OT, Double Wide Homes

My living situation is about to change dramatically and I have some land to build on, want a place fast and inexpensively.

I have been thinking of putting up a double wide manufactured home on a basement...it is less expensive than stick framing and modular by far in my area of upstate NY, can"t put in a single wide manufactured home due to zoning.

My only concern is that do these things hold up reasonably well?

I am looking to avoid moving into an apartment, paying rent, then starting to build next year...and money is kind of tight.

Thanks.

-sal

Don't know about NY, but in Oregon, the codes for manufactured homes are more rigid in some respects than stick frame homes. That is because the state of OR did a study on what happens when they are transported. They discovered that the shaking during the travel was equivalent to a 6.0 earthquake! So, now, manf. homes in Oregon have to be built to withstand a 6.0 quake. That means 2x6 construction and a lot of other things!

P

George Willer... retired quality home builder.

Another neighbor built a pole barn with his dad's help and moved into it. They even poured their own slab floor!

I wish I had thought of it when I started on my house 9 years ago. One tip: Finish the inside BEFORE you move in! I didn't, and i'm still looking at bare floors and unfinshed sheet rock in places. Heck, there's still studs showing in the master bedroom closet!! (I hate drywall work!)

Advantage of the mobile is you can live in it the day it gets set up. Pole building will take a little while. Disadvantage of the mobile is that it will depreciate rapidly. Pole building SHOULD appreciate in value over time. Pole building is more versitle - you can custom design the interior to your wants and needs.

Just my $.02 worth,

OK-AL

The doors, both interior and exterior are made to a standard that is not the same as stick built. The water heater is a special and must be replaced using a special $475 unit when it goes bad. The furnace is also special and is located on the main living floor and they are noisy. The drywall is special and has a lot of filler, probably ground up newspaper to make it light weight for hauling. The walls do not have normal sized studs and the wood that is in the walls is not placed on 16 inch centers like a stick built but rather they are located willy-nilly close to where they need the support. The countertops are not the normal depth but instead shallow and require a special narrow sink. The plumbing is PEX or something similar. The floors seem to be pretty solid and have not required any special maintenance. The wiring is the absolute minimum to get by. The vinyl siding is the absolute minimum recycled stuff and fades easily. The Coleman/York furnace almost burned through the drywall and had to be replaced. If you are in a cold climate the pipes have to be insulated and heated to keep from freezing. Working under these homes is definitely not any fun unless it is set on a decent crawl space or basement. The molding or factory trim on the inside will have to torn off and discarded and then replaced using a decent product as the stuff from the factory is cut with a hatchet and will have overlap and ragged edges and also put on with a billion 18 gage nails. Windows are the cheapest and will have failed double pane seals.

My advice if you are thinking of one of these is to buy a used one cheap from a manufactured home community and move it to your location. A modular home is built to the same standard as a stick built. It has all standard sized components such as furnace, water heater, windows, doors, and kitchen cabinets.

A better way to go would be to buy a modular home and have the local representative do all the legwork of permits and contractor scheduling for basement and well and any other service required.

An even better solution would be to put up a panelized home. These seem to be better built than a stick built home and offer all of the amenities of the finest stick built.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

everything you say is true.

My favorite thing you mention is the PEX and the "working underneath" parts.

I was in Kentucky while doing a whirlwind inventory and repo check of the eastern district and was underneath a DW inspecting damage and to get a frame serial number.

I was poking at what was water bulging in the insulation blanket and stuck it with a knife....the next bulg i poked at was a nest of RATLESNAKES !!!!

I will never forget how fast i got out from under that DW..

IF you do not buy something that is built nicely it will fall apart on you.

I would personally contract a home myself and try to save money that way. You can always add onto a smaller house.....almost impossible to do with a DW

Ours was built up north and has the 6 in outer walls packed with insulation and is quite and easy to heat and cool.

Would I buy another one? Yet,, if this one ever burns or blows away, but hey! Any house can suffer that same thing.

The biggest draw back in my opion on mobile homes or what ever you call them is the cheap board they bout down as flooring. My nieghbor ripped all his out, one room at a time and liad in marine grade plywood and sealed it and then recarptered it.

So, go ahead, buy a name brand and plan on living in it...

Both my parents and my mom and dad in-law have double wides. My in-laws live in NW Oklahoma (tornado country)and have had their DW for a little over 10 years. [They] put brick around the bottom with access doors and the DW looks like a stick built home. Other than having cheap carpet the DW has held up well. My parents have only had theirs for 3 years but it is fairing well.

Safety & blue skies,

DJ

I used to work for Ford Finance 15 years ago and we financed all types of modular homes. There are numerous differences in the manufacturers.

I would spend a few extra bucks and go with real drywall in the house.

I would look for a home with better windows...thicker vinyl siding....and make sure you get underneath and see what the flooring joist are made of.

Too often you will buy one of these units and they are inexpensive and then 10 years down the road you have sagging floors...roofing that will fall apart...and walls you cannot paint. Another thing to think about is plumbing. See what you are getting into. Cheap price will get you leaks and problems and the nicer home will provide you with trouble free living.

I am a little intimidated about building stick built on my own and time is a factor for me...especially since I really want to avoid paying rent.

However, I don"t want this thing falling in 15 years down the road.

I have also looked at putting up a pole building with a heated slab floor...it looks very economical and they are built well...at leat by the company"s I am looking at...and they meet code for insulation and snow load...and the insulated shell with windows goes up fast and I would be weather tight in a week...then wire, plumb and finish evenings and weekends.

...any thoughts on the pole building idea???

thanks again!

-Sal

steveormary