Double Wide Questions

So, they say mobile homes are a little less safe than brick homes built on a slab when it comes to withstanding high winds such as a tornado passing near by (I know, a tornado could take out a brick home if hit directly)

Since double wide mobile homes are pretty nice these days, it seems more cost effective to buy one of these and I like the idea of pouring a slab to set it on so keep it nice and lever for years to come.

My question is.... what can be done to strengthen the double wide to enable it to be able to withstand really high winds?

I saw someplace where a guy had used I-beams like used in steel building frames and he put a roof over the entire double wide mobile home where there was a pretty wide overhang on each, enough to park vehicles under....

And then, he bolted in to the concrete additional I-beams that were flat up against the walls of the double that went5 all the way up to the structure above and bolted in to it.

Do you think this is worth doing to help make the double wide more ridged and stronger to be able to withstand higher winds than it would be able to without all this?

I know putting a roof over the top should help keep the double wide cooler as that would block the sunlight during extreme heat, and I like the idea of having the roof extend way out to prove a place for parking vehicles.

Just curious what the resident structural engineers and wanna be engineers think about doing all this.

I’m far from an expert on the subject, but have looked at them and live in an area where several companies build them.



Here is what I’m told. They are called manufactured housing around here and the simplest design is a double wide and they will build just about any home you can think of as a modular design. With the exception of large vaulted interior spaces. They claim they are stronger than stick framing because to make the trip from the factory to your location and then be put in place over your foundation requires that strength.



I’m sure there are cheaper built units along with high end also.



They do sometimes include car ports and garages that may be stick built at the time of erection of the house.



When I think of slab foundation, I think of the finished floor being the slab and these places come with a finished floor and sit above grade on a footer and wall foundation. If I was going to spend the money on a slab I would spend a little more and have a basement also if the area allowed for one.



As far as strong winds brick homes have the same roof issues as wood homes. We had our shingle roof replaced with a steel roof a few years ago and are happy with it and I often wonder how it would do in a strong wind. In theory we wont have shingles flying off but would the screwed down sheets of steel come off? I don’t know.



The people to ask would be the company that makes them as to special things they can do for high wind areas. Things like anchoring and strapping, sidings, roofing, windows etc.



I remember years ago after a hurricane in Fla they showed new then construction compared to owner built construction of the 50s that survived really well when the new stuff blew down.



As to all the I beam stuff I can’t say if it would help much or not unless it was designed and tested somehow.

I was doing some research and "manufactured homes" are built to some sort of HUB / FEMA building standards and they have Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 standards these homes can be built to with Level 3 being the strongest and able to withstand higher winds than Level 1 and 2.

So, it sounds like Level 3 would be the way to go as those may be build for being along the coastal areas where they may have to endure a hurricane.

I'd probably opt for a crawlspace or basement and have the home hurricane strapped/bolted down to the foundation. The roof structure needs to have hurricane straps and proper nailing on the roof deck. Lose the roof, lose the house. For hurricanes, which don't normally sneak up on us, you'd want to cover the windows with either a temporary OSB cover or have permanent storm shutters added. Four things that will kill a house in a hurricane: flooding, losing the roof due to wind, having a window taken out by flying debris, and trees falling on the house.

Once a window is breached by debris the high winds can blow the house apart. As to flooding, obviously don't build in a flood plain, and if you do (coastal for example) you need to elevate the house handle flood waters with breakaway walls under the house that allow the flood waters to wash under the house without impacting the piling foundation and house above. The area under the house can be used for a garage or storage but shouldn't be improved to living space as it is always at risk of being washed away.

For tornado country, I got nothing, other than to strap the house down and hope that you're not in the direct path.

I've been through a couple of hurricanes in my part of NC, the Raleigh area. We're about 100 miles from the coast so most hit us as a tropical storm. In 1996 Fran hit the Raleigh area as a category 1 hurricane. Most of the damage here was from flooding and trees falling on houses. The housing stock stood up pretty well to a cat 1 storm. We lost a 90' pine tree in our front yard. Fortunately, it fell parallel to the house and only hit the ground. Our tree snapped off about 9' above the ground. Many came out a the roots. It had been a wet week before the storm and the ground was already saturated before Fran dumped a foot of rain on us. The saturated ground with high winds were enough to take out hundreds of thousands of trees across the region. Maybe millions, there were dozens taken out in our neighborhood alone. And several homes were damaged by falling trees.

I thought the OP was talking mobile home.

I am... these are all good ideas to keep in mind

Eddie_T said:

I thought the OP was talking mobile home.

Click to expand...

