Foundations

[Joe Hollinger]

Hi and thanks for offering to help.

My son just bought a really nice repossessed 32 x 80 doublewide mobile home and is now sitting on his lot waiting for a foundation.

He has finally come to prefer having a complete slab under the home with imbedded tiedowns no more than eight feet apart around the perimeter.

My son and I (mostly I) are taking a crash course on how to pour the concrete slab and install the anchors. I have questions that I hope you will answer for me.

How do I figure how much concrete to order?
What type of concrete should I order?
How thick does the slab have to be?
Does the thickness vary at any point(s)?
Should plastic film be placed on the ground under the concrete? How much, how thick, and how are the seams treated?
Wire, rebar, or fiber for strength?
Know of a good website where I can see how to lay out the slab and work the concrete, what tools I'll need, etc.?

Thank you, Joe Hollinger, Eldridge, MO

[Mary Barbary Sure Safe Arizon]

Hi Leanne,
Remember with runners, The important factor is the max weight capacity the stands can hold. With the set up stands, each stand has a 6000 lb weight capacity only and they were not designed to support the home for the life of the home. It is imperative that whatever system you use that it distributes the weight evenly and remember...most homes do not have load bearing perimeter walls which means the weight of the home actually is being supported by whatever system is put along the I beams and the mate line.Good Luck!...Mary

[Jim]

You may be thinking of the Sure Safe system (http://www.suresafe.com/), which comes highly recommended by Randall Eaton (one of the manufactured housing gurus) and is also HUD approved as a permanent foundation. I'm investigating using the system myself, and it looks to me like the best of all worlds. You might want to check it out.

[percy jones]

Where can i find info on setting up concrete runners on a 28x80 CAVALIER DS-5173 doublewide.

[Nathan Hunt]

i am buying a Manufactured house with a VA loan and the VA inspector said that the home must have tie downs installed in accordance with local code. The home has been there for 20 year and is on a concrete slab but does not have the proper tie downs. The home has concrete skirting also, how is a contractor going to install tie down on a already existing concrete slab?