Settle this dispute: H.I. vs. builder

[cceccarelli]

Here's the deal. Manufactured home (i.e. mobile home) on a 9.5 ft tall, 60 ft. long block wall foundation. The front wall is leaning and shifted inward.

Look at the photos of how the home is secured to the foundation.

Just for point of reference, the wood sill plate is secured to the mobile home with screws attaching it the the steel frame. The wood is attached to the block foundation with anchors set in mortar filled into the hollow of the block. The anchor is attached to a strap that is loosely wrapped around the sill and fastened with screws (like decking screws?) and a few random nails.

What is your take on this.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Originally Posted by cceccarelli

The front wall is leaning and shifted inward.

If the foundation wall has truly shifted and is leaning inward, a recommendation for further structural review is warranted. Strapping and attachment to the foundation wall would be secondary in concern to other observations reportedly made.

[cceccarelli]

Just so you know, in my report I did refer this whole situation to a structural engineer.

There's more to the story than I told though.

The owner called the company that set the home on the foundation. The mobile home setting company said they fastened the home to the foundation to Michigan code.

Michigan code or not, what's your take on the method and workmanship they used.

[rdawes]

Originally Posted by cceccarelli

The mobile home setting company said they fastened the home to the foundation to Michigan code.

So did they comply with these?

See Sections 6 and 7 in this:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dl...k_145096_7.pdf

See Part 6 in this:
http://www.state.mi.us/orr/emi/admin...Dpt=CI&RngHigh=

Approved tiedown assemblies
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dl...s_137165_7.pdf

[cceccarelli]

Ron,

I reviewed the documents you referenced. They're not descriptive enough to use. The document references back to local code and the manufacturer instruction for tie downs.

The strap for this home was fastened with decking screws and wasn't wrapped tightly. Screws don't have much shear force strength. I think the strap should have been wrapped tight around the wood sill and fastened with sufficent sized nails.

[rdawes]

There is no way that installation is an approved manufacturer installation. There is no way that they used one of the approved tiedown systems in the list. Let them prove that one or both of those statements are false.

[David A. Andersen]

The mobile home setting company said they fastened the home to the foundation to Michigan code.

Yea, but did it pass a code inspection?