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Can You Add Second Story to a Manufactured or Mobile Home?

Manufactured homes and mobile homes are becoming more and more popular in the USA in recent days. It is mainly due to the unique customization options these homes provide.

One can design manufactured homes and mobile homes to their needs as they are built in factories. Today, we are going to discuss if a second story can be added to manufactured or mobile.

Can you add a second story to a manufactured or mobile home?

A second story can be added to a manufactured or mobile home with professional help. Most of the manufactured or mobile homes have the capacity to support a second story. Sometimes the foundation of a manufactured or mobile home needs to be rebuilt to support the second story.

Let’s discuss in detail about the availability of the second story option in the homes below.

Manufactured home:

Manufactured homes are built in factories by professional house builders. Manufactured homes are gaining popularity recently because of their low making cost. A manufactured home will cost a lot less than a home built on site.

A manufactured home is built in a factory by assembling several parts. Then the manufactured home is shifted to the customer’s house.

If a customer feels the need to add a second story to the manufactured home, then he can do it on site later. Manufactured homes can support the second story.

Mobile home:

Just like manufactured homes, mobile homes are also made in factories and then moved to the desired spot. In fact, manufactured homes were called mobile homes before 1976.

Most of the mobile homes support a second story. But in some cases, if the mobile home has weak walls, it is better not to add a second story to it.

Modular home:

Modular homes are made by putting together different sections and modules in factories. The sections and modules are then moved to the desired site and they are put together one by one.

This is how a modular home is completed. You can add a second story to most of the modular homes based on the strength of the structure.

Manufactured home vs mobile home vs modular home: What’s the difference?

Manufactured home, mobile home, and modular home can be perceived as being the same on the first viewing. But after inspecting the details, you would find quite a few differences between them. Some of them are:

The HUD code:

HUD code refers to the National manufactured construction and safety standards act that is issued by the USA Department of Housing and Urban development in 1976.

The manufactured homes need to be built following the HUD code. The HUD code emphasis on the movability of the manufactured that other homes do not.

Manufactured homes built according to the HUD code do not need to follow the local building code. That is where manufactured home differs from mobile home.

Before the HUD code came along, manufactured homes were known as mobile homes. Mobile homes were very traditional in nature and were built without following any specifications and details.

Modular homes also do not follow the HUD code and obeys the local building code and guideline. They are built according to the state, town or city they are going to be located in.

So the biggest difference between manufactured homes, mobile homes, and modular homes is that only manufactured homes and mobile homes follow the HUD code and modular homes do not.

The structure:

As manufactured homes and mobile homes follow the HUD code and modular homes do not, there are basic structural difference between them.

For example, manufactured homes are built in factory and do not have to follow the code of the traditional on site built homes.

They are distinguishable from the on site built home. Manufactured homes do not need to have a permanent foundation.

But modular homes follow the local building codes, so they look like on site built homes after being completed. Modular homes also need to have a permanent foundation.

There are also differences in electrical, plumbing and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system of the manufactured homes and modular homes.

How much does it cost to add a modular second story?

Adding a second story to your modular home can be an expensive affair. There are several efforts that can change the construction cost. Generally, adding a second story will cost you one hundred to three hundred dollars per square foot. Here is a budget breakdown for you:

The cost of material:

Your second story addition will need a lot of raw materials. Buying these materials will add about twenty thousand dollars to your budget.

The cost of foundation:

If your modular home is old and the foundation is shaky, then the work on foundation will cost you about ten thousand dollars.

The cost of new roof:

After breaking down the old roof, you will need to add a new roof. The new roof will cost you about twenty thousand dollars.

The cost of appliance:

You will need a lot of appliance to complete the addition process. It will cost you about five thousand dollars.

The cost of labor:

You can not add a second story to your modular home by yourself. You will need professional help in this regard. This will cost you around ten thousand dollars depending on how much labor you put into the project.

The cost of door and window:

New windows and doors will cost you a lot depending on the quality. The estimated cost for new windows and doors is about twenty thousand dollars.

The total cost of the addition process will come around to ninety thousand dollars. So adding a second story to your modular home is not cheap at all.

Is it cheaper to add a second floor or an addition?

There are some things that we need to consider before deciding what is cheaper between a second floor addition or an addition of the existing floor. It is generally cheaper to increase the size of your existing floor and add more volume to it.

Adding a second floor to an existing one floor home will be very expensive. You will need to reconstruct your roof and the foundation of your home to support a second floor. But increasing the volume of your existing floor will not compel you to do so.

Adding a second floor will need you to put a stairwell to the existing floor. This will take away more space and will also increase the cost.

On the other hand, adding more volume to the existing floor will be much more fruitful as it is easier and cheaper to do. But if you are starting from root and have not start construction, then building a second floor would be cheaper than an addition.

How to add a second story to a mobile home?

There are several processes involved in the addition of a second story to a mobile home. They are:

Find out the cost:

First of all, you will need to find out the cost of adding a second story to your mobile home and create a budget. Knowing the budget beforehand will be helpful when the addition process starts.

Gather permit:

Mobile homes are built according to the HUD code. Adding a second story to your mobile home will require you to gather permit from the concerned authority. Otherwise there will be legal complications in the future.

Plan the new structure:

You will then need to plan out the addition process. You will have to figure out how you are going to connect your electricity and water lines to the second story.

You will also think about the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system of the second story. You will also have to figure out what kind of rooms you are going to put in your second story.

Rebuild the foundation and the roof:

You will need to rebuild the foundation of your mobile home. Otherwise, the foundation will not be strong enough to support a second story.

You will need to add more beams and pillars to your foundation. You will also need to get rid of your old roof and add a new roof.

Implement the process:

You will need to seek professional help to implement the process of adding a second story to your mobile home. Using more labor will decrease the implementation time.

Final thoughts

One can add a second story to a manufactured or mobile home. But the process of adding a second story to a manufactured or mobile home is a long and expensive one. It requires a lot of work and money if someone wants to add a second story to a manufactured or mobile home.