get legal advice on the process in Utah.

[Maggie]

Thank you so much for your response. Since learning about the setup problems on Friday, we've been trying to research governing code for setup. It appears that HUD was mandated with a directive to review and update MH installation and setup procedures by December 2005, but unfortunately we've yet to find if and when they met that deadline.

Again, thank you for the information, and for the time you spend in helping others.

Maggie

[mannymanbo2]

As of today, the HUD installation program is still about 1 year from taking place. And when it does, it won't help much as manufacturers wrote the installation program and all it will do is blame the installer.
It is possible that Utah has their own installation program, independent of HUD. If not, you are stuck.