Expert #13661 specializes in manufactured home non-disclosure issues ie. drainage, understructure/leveling/foundation related issues. We are also experienced in roof, siding, decking, awning and misc. apertnance related matters. One of our passions is dealing with victims (especially senior citizens) who have been ripped off by un-scrupulous and unlicensed contractors
Expert #13661 has worked on many several class action lawsuits and have been retained by some of the largest and most successful law firms in the business of manufactured/mobilehome related cases drainage and foundation related matters. The law firms we have been associated with have a very successful track record and have been awarded some of the largest settlements ever recorded in the industry.
Expert #13661 specializes in the repair, retrofitting, rehabilitation and redevelopment of Manufactured and Relocatable housing. We have years of experience in re-designing & planning, remodeling, improving and rejuvinating resident and not-resident/ownerclients, homeowner association, city, county, state, and federal agencies or law firms. We have years of experience working with insurance companies and have worked on many FEMA related disasters. WE are experienced with the seismic and foundation retrofitting standards required by many FHA, VA, conventional lenders and insurance companies including recent 433A complieance requirements. We are experienced in set-upp transportation/relocation and teardown of new and existing manufactured homes.
Retrofit & Disaster Response
You can live in a sprawling mansion and be just as vulnerable as the homeowner who lives in a mobile home during an earthquake. An earthquake does not discriminate with any prejudice. Homes and structures that were built between 1900 to 1960 are particularly at risk if they are not anchored or bolted to their foundation. This is like standing on a rug and having someone pull it out from under you, without anything to grab onto or hold onto, you're going to take a fall. Similarly, if this happens to your home, your whole infrastructure (utilities, et. al.) can become severed from the foundation, creating a potentially major and needless loss.
Cripple wall construction and the need for shear paneling
Depending on architectural design and topography, many homes are built utilizing cripple wall construction techniques. A cripple wall is a short wood wall which is framed between your foundation and the floor of your home. Many architectural themes including Victorian, Tudor, California Bungalow and other high profile styles require cripple wall construction to attain desired design height. Still other homes, those built on the sides of hills or multi-level earth pads, will require a cripple wall that gradually tapers into the hillside in order to maintain a level perimeter for the home.
Whether bolted or unbolted, cripple wall construction is even more susceptible to lateral movement in an earthquake. Remember the metaphor regarding the rug being pulled out from under your feet? Imagine that you are standing on that same rug, but this time you are standing on stilts. When the rug gets pulled (or the jolt comes), you have even less of a chance of avoiding a fall. Why? The stilts (or the cripple wall construction) raises the center of gravity and doubles the number of contact (or break) points from the ground to your home, thereby allowing your home to shift laterally even farther. Homes that are not sheared paneled cripple walls are almost always major losses with FEMA and insurance companies after an earthquake.
Expert #13661 is a licensed B-1 General Contractor and has been installing Simpson Strong Tie Earthquake Retrofit Products for many years. They can be used in any residential, commercial or industrial structural application. Simpson Strong Tie Earthquake Retrofit Products can unitize your home from the foundation to the ridge beam.
Earthquake bracing and permanent foundation systems for mobile and manufactured homes
Mobile and manufactured homes are most vulnerable in an earthquake due to inadequate or non-existent lateral (shear) and vertical (thrust and/or lift movement) bracing. It has been proven, however, that State Certified Earthquake Resistant Bracing Systems (ERBS) and Permanent Foundation Systems (PFS), if properly installed, will definitely reduce extensive structural damage, and most importantly, keep the homeowner home, instead of temporarily or even permanently displaced due to extensive damage and often total loss in an earthquake.
Polymer 2000 manufactures a complete line of earthquake bracing and permanent foundation systems are designed exclusively for the Manufactured Housing industry. Manufactured Homes, unlike traditional site built homes, are unique in that, during an earthquake, they must be like vessels on the open sea. They must almost float as opposed to being securely fastened to the ground.
Expert #13661: General Manufactured Housing Contractors and licensed and bonded C-47 Manufactured Housing specