Since mobile homes are lighter compared to traditional homes and a bit elevated from the ground, they require special protection. They need to be permanently attached to the ground using the correct tie downs. Not having proper protection will damage your mobile home and pose safety issues, especially during storms or hurricanes. Mobile homes need to be properly anchored to the ground to withstand possible calamities. That’s why the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) imposes some tie down requirements every mobile home must follow.
To prevent intense winds and hurricanes from blowing your house away, the HUD enforces regulations to maintain mobile home tie-down requirements.
In this post, I’ll show you what the requirements for mobile home tie-downs are.
Let’s dive in.
Mobile Home Tie-Down Requirements
Mobile homes have more risk of getting severely damaged during calamities compared to traditional homes because of their weight. The wind can also flow underneath their crawl space, lifting them up. To prevent anything that can compromise the safety of the residents, the state provides some requirements.
Now, let’s take a look at those requirements.
Follow The Manufacturers Guidelines
Mobile home manufacturers provide a guideline book to the owner of the home. Whenever the owner wants to make changes or repairs to the home, they need to follow the manufacturer’s guideline book.
These guidelines have the standards listed for the tie-down requirements for the specific mobile home models.
Follow HUD Guidelines
Every state has specific requirements and standards for mobile home tiedowns. Due to different locations having different types of soil, wind, and other components.
Here are the guidelines on tie down requirements for mobile homes in Georgia:
The Wind Zone
Understanding wind zone parameters are very important to implementing tie-down requirements. The wind zone is where your home is located. Take a look at your home’s data plate to find out your home’s wind zone.
For wind zone 1, a vertical wall tie is required at each anchor. For wind zone 2 and 3 then the mobile home is designed to be installed 1500 feet away from the coastline.
Pier Requirements
Mobile homes in Georgia have specific requirements on piers. All the piers need to be set down on solid concrete footings and the footings need to be 16 x 16 x 4 inches.
The piers are required to be constructed of celled concrete in standard eight-inch by eight-inch by sixteen-inch slabs then topped with a solid concrete cap of 8 x 16 x 4 inches and then treated shims need to be driven tight between the cap and the main frame.
The piers need to be centered under every main frame with a ten foot spacing. Ends need to be a maximum of 5 feet from the mobile home.
The Year The Mobile Home Was Built
After the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew, HUD tightened its spacing requirements in the 1990s. Tie-down spacing requirements were set to 5 feet apart from the previous 8 foot requirement.
In addition to that, stabilization braces were also made necessary for double-wide mobile homes. These requirements are made to better protect homes from intense winds.
Older mobile homes usually don’t meet modern standards so, if you’re going to buy an older mobile home, you should call a licensed mobile home engineer to inspect your home. Only home inspectors that are affiliated with an engineering firm can do these inspections.
Even homes built before 1976 are required to meet the revised guidelines from 2009.
Anchor
A Mobile home’s steel frame is attached with diagonal tie-downs. These are fastened by frame anchors. Depending on the type of soil in the location, various frame anchors can be used. For homes that use concrete bases, the frame should also be concrete. Other types of anchors like steel are used for different types of soil like hard clay, rock, soft, and sandy soils. These anchors are designed for various types of soils.
The anchors need to be able to withstand 4,800 pounds per pull in the direction of the tie without fail. They also need to be aligned close to the pier. And the augers need to be of a minimum of 6-inch diameter.
To Wrap It Up
Mobile home tie-down requirements are issued by the state. Go through this article and you won’t fall into any future problems.