Factory built homes can be confusing for home buyers. There is a significant difference between a modular style home and a manufactured style home. The both are built in a factory but they use totally different standards. Inspecting a modular or manufactured home is similar to inspecting a conventional stick-built home excluding the foundation. It is important that your home inspector understands the differences between the different installation and construction methods. Foundation Certifications and Code Inspections are beyond the scope of a home inspection but your home inspector should be able to explain to you how the home's structure is secured to the ground.
Manufactured / Mobile Homes
Manufactured / Mobile homes are built on permanent metal chassis and transported to the site and remains part of the structure. This permanent steel chassis cannot be removed without affecting the structural integrity of the home. These homes are build to Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Code under 24 CFR 3280 standards and are exempt from State and Local Codes excluding their installation (see below). Some indicators of a manufactured home are:
- Transportable in one or more sections.
- Between 11'-4" and 16'-0" in width in transport mode.
- Minimum 400 sf. in area for a single section unit.
- Exterior wall height of 7'-6" or 8'-0" from top of wall to foundation.
- Built on permanent chassis with minimum distance between main chassis
- Chassis beams 10” deep for 12’ and 14’ nominal unit widths, and 12” deep for 16’ nominal unit width.
- Roof slope varies from a minimum 1/2:12 to a maximum 4.4:12 (20°).
- Set on permanent foundation of piers, or of continuous, cast-in-place concrete, concrete-block masonry, all-weather wood, or other approved systems.
- Double width units are assumed connected to behave structurally as a single box.
- A permanently attached HUD label fixed to each section.
These homes can be set on many different types of foundations. Some of which can be slab-on-grade, blocks, wood foundations, crawl spaces, basements. In all cases, there needs to be a permanent method of attachment of the home to the ground. In fact, Government backed mortgages like FHA and VA loans require a certificate of a permanent foundation by a licensed engineer.
In Wisconsin, The statutory definition for a manufactured home is: A structure that is designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation and that is certified by the federal department of housing and urban development as complying with the standards established under 42 USC 5401 to 5425. The definition also states that a manufactured home includes a mobile home, unless a mobile home is specifically excluded under the applicable statute. These structures are built to HUD codes. All manufactured homes manufactured on or after April 1, 2007 and installed in Wisconsin shall be installed in conformance with the provisions set forth in this Manufactured Home Installation Manual.
Modular Homes
Modular homes are also built in a factory and transported to the job site. However, these are built to more strict State and Local building codes. The quality of construction is typically a little higher and are not limited to rectangles. Modular homes allow for much larger selection of floor plans including second stories.
The factory environment allows for more precise layout and construction techniques. This is important since as components are assembled at the job site, they need to fit. Modules can be anything from a whole side of a home, down to a bathroom or kitchen, or even down to individual wall panels.
Modular homes do require a data plate listing some very important information including the manufacturer and the date of the building codes that were in effect at the time of manufacture. This data plate is typically found under the kitchen sink, on a wall in the master bedroom closet, or near the service distribution panel.
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