Thread: Roof system in modular home

I did an inspection yesterday on a new modular home.
The owners hired me because after being in the home for less than a month, they are already seeing things that concern them.

While doing the inspection, I found things that concern me.

First, I wanted to show some pics of the roof system to find out if this is standard or a screw up.

The first and second pics show what appears to be straps that once held braces that have been removed. This may be from transporting the unit to the site but thats what I need to figure out.

The third, fourth, and fith pics show some of the framing.
The sheathing has a gap along the entire lenth of the roof over the bird mouth. This may be due to a swing out roof. If so, does it look right?

Does anyone see anything that would be a concern?

I will be posting other items in other sections about this house like an unfinished chase, cracks in the ceilings at the marriage lines as well as gaps at the marriage line in the crawlspace, and horizontal gaps in the trim throughout the entire house.

By the way, the manufacturer said this is all normal.

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Wes,
There are a couple of modular home dealers in this area, they claim that the homes are far superior to site built homes because of the controlled conditions and supervision of every aspect of construction, blah, blah, blah..... I feel that they are a glorified mobile home, and I have no reason to be biased .

In the first pic the rafters appear to butt the header, or whatever that is suppose to be, without any hangers or fasteners that I can see. The trusses appear to be 2' on center which would require clips for the sheathing. I have also looked at the other thread, and there are a lot of issues there as well.

Here is the problem as I see it. I can speak for York county, I don't know about Florence county, but the AHJ here considers these manufactured homes (sort of). The footing, foundation, electrical service and sewer are subject to local codes, but the building is not, it is considered an "engineered product" so if the manufacture says it is OK there is really not much you can do. I would call the inspector and talk to him (or her), but from talking to the inspectors here they stay as far away as they can for liability reasons.

Originally Posted by chris mcintyre

Here is the problem as I see it. I can speak for York county, I don't know about Florence county, but the AHJ here considers these manufactured homes (sort of). The footing, foundation, electrical service and sewer are subject to local codes, but the building is not, it is considered an "engineered product" so if the manufacture says it is OK there is really not much you can do.

This is why they state that:
- From the 2006 IRC.
- - APPENDIX E
- - - MANUFACTURED HOUSING USED AS DWELLINGS
- - - - SECTION AE101
- - - - - SCOPE
- - - - - - AE101.1 General. These provisions shall be applicable only to a manufactured home used as a single dwelling unit installed on privately owned (nonrental) lots and shall apply to the following:
- - - - - - - 1. Construction, alteration and repair of any foundation system which is necessary to provide for the installation of a manufactured home unit.

- - - - - - - 2. Construction, installation, addition, alteration, repair or maintenance of the building service equipment which is necessary for connecting manufactured homes to water, fuel, or power supplies and sewage systems.
- - - - - - - 3. Alterations, additions or repairs to existing manufactured homes. The construction, alteration, moving, demolition, repair and use of accessory buildings and structures and their building service equipment shall comply with the requirements of the codes adopted by this jurisdiction.
- - - - - - - These provisions shall not be applicable to the design and construction of manufactured homes and shall not be deemed to authorize either modifications or additions to manufactured homes where otherwise prohibited.

- - - - - - - - Exception: In addition to these provisions, new and replacement manufactured homes to be located in flood hazard areas as established in Table R301.2(1) of the International Residential Code shall meet the applicable requirements of Sections R324 of the International Residential Code.

So any idea whats going on in the pics?

Ive been holding off on doing the report until I can get an idea about what to tell the clients.

Wes,

I don't know anything much about manufactured homes, but ... those cut off truss plates look more like "permanent" truss plates than "temporary" plates for shipping and delivery.

All you can do it write it up for the manufacturer's representative to address ... and accept ... in writing ... that puts the trusses on record and the manufacturer cannot come back later and say they were altered by others and are unacceptable and that it is not their problem the roof ... (whatever happened to the roof) ...

Based on what the buyer told me about the manufacturer being un-cooperative, I have a feeling this will end up in court.

Originally Posted by wes owens

I have a feeling this will end up in court.

Based on that feeling alone ... it is time to shift the liability from you to a professional - state everything you can think of which *might not be correct*, then recommend a structural engineer be retained to design appropriate repairs.

