Manufactured, or Mobile Homes, are a special category for inspections. Manufactured homes are not built to the same standards as a normal home. The do have standards, but they are not governed by the building code, they are governed by the Canadian Standards Association standards. Manufactured homes are inspected in the same way that an inspector would look at a normal home, but there are extra things for inspectors to look at.
First of all, Manufactured home may not be listed for sale in BC unless they have a CSA number indicating the electrical installation was done in accordance with standards in the initial construction or that they bear a “Silver Seal” from the Technical Safety Authority in BC that the home meets current standards. If the home does not have either of these indicators, it cannot be listed for sale.
Many manufactured homes have a 100 amp panel installed. Some parks, however, do not supply 100 amps to their pads. This can leave the manufactured home under powered for things like air conditioning etc.
Main water supply lines into the home often have heat tape applied to keep the line from freezing during the winter. This heat tape is supposed to be plugged into a GFCI receptacle.
Manufactured homes with central heating do not often have cold air returns. Instead the furnace draws air from inside the home. You will see that doors inside the home should be cut up from the floor higher than you would see in a house to allow for the furnace to draw air from those rooms back to the furnace.
Most manufactured homes have a crawl space and this is where we often find deficiencies. Common issues include a lack of tie downs (straps or chains that connect the home to the ground) which can be important in an earthquake or a high wind situation; issues with the insulation and barrier that keeps the insulation in place and pests out, electrical wires on the ground, problems with the foundation and piers that the home sits on, and lack of a vapour barrier on the ground.
Probably the biggest issue we find with manufactured homes though is the addition of other structures to the home itself. Often decks and sun rooms and other structures will be added to a manufactured home. The issue is that these structures must support themselves on the ground as a manufactured home is not built to have additional strain or weight added to its walls. Built correctly, these additional structures are fine, built incorrectly, they can be a hazard to the original manufactured home.
A good inspector will help find issues with a manufactured home so that you will have the best information you can get to help inform your buying decision.
