HTML Preview Manufactured Home Inspection Checklist page number 1.
Nearly eight percent of the
U.S. population lives in a
manufactured home ,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and many of those
homes were built before wind standards were improved in
1994. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
(IBHS) developed this checklist to help residents gauge how
vulnerable their home might be to wind damage, based on
where it’s located, how well it’s anchored, and what type of
foundation was used.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Never try to ride out a hurricane or tornado inside a
manufactured home. Even manufactured homes with tie-
downs overturn in these storms because they have light frames
and oer winds a large surface area to push against. Their
exteriors are also vulnerable to high winds and wind-borne
debris. From 2006 to 2011, 31 percent of the 823 people killed
in tornadoes in the U.S.died while in or eeing from mobile
homes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. The National Severe Storm Center has found
that occupants of such dwellings are 10 to 20 times more likely
to be killed in tornadoes than those in conventional homes.
If you’re considering buying a new manufactured home, pay
close attention to the year of construction. Purchase the latest
model with the highest HUD Wind Zone Rating you can aord.
ABOUT HUD WIND ZONE
RATINGS I, II AND III
If your home was built before June 1976, then there were
no universal standards in place and your home is likely quite
vulnerable to damage in a severe windstorm or hurricane.
Between June 1976 and July 1994 manufactured housing was
built to a single HUD standard regardless of where it was to be
sited. While these homes (especially the double-wide units)
typically perform better in high wind events than the pre-1976
homes, they are not nearly as wind resistant as the HUD Wind
Zone II and Wind Zone III homes built after July 1994.
Since July 1994, each newly constructed manufactured home
has been required to comply with the Manufactured Home
Construction and Safety Standards, commonly called the HUD
Code. The HUD Code stipulates the home shall be designed
and constructed to conform to one of three wind load zones.
The appropriate wind zone used in design is dependent upon
where the home will be initially installed. Homes designed and
constructed to HUD Wind Zone I cannot be installed in a higher
wind zone.
• HUD Wind Zone I = 70 mph basic wind speed
• HUD Wind Zone II = 100 mph basic wind speed
• HUD Wind Zone III = 110 mph basic wind speed
If you are purchasing a new manufactured home, have
it installed on a permanent foundation. If a permanent
foundation is not feasible, the latest anchorage
recommendations for HUD Wind Zone III should be used for
maximum resistance against uplift and overturning forces.
If you own one of the older homes or a HUD Wind Zone I
home, the structure of the home is vulnerable to damage in
a severe wind event and strengthening of that structure is
dicult to accomplish. However, the following checklist may
help you better assess the level of vulnerability that exists
and the actions listed below may help to reduce the overall
vulnerability of the home and will hopefully improve the
chances that the home will still be there when you return after
the event.
The following is a list of items to inspect with regards to site
characteristics, foundation requirements, and anchoring
requirements for an existing manufactured home.
Manufactured Home Inspection Checklist
Map courtesy U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Where building safety research leads to real-world solutions.