The Manufactured Housing Forums

While talking to a real estate agent today about a small lot for sale, the agent mentioned that she herself lives in a Horton triplewide. I asked her how she likes it and she said the only complaint she had was the settling of the house, and if she had it to do over, she'd have the home set on a concrete slab. How expensive is this and is it really that much better than having the home set on concrete blocks? This agent seemed to think the house was not set correctly by the dealer. Could this be the case or is uneven settling inevitable? And don't site-built houses settle also?

Hello Terry,

Foundation Types: Taken From My Book, (How To Buy A Manufactured Home And Save Thousands)

There are five different ways to set-up or place your manufactured home on your property. For many placing a manufactured home on dirt seems to be the cheapest and fasted method. This was popular a number of years ago, simply scrape off the topsoil and place the home right on the dirt. Cinder blocks were used to support the home and steel skirting was placed around the perimeter of the home. One problem with this particular type of set-up was the dirt would freeze in the winter and warm up in the summer, the home would constantly need to be re-leveled. In milder climates freezing might not be the problem but water could seep under the home and erode away the soil. This would cause the cinder blocks supporting your home to shift and become un-level. In either case this type of set-up has proved to be more costly in the long run. If you’re considering placing your home on dirt most sales centers will not warranty your sheet-rock from cracking. A home placed on dirt will always need to be re-leveled and checked every year.

The second type of set-up or foundation includes using concrete footings; the footings will vary in size and thickness. The manufacturer will include a manual to show you how to determine the size of these footings. The footing will be placed at the load bearing points under the home. (The video series called, “Site Preparation” goes into this in detail. You can order this product on my web site if you’re interested) This type of set-up is far better then just placing your home on dirt but it still has some draw backs. If you want to use concrete or cinder blocks for a perimeter wall you must have a concrete footing around your home to support the wall. Most people that use this set-up just put steel skirting or imitation brick around their home. Pressure treated wood can also be used. I prefer a solid perimeter wall like concrete or cinder blocks and would probably not use this method but everybody is different and in some parts of the country this is acceptable and popular. In addition to following the manufacturer's instructions and complying with local building codes, find out if the lender you’re using has any special requirements for placing your home on a foundation. Some lenders do require certain types of foundations to qualify for the best-interest rates. Be sure your lender and your sales center are on the same page when it pertains to foundations. I would hate to see someone spend thousands of dollars on a particular foundation only to find out it was the wrong one. (Government loans are very fussy about the which type of foundation is used.)

The third type of foundation is called a, “Pit-set” or “Runner System.” With this type of foundation an excavator will dig down below the frost line. Please, check with your local building codes for the depth in your area. Once the excavator has dug out the pit, forms will be set in place. If you are doing the work yourself use a site level, this is a tripod with a level attached to it. Use this to make sure your forms are level. I rented the sight level and put the forms in myself. It was not that difficult but it did take some time making sure everything was level. The concrete foundation thickness may vary depending on which state or county you live in. In Washington State the concrete thickness must be 6” with #4 re-bar for reinforcement. Your sales center will provide you with the foundation drawings, which will usually show the exact length, width and thickness of the concrete. The pit-set foundation is very popular in the Northwest and in many parts of the country. This is the type of foundation I decided on when preparing my site.

The Fourth is a solid concrete slab instead of concrete runners. In either case the support system, cinder blocks or metal piers will be placed on concrete and not dirt.

Hope this helps

Randy Eaton

Your friend is probably right....Horton set up manual REQUIRES poured concrete footings to meet the needs of the soil conditions...If this was done right there would hardly be any settling...They know their homes are very heavy and other footings often are not installed right...

A full slab would be wasteful and unneccessary...The footings cost about $1000 in the areas that you are looking at....