How Much Does A Permanent Foundation For A Mobile Home Cost?

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In these current times, you’d find many people living in mobile homes (a.k.a. manufactured homes). The term “mobile home” implies that you can move it from one location to another.

While these types of houses are built with foundations, the foundations are not grounds; hence, you can move the buildings. More so, mobile homes don’t count as real properties; for your mobile home to qualify as real property; it needs to have a “permanent foundation.”

But how much does a permanent foundation for a mobile home cost? On average, it’d cost you between $4,000 to $10,000 to build a permanent foundation for your home. This is just the average cost; you may spend more or less, depending on several factors.

Why Add a Permanent Foundation to your Mobile Home?

Until your mobile home is attached to a solid, stable foundation, it does not count as a real property. More so, mobile homes without a permanent foundation depreciate faster than their counterparts.

The main reason why mobile homeowners decide to place their manufactured homes on a permanent foundation is due to value appreciation. To install a permanent foundation implies having a foundation constructed with concrete.

Actually, there are different types of permanent foundations for mobile homes with varying costs of installation.

How Much Does a Permanent Foundation For a Mobile Home Cost?

How Much Does A Permanent Foundation For A Mobile Home Cost

There are three main factors that affect the cost of attaching a permanent foundation to your mobile home. The factors are:

  • The type of foundation
  • Size of your mobile home
  • Location

However, regardless of these factors, the national average for this project is $3,000 – $10,000. But, there are some people that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to affix a permanent foundation to their mobile homes.

Here’s a tabular illustration of the cost(s) of affixing permanent foundations to mobile homes.

Possible Lowest CostAverage CostPossible Highest Cost
$1,500$3,000 – $10,000$150,000

So people spend over a hundred thousand dollars on adding a permanent foundation to their mobile home? Yes, this usually happens if the mobile home is very big and has a complex floor plan.

Notwithstanding, the contractors engaged in installing the foundation can also affect the cost. It is not surprising that some contractors typically charge higher, probably due to their influence or certification.

Now, what are the various types of permanent foundations you can consider for your mobile home?

Types of Permanent Foundations for Mobile Homes

Well, the contractors you engage for the project are the ones to decide on a perfect foundation type for your home. But, these are the commonest ones, and the cost of installing them to your manufactured home.

Foundation TypeEstimated Cost Single WideEstimated Cost Double WideEstimated Cost Multi Wide
Pier and Beam$2k – $3.5k$5k – $7.5k$10k
Unfinished Basement$5k – $20k$10k – $38k$11k+
Finished Basement$15k – $70k$25k – $100k+$50k+
Crawl Space$3.5k – $5.5k$5k – $7k$15k+
Concrete Pit$5k – $20k$10k – $37k$22k+

How did we get these estimates? Foundations for mobile homes are estimated based on sq. ft. That said, the contractors would cost the foundation based on square feet. Here’s the estimated cost per sq. ft for the commonest types of foundations mentioned above.

Cost per square foot for mobile homes
Pier and BeamUnfinished BasementFinished basementCrawl SpaceConcrete Pit
$5$10 – $25$30 – $70$7$10 – $25

What are The Key Differences Between These Foundation Types?

  • The pipes and concrete floors are exposed in unfinished basements, while in the finished basement, the pipes are covered.
  • Finished basement foundations tend to have better insulation, leveled ceilings, and other well-finished aspects.
  • Concrete pit foundations are the commonest and also among the cheapest. Here, your mobile home is affixed on concrete footings, which seems better and more reliable.
  • A lot of effort is required to install a crawl space foundation for your mobile home. It is almost like the concrete pit, but it’s not.
  • Pier and beam method is acceptable in some places as a permanent mobile home foundation. Before building this type of foundation, it is important to ask the rightful authorities if this type of foundation falls among the state’s recommendations for permanent foundations for mobile houses.

Other Factors That Affect The Cost of Installing Permanent Foundations for Mobile Homes

 If you’re doing it yourself, you’d need to rent a lot of tools and machines. The cost of renting would definitely differ based on several factors. On the other hand, if you’re getting a firm to do the job for you, they’d charge you for excavation, soil grading, and mobile home maneuvering.

More so, the labor cost may be very high or normal – depending on is handling the job. Well, it’s not actually advisable to DIY this complex project; endeavor to get a firm to help out.

How Long Does it Take to Build a Permanent Foundation for Mobile Homes?

Again, the duration depends on the type of foundation to be installed. Apparently, the concrete pit option would take a longer time than the others.

Summary

So, how much does a permanent foundation for a mobile home cost? The estimations have been explained above. If you’d be doing it yourself, you need to do a lot of calculations.

The best option would be to search for reputable firms and compare their quotes for adding a permanent foundation to your mobile home.

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