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You need to follow your manufacturer’s installation instructions for proper sizing of footings and support columns, their required location, and the placement and type of hold down devices required.
Short of that you may to get the guidance of your building code office or state agency that oversees the installation of mobile homes.
Otherwise you may wish to consult with a local mobile home certified installer.
A building permit may be required to effect the repair (it is in my state) so a good place to start can be a call to your local building code office for guidance.
Call your insurance company.
They will send out a company that specializes in smoke and water damage.
All you will pay is the deductible.
You need more estimates.
That work would cost about $2000 tops in PA.
But since you are in Southern NJ, that estimate may include ‘insurance’ so that nothing bad happens to the deck. 🙂
” But I know a lot of you have a wealth of knowledge and may be able to present an alternative solution that an engineer may not immediately arrive at.”
No we do not have such ‘wealth of knowkedge’ as you imagine we do.
We cannot assess your foundation….
We cannot assess your soil conditions….
We cannot assess whether your foundation was designed properly and installed to a required engineered design…
You NEED an engineer to observe and evaluate your current design and conditions and devise corrections to your foundation…and NO ONE on the internet can offer ANY advice that can replace an engineer’s.
Period.
And if you think we can you are deluded.
Sorry.
You won’t want to hear this but building codes require an engineer to design additions and structural modifcations for mobile homes.
You can’t get a permit to modify them or add an addition to them without an engineered design.
Not even in Alabama.
So call one.
You’ll need an engineered design in order to get a permit.
An engineer is your only answer.
A 9 foot basement with nearly 9 feet of unbalanced fill will create problems for even a concrete or concrete block foundation… and would require specialized reinforcement for them.
Add a site with hydraulic pressure issues and poor soil conditions and an engineer would be required for any foundation placed there.
If you think you can repair this problem DIY or can find someone on the web to give you advice, you are deceiving yourself.
Only a professional engineer can help you with this dilemma.
Sorry.
Wood Foundations are limited to a maximum of 4 feet of backfill placed against the exterior wall surfaces unless they have been designed by an engineer in compliance with the AF&PA/NDS standard.
The question(s) you need to answer before going further are:
1. How high is the backfill against your basement wall and if more than 4 feet, did the custom home company provide the required engineered design?
2. Who backfilled the foundation and did they comply with the engineered design?
You will likley need to hire an engineer to hlp resolve this issue and design a repair because you may have a legal battle brewing.
It is possible the foundation was not properly designed in the first place, not properly filled in the second, and the company may be liable for any and all damages you are experiencing.
Call an engineer to evaluate your foundation, then if necessary, call your attorney.
Yours is an odd case, Bruno and better illustrates why one should do a better job of evaluating the safety of an existing electrical system BEFORE buying a house than it is a generalized requirement to remove and replace everything in any home ‘just to be safe’.
The original poster hasn’t provided any reason or evidence that suggests that the wiring or receptacles are currently defecteive or should be changed.
In fact, he has stated quite the opposite.
Replacing the wiring or receptacles in his case remains unecessary and is likely cost prohibitive.
There is no reason to do anything other than what he has planned.
If it isn’t broke, you don’t need to fix it.
There is therefore no reason to replace ANY wiring or receptacles that are in proper working condition unless you have money and time to burn and do not wish to get any return on your substanial financial investment.
Even if they are ungrounded receptacles.
Providing GFCI protected receptacles CAN be done, but it is an expensive method with no particular benefit if the system is in otherwise good operating condition.
Grounded systems are not necessarily ‘safer’ systems simply because they are grounded.
We use ungrounded electrical systems all the time at home and at work and do not ever even batt an eye because of it: Control wiring, automobile wiring, portable generator wiring on job sites, etc
In the original poster’s case, his plan will work and will be entirely code compliant.
There is no reason to change any existing wiring or receptacles at all.
The exception would be to change any receptacles in damp or wet locations or within 6 feet of sinks, basins, tubs and so forth to make sure they are GFCI protected.
Othwise he would be wise to simply leave things alone.
(Unless he has deep pockets and money to burn and nothing better to do with his time and money.)
Electric code does not require upgrading existing items in a building one is not working on, were code compliant when installed, and remain safe.
Only portions of the electrical system that need to come into compliance are those portions of the electrical system being changed or altered or added new.
Your choices are:
-to enlarge the opening to adjacent ceiling joists so you can affix a new drywall patch then finish and paint or,
-create an opening in the sealed walls in your attic to be able to access the current opening and install your vent through the roof
“There are no vents in the attic.”
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That is your biggest problem.
You should have a minimum of 1 square foot of attic ventilation for every 150 square feet of attic floor space.
If you use ridge venting, there should be at least an equal amount of soffit vents are as ridge vent area.
_______________________________
“My question is should I install a ridge vent and soffit vents as a phase 1 plan. Then install I call them styrophone chases that allow air to pass from the soffit vents to the ridge vent. Then insulate over chases between roof joists.”
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Simply put: NO.
You do need to install the styrofoam vents in each ventilated rafter cavity but these vents only need to be high enough to terminate above the insulation.
The vents should not be otherwise covered.
“What do you think of the following plan?”
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It’s coo coo. 🙂You don’t mix exterior foam with housewrap. It’s one or the other not both. Use the foam (exterior) since it will act as both insulator and air barrier.
Keep the cellulose in the walls and add nothing further on the interior.
Painting boths sides of the drywall is a waste of money and time. Latex paint is not a vapor retarder and doesn’t have to be.
See CMR 6804.2.2 below that probibits the use of decorative shrouds with Type L vents unless the shroud is specifically listed and labeled for use with the equipment.
http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/dps/780%20CMR/780068.pdf
Show us the make, model and installation details for both your oil furnance and pellet stove, then show us the listing on the shroud enclosing both vent termination caps and that permits it to be installed over dissimilar L and PL type vent termination caps, and I’ll be glad to change my position.
