Can you keep heavy items in a mobile home?

[MMI]

I have a spinet piano and also a pretty heavy computer desk. Can they safely be put into a mobile home without causing flooring problems? Would it be necessary to install something additional under them?

Also, although the word "mobile" home implies that they can be moved. But just how mobile are they really? It looks to me like the more often you move them, the greater potential there is to damage them.

[David Oxhandler]

I have had a piano in my manufactured home for years.

Your mobile home floor is capable of handling any normal household item Normally, you will have 3/4" or 5/8" floor decking on 2 X 6 floor joists, very similar to most stick built homes. If, however water damage exists in any framed floor system, any weight at all could break through the decking boards. Typically, water damage will occur under windows, doors and around bathroom fixtures. Check the floor boards wherever you intend to place heavy furnishings.

The minimum uniform design load for your home (built after 1978) is probably 40 lbs/sq ft with a min. 200-pound concentrated load on a one-inch diameter disc. (HUD Code Sec. 3280.305)

You can have an AVERAGE of 40 pounds (live weight) per sq foot. So your answer depends on how much other live weight you add to the floor system. An upright piano weight is about 450 pounds. As long as your not filling the room with pianos I don't think you will have any problem. My son had a huge gun safe in his MH closet for years without incident. That safe was quiet heavy and wrecked my appliance dolly when we moved it out.


I have relocated a few hundred homes over the years. There is always a greater chance of damage when a home is being moved, jacked and leveled to install it, then when it is sitting in one spot.

Mobile homes have over years, become more and more permanent structures, designed to be moved once, installed and then stay put. That is not to say that a new home cant be relocated, even a number of times if it is handled property.

Moving will almost always cause cosmetic damage. If the home is prepped and handled, correctly for the move there should never be structural damage.

All states now require MH installers to be licensed which has contributed greatly to the upgraded quality, perception and durability of our homes. As a result if you use the same installer to take down the home and re-install the home, his license and bond are on the line, to protect your interests. It is always good to know the professional details of anyone doing work on any home you own (license, bond info etc...)


If you are paying to relocate a manufactured home find several licensed contractors and get competitive, itemized prices. Most bids will be close in price...Watch out for the highest and lowest bids.. Most times if one bid is much higher you may be paying for someone who thinks he is better and worth more or you may have a bidder that is trying to get more than the local market commands. The lowest bid most often has left out part of the job and its cost and will try to get you later.


Be an educated consumer and be sure things are done right. Get The MH Releveling Kit from Aberdeen Repair

use these instructions and the enclosed waterline level to determine whether or not your home is out of level. Or you can simply use this information to become a better-informed consumer and give yourself the upper hand when it comes to hiring a contractor to do the job.

The detailed instructions will show you how to the following should be done correctly:

learn the causes of why your home becomes out of level - the single greatest cause for problems with manufactured homes
learn how to set-up, calibrate and read a waterline level
determine where your home is unlevel and by how much
learn what to watch-out for before, during and after releveling your home
learn proper jack placement
learn how to safely jack-up your home

Best of luck in your adventure

[stekow1111]

I am only guessing as I am a first time mh buyer this comming spring But I would think you could put anything into amh that you would put into a regular house. Besides, It would help as an anchor peice in a hurricane. Haa

The word Mobile apply to the homes ability to be uprooted from one location and moved to anther on a flatbed truk. But a move like that costs 5000-10000 dollars. basicly because of labor to disconnect otitilities and tiedowns. jack the home up. get the flatbed under it, secure it to the flatbed. new site prep, transporting the home to the site,install the home on the new site, getting nessasary permits. actual tranportain of home cost is charged by the mileage fro one site to the other.

Hope this helps.

Jerry

[David Oxhandler]

Mobile/manufactured homes are constructed on a truck-like steel frame. Wheels and axles are attached in the factory. Wheels and axles are removed after installation and can be re-installed for moving the home again. The steel frame remains in place under the wood framed home, as part of he foundation system, when the home is installed.

Modular home sections are transported on flat beds and removed and set on a foundation with a crane.


Relocation costs can be very different in various parts of the country. Much depends on the site soil type. here in Florida, for a double section manufactured home relocation costs are towards the lower end of your 5-10k range. Modular relocation will most often be higher than your range.



Before you get committed to a used home. If you have the ability to contract for your own installation you may be able to afford a brand new home... warranty and all... from public wholesale dealers across the country that you can find on our Home Finder Map

[MMI]

Thanks bunches, David and Jerry!

The cosmetic damages you mentioned--what might they tend to be? How easily fixable might these cosmetic problems tend to be? I take it they are unsightly although would not cause any dangerous problems.

[David Oxhandler]

Cosmetic = paint, carpet, surface conditions. When a home is moved these days there is usually damage to the sheet rock walls. Most of the damages is at the seams between sheet rock panels. most competent installer have the skills to correct this.