The industry really, really, really hates the term mobile home. They really aren't mobile, especially as a double wide. Once these manufactured homes (industry preferred term) are set they can rarely be moved, even for single wide units. Once they reach end of useful like they normally have to be demolished in place and trucked away.

A double wide, in my view looks more like a long ranch house with a low pitched shingled roof. These can be set on any number of foundations from piers to a full on basement. Once connected together they aren't moving again without great difficulty. Stepping up, size wise, from a double wide you have modular homes that can be multifloored homes built of preassemble boxes that are craned into place on a permanent foundation and look very much like a stick built home once completed. They arrive on site largely completed.

Typical doublewide: Google Image Result for https://downeasthomesnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Platinum-3-bedroom-320x202.jpg
Modular homes; modular homes - Google Search


A dealers website talking about the differences. Clayton Homes Modular v Mobile v Manufactured

All things considered, the double wide manufactured homes seem to be the most cost effective (most bang for the buck!)

I've been looking at the different brands and some of these look really nice and have all the features of a custom built home.

I was just thinking of ways to make one of these more resistant to high winds during setup and after setup.

I have a vacation double wide mobile, on a lake that sustains high winds. They recommended installing 12 concrete piers dug down a few feet, then installing 3/8" cable to all 12 points of the mobile, including cross tying the cable for redundant support. Of course, the $18K price seemed ridiculous, since my insurance would give me a new mobile if it ever blew away.

They have steel rods that can be used that's supposed to be even stronger than cable.

When the concrete piers, the anchors for the steel rods are embedded in to the concrete somehow.

I guess you;d use rebar to make the concrete piers as ridged as possible.

I would want extra strength cause all my stuff will be in there so for me it's not like a vacation home that doesn't have all your earthly possessions inside.

I may also compare pricing between a double wide manufactured house versus building a metal building which of course has to be framed out inside with all the goodies that are already included in the double wide.

I just know they need to be tied down. At the strapping points that has a band that goes around a singlewide, but they must have something similar for double wides. I know my single wide has the metal bands about every 12 - 15 feet down each side. Then the stakes go in at an angle to make them stronger.

Yes, the doubles are exactly the same with metal tie down straps all the way around each of the two sections.

In addition to that.... one can also get kits that bolt on to the I-beam that can be anchored to the concrete piers for even more strength to hold each side down

I've watched some of the videos on U-tube from guys that setup mobile homes for a living and this is what they recommend for maximum strength in addition to building a load bearing wall around the outer edges.

All this should make the double wide more secure than a regular house that is built on pier and bean. Lots of those out there and are considered to be normal homes

My bad, I hadn't kept up with the times. I call them mfg homes. I thought double wides and single wides were mobile homes as seen in trailer parks.

manufactured homes ARE mobile homes cause.... they're mobile as in they are built on a frame that has wheels and a big truck pulls it our on the highway to where it's going to be setup at.

Maybe the best way to describe them is manufactured homes that are mobile.

I've run across numerous folks that get all upset when I say "mobile home" so I ask them if it's going to be constructed on the home site, or hauled to the home site by truck.

When they say it'll be hauled there by truck, I can then reply and say... then it's a home that is mobile!

I think it's kinda funny when people get a stick up they crawl just because someone says some a little different then they do.

When I run across people like this, I usually have some fun with it be continually calling it whatever they say I shouldn't call it... just to mess with them cause they are trying to control the speech of others which is something liberals do... always trying to control others

Double wide is what confused me as it implies two widths, single and double. But doesn't width get transposed to depth when it is set in place?

A double wide is... 2 separate single wides that are designed to be bolted together to make one larger home.

It's like 2 singles wides doing the wild thang and becoming one large home

So the width (depth) is just two sizes, 8' or 16'?

As a general rule, both sections are the same size.

They do have triple wide mobile homes too and some of them get up in to 2500 square feet and above.

Typically on the inside they can hide the seams pretty well on walls and ceilings but that's not so easy to do with the floors

Even if they hide the seam on the floor, most people will be able to tell where the seam inb the floor is.

On walls and ceilings, seams can be easily covered with decorative molding so you can tell.

I remember years ago, I was doing a police safety meeting for about 100 blue hairs in a mobile home park in our city. I made the mistake of calling their homes trailers, and damned I thought the canes were going to be thrown in my direction. In theory, if you add tires to their axles, you could tow them.

I know, it's hilarious how some folks get all bent out of shape if you call them mobile homes or trailers.

Yeah, anything on wheels that can be towed down the road by a truck... is a trailer!

Glad you didn't end up having to pull the old taser out and let 'em have it!