If the structural engineer thinks no repairs are necessary, that is their call (not yours) and that is still an "appropriate repair" ... which is what you called for.

Most importantly, though, is that now your client has a professional engineer who says it needs to be repaired, and that will have a much stronger bearing on the outcome than if a home inspector said it needed to be be repaired.

Good idea.

Thanks.

Wes,

the attic insulation may also not be deep enough, depending on the depth of the bottom chord of that truss. It is hard to tell from the pic. There isn't a thermal break of any significance in my opinion at the wooden members to adequately insulate the attic. In my area (Newfoundland) typical minimum practise is to have a minimum of R-31 installed in attic, approximately 8.5".

The trusses may have been piggybacked due to size and shipping limitations and that could be why they all appear to have been joined. The truss manufactures drawings should indicate the proper connection method if you can obtain a copy of them.

In the municipality in which I work there are currently a few of those type homes being constructed. Prior to the release of a building permit I was given a copy of all the engineered drawings for review. Your local municipality may have those drawings if the manufacturer will not provide them.

The truss drawings will also reveal what the removed straps/plates are. If they are not depicted in the drawings then they are probably for shipping purposes.

Aaron

Manufactured Home and Modular Home are often bundled together, by definition a Manufactured Home is a (mobile) home built to the HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (MHC&SS) the term mobile home has been removed and replaced by manufactured home, the term mobile home applies to pre HUD 1976 units.

Manufactured Homes are regulated by HUD and IBTS is the program monitor. Each manufacturer is monitored by a 3rd party inspection agency, for compliamce to the applicable standards under Part 3282 and the manufacturers Design Approval Primary Inspection Agency (DAPIA). The 3rd party is referred to as the IPIA and may be the state where the manufacturing plant is located or an accredited 3rd party inspection agency such as RADCO, NTA, PFS as well as others.Only a few states act as the exclusive IPIA, most states utilize private agencies.The DAPIA approves designs, floor plans, construction methods, the IPIA monitors the manufacturer and IBTS monitors the IPIA.

Federal law does not permit states to regulate construction of manufactured homes per 24 CFR 3282.11 however 3282.12 permits the exclusion of modular homes from this protection.

This is why local AHJ do not inspect the actual structure if it is a Manufactured Home,and only inspect the installation of the unit, now Modulars are a different story, it may be built in a factory but it will have to be built in accordance to the applicable codes in the state it will be shipped into and installed. I am not sure if all states have modular programs that are enforced. But all western states do and each mod or FBB (factory built building) is built to an approved set of engineered plans and reviewed by the state's program. Mods are required to be built and installed as designed and approved and will have an insignia or label applied to the unit or units to verify this.Again some states will monitor the FBB and some will permit an accredited 3rd party monitor, some states have an oversight program and will inspect the unit once it has been set-up.

So... best thing get a copy of the plans, contact the AHJ, someone is accountable for the constuction and set-up of this unit. The pictures of that roof sheathing gap is normal with a hinged truss design,as the roof is shipped sheathed and maybe even shingled, now the size of the gap may not be in conformance and it appears the the straps were plumbers tape used to hold the roof down during transport, but again a set of the approved plans will be of much help and should clear up some of the concerns. I cant imagine any builder/manufacturer not responding to a customers concerns or questions in todays business enviroment.

Originally Posted by Fred C Dobbs

Manufactured Home and Modular Home are often bundled together, by definition a Manufactured Home is a (mobile) home built to the HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (MHC&SS) the term mobile home has been removed and replaced by manufactured home, the term mobile home applies to pre HUD 1976 units.

From the IRC.
- MANUFACTURED HOME. Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is 8 body feet (2438 body mm) or more in width or 40 body feet (12 192 body mm) or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 square feet (30m2) or more, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure that meets all the requirements of this paragraph except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the secretary (HUD) and complies with the standards established under this title. For mobile homes built prior to June 15, 1976, a label certifying compliance to the Standard for Mobile Homes, NFPA 501, in effect at the time of manufacture is required. For the purpose of these provisions, a mobile home shall be considered a manufactured home.