Issues with manufactured homes, single, doublewide ...

​Unfortunately, they fall short during most inspections I make. There are two very common issues

• The low Roof Pitch
• The factory installed moisture barrier underneath the subfloor

 
The typical roof of a manufactured home has asphalt shingles and a pitch of 2/12.
First of all, no roof construction is water proof; a good roof is water resistant. A roof sheds water, so it’s not 100% water proof and all roofing materials have a limit when it comes to how they perform under certain conditions.
One of the important parameters is selecting the right material and the roof pitch. The Roof pitch is a measurement that indicates how steep your roof is. This is regulated by building codes, HUD regulations, industry standards and roofing material manufacturers.
Minimum roof pitch for asphalt shingles is 2/12, and this requires 2 layers of underlayment, like roofing felt etc. Two layers protect better than one layer; underlayment - NOT two or more layers of asphalt shingles!!
Recently I inspected two modular homes with a 2/12 roof pitch and only one layer of underlayment. One of them had even 4 layers of shingles installed. These are serious defects and a correction requires re-roofing and substantial costs.
 
The question is, who is responsible? Even if the installer, and most times this is the modular home manufacturer, forgot to install the second layer, the buyer or the seller are stuck with the costs.
The question is not if your roof leaks, the question is when it will leak.
 
In the next post, we will cover the subfloor moisture barrier. Stay tuned. ​