Your Manufactured Home Site Preparation Checklist

From clearing the land to choosing options like a garage or driveway, there are several factors to consider when preparing your home site before delivery. Once you’ve selected your manufactured home floor plan and completed your purchase with your local home center, including securing financing, the home building facility will receive your order. While your home is being built, it’s important to ensure your land is ready for delivery and installation. Since every home site is unique, the specific preparation steps will vary. During the home-buying process, you’ll work with your home consultant to determine what needs to be done to prepare your home site. This will help you feel confident about the potential costs and time estimates for each step. Home site preparation and land improvements can also be handled by local contractors, which your home center can assist you in finding. Let’s break down everything you need to know to get your new home site ready!

Properly preparing your home site is essential to keeping your manufactured home in good condition for years to come. While your local home center can guide you through the specific requirements for your situation, typical site preparation for a new manufactured home includes:

• Assessing the soil conditions to ensure the land is suitable for your home.
• For homes in colder climates, determining the soil’s bearing capacity to ensure it can support the home’s weight and identifying the frost line to understand how deep frost will penetrate beneath or around the home.
• Planning the layout of the site and deciding where to position the home.
• Clearing any necessary foliage and grading the site to allow for proper drainage.
• Evaluating the ground anchors’ holding capacity to ensure the home is securely fastened in place.

The type of land can also influence the specific site preparation tasks required. For example, preparation can vary if your land is in a rainy area, a hilly region, or a cold climate. The terrain can impact several important details, such as:

• Home footers: The terrain affects soil density, which in turn determines the depth and dimensions of the footing design needed to anchor your home securely to the ground.
• Seismic zone: If your home site is in a seismic zone, the footer design may need to be adjusted to ensure your home is properly stabilized.
• Flood zone: If your home is in a flood zone, regulations may require your home to be elevated a certain distance above the ground, and you might need a specific type of foundation.

Additionally, a professional contractor will need to ensure that your site is properly crowned. Crowning involves building up and compacting the soil so that water drains away from your home. Properly crowned land helps prevent flooding and keeps water from accumulating inside or beneath your home.

While your home site is being prepared, it’s also a good time to consider any land improvement options you may want or need. These options can vary depending on your location, budget, and home setup, but some common choices include:

• Connecting to electrical services
• Connecting to water or sewer systems, or installing a septic system or well
• Building a driveway or other paths
• Planning for a garage or carport
• Adding a deck, porch, or patio
• Installing ramps or handrails, if needed
• Selecting skirting to be installed once your home is delivered
• Planning for fencing, if desired
• Landscaping, including the lawn, plants, or mulch
• Adding outdoor lighting or a security system

Your home site must also be properly prepared for your new home’s sewer or septic system. If your site has access to a public sewer system and local regulations permit a connection, you can link your home’s plumbing to the public sewer. However, some local governments may prohibit the installation of a septic system if a public sewer system is available. Your home consultant can assist you in determining which option best suits your specific situation.

Once your home has been built and the site is ready for it, the home can be delivered. To make sure the final on-site installation process is completed as smoothly as possible, you can work with your home center to hire contractors for tasks like:

Securing a route for your home to be moved to your home site. This might mean having your city or county block off a transportation route for a specific date and time.
Securing transportation for your home. Your home consultant can help guide you on how the home will be moved to your site.
Checking your transportation route for anything that may block the way as you get closer to the delivery date, such as tree limbs.
Once your home is delivered, the final setup and inspections can take place to ensure everything is ready. Then, it will be time for move-in day!

At Clayton, we know the process of purchasing a new manufactured or modular home can seem overwhelming when you’re just getting started. And that’s why our experienced home center consultants will be there to help support you through every step, from choosing the right floor plan for you to welcoming you home. Looking for more information about homeownership? You can check out our Studio blog for all kinds of helpful tips, from maintenance checklists to decor inspiration and more.