I been asked to fasten down a mobile home on to ( I think about a 6″) concrete pad. There is a dollar saving per year on insurance ( $300) if it is securely fastened to a foundation. I am thinking anchoring with epoxy / some sort of strapping . I been looking at systems on the net and was wondering who here has any experience with mobile homes. We don’t get any earth quakes and tornadoes are not common eather.
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The appropriate Hilti bolt epoxied in place should do the trick.
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I would call your local building department and ask.
In coastal florida, a "pad" is not an "anchor" unless it has perimeter steel (two #5s continuous) in a 12x12" concrete ring around it.
In a serious uplift the Hilti might just come out, maybe with a little chunk of concrete on it.
They do allow those screw in the dirt anchors on something like an 8' spacing around the mobile.
Yes, ask your local AHJ
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Piffin has it right...contact your insurance carrier and ask them what they will qualify as sufficient anchoring equipment. Also, tie down of mobile homes is common, especially in wind locations, so there's got to be some approved means of construction on file, trot on down to building dept. and get typical approved method and get a permit. Follow those instructions and get it inspected...this should more then satisfy your insurance carrier.
Don't just make it up based on suggestions here or anywhere else, talk to your local building authority. Anything else is running the risk of not passing with either the local building authority or your insurance company or both. Worst case is you could be going through a lot of work and expense for nothing but self satisfaction and a headache.
Look over the prior post "county code dilemma" and you'll discover that one of the problems is likely traceable back to the following: no permit to begin with, no stamped and engineer approved plans, no approved method of building and little or no coordination between local building dept. and the builder (homeowner). Don't let that happen to you!
Edited 8/3/2009 1:05 pm by woodway
As others have said, there are approved methods of doing this (and any method not approved by the local inspector is not likely to get you the discount.)
Here near coastal N Carolina, the approved method involves either an approved foundation (as someone already said) or auger-type anchors that extend a specified depth into the ground (depth varies by county).
The augers, in general, won't work in an area with a frost line. And they usually can't be set without big power tools (think an auger driver on a tractor PTO). The tops of the augers are then fastened to the frame of the home using approved fasteners.
Try this company. Not sure you can purchase directly.
http://www.minutemanproducts.com/
Kevin
This is my favorite system for anchoring mobile homes.
http://www.anchorpanel.com
http://www.anchorpanel.com/
If I am understanding your post correctly you may have to cut and remove some of the concrete in the pad in order to pour the footing for the anchor panel but having a concrete crawl space under the mobile home is a dream for anybody who has to get under there and work in the future.
If I was specing an installation process that is exactly how I would do it,
pour initial pad to the correct dimension, about 1 foot smaller than width and length of mobile home with a keyway and waterstop,
then move in home and install and pour anchor panels, then spray foam insulation for conditioned crawlspace.
For our construction trailers we use special metal straps that are made for that. They come with a special mechnism that is used to tighten the strap once the ground end and the trailer end is anchored. Not sure if if this applicable to actual mobile homes, but OTOH I'm guessing there isn't a lot of money in this job...
Thanks everyone. It was local insurance broker who contacted me and suggested me to client . We have no building code in the municipality just a " zoneing " bylaw. ( Municipality doesn't want to hire a building inspector !!) I have just seen pictures of the home already leveled on the pad. I call the cleint this week and go out and look. I am busy enough and don't really need the work . But it's another challenge and could make some good $$$ and excuse to buy rotary hammer !
I use these to tie down houses.
http://www.tiedown.com/dblocks.html
In Colorado you must be certified by the state to install tie downs or have the job inspected by the state.
A rotary hammer may be too fast and not have enough torque to install anchors. The big expensive tools that they sell to install anchors turn about 10 rpm. Any more than that can hurt you.
Be careful