Re-leveling and Tie Down Procedures

We can recommend someone to help with your re-leveling to your existing manufactured home. Our Texas Soils and soft rock that tend to swell or shrink due to changes in moisture content are commonly known as expansive soils. Changes in soil volume present a hazard primarily to structures built on top of expansive soils. Probably the greatest amount of manufactured home damage has been impacted those installed when clays were dry, such as during a drought, followed by soaking rains that prompt swelling of clays. Other reported cases of damage involve volume increases due to moisture from broken or leaking water and sewer lines, watering of lawns and shrubbery, and modification of the surface that produce ponding.

Common symptoms of an un-level manufactured home usually appears in door and/or windows getting stuck. Doors that swing open or closed. Uneven floors is also a good indication or paneling or ceiling sheets overlapping. A re-level may be in order.

In addition to the re-level, we can recommend someone to  perform a 32 point inspection to your home. We will cover everything on your home including base pads and piers, utilities and their connections, heat ducts, insulation barriers, floor squeaks, integrity of exterior components such as siding, roofing, windows, steps. A complete evaluation will be provided and a recommendation for repairs, if any, estimated.

If you are attempting to get a home loan, we can bring your manufactured home's tie-down and anchoring up to the new state specifications, so you can satisfy the tie-down requirements for the loan. By law, the state of Texas requires that only installers may install manufactured home, whether  the homes are new or pre-owned. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs publishes a comprehensive, illustrated online guide that details all of the mandated installation requirements. The anchoring and tie-down system is of critical importance, since this is what protects the home from moving in strong wings. 

Specifications for Tie-down Materials

Straps used for tide-downs must be Type 1 and Grade 1 steel, with "B" finish and be 0.035 inches thick by 1.25 inches wide. Straps are to conform with American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Specification D-3953-91 and be certified by a  professional architect or engineer. Such certification must be marked every five feet, a minimum, along the strapping. Ties must provided less than 2 percent elongation based on working load (3,150 pounds) and overload (50 percent, or 4,725 pounds). Ties are to be whether resistant to at least the degree offered by zinc-coated (0.0005 inches in thickness) steal, which is a minimum of 0.30 ounces per square foot per side. Zinc coating is not required on cut edges or slits. 

If you currently own a manufactured home and want to make sure it is properly anchored before the next hurricane strikes, call us and we can recommend someone  of your tie-downs, and replace or install additional tie-downs if necessary. We can recommend someone to look at your tie-down anchoring for all homeowners on request - and provide FREE tie-down and anchoring inspections.