Snow Loads

[Redoverfarm]

Good intentions but a bad idea.  I guess there is not enough support in a mobil home to hold an additional gable roof. At least not in a snow region.

[rick91351]

Is that a for sale sign on the deck?

[rick91351]

What we do up here in the snow country when they want to do that.  Most build a sperate roof structure.  Sort'a'like a pole barn without the sides or partially side to act as stiffeners.  In most cases top with engineered trusses. 

[Redoverfarm]

Is that a for sale sign on the deck?

Yes Rick but not because of the roof.  It has been For Sale for sometime.  I bet the ones that have looked at it are glad they didn't buy it.

Yes that is the right approach to build a separate roof support system like you described.  I have seen it numerous times and seem to hold up fairly well.  Just not too much to look at though. 

I am sure that even the standards for Mobil Homes has gotten better in recent years there is still not much there in regards to roof systems.  I helped a friend dismantle one years ago and actually had 3" studs rather than 4".  The roof truss's had a lot to be desired as well.

[rick91351]

Here in this county those old mobiles are condemned when they come up for sale to be moved.  In the sense, they can not be sold or gifted to be moved and reset for occupancy in this county.

A couple of the old factories here were renowned for 2X3 studs.  They loved white fir because it is was light and you could sink staples like a mad man. My father in law he worked in one factory for years.  Toward the end of his career they were making huge strides in quality and at least trying make a better product. 

Our historical society and the free library currently are looking at finding and sharing a double wide.  It is next to impossible to find a usable one that the county will okay for such use. Well, that is affordable.       

[Don_P]

Splat. It is actually forbidden to attach anything to one, decks, stairs, roofs. Any construction around them needs to be freestanding. But I guess the picture says that better 

I think it was around '72 that they came under HUD(?) rules. The old ones here basically have to be junked when there is a chance. For ag use they are exempt so some hang around for storage, in non ag they require an engineer's stamp to be used for anything other than the original use so there are usually a few old ones around in various stages of dismantling.

engineering wise these help explain something. Sometimes when I've helped someone size a beam or some part they think the part is too large and that things like sheathing should count as part of the strength. That is how these work, they are designed to act as assemblies that are more than the sum of the parts. I guess it works for awhile, and they are running close to the limit, but this is one reason why site built homes perform better than these old ones.

[Ernest T. Bass]

Had a very similar thing happen to some neighbors years ago, only it was the roof addition itself that failed and not the mobile home's structure underneath. The folks woke up in the morning and couldn't get their bedroom door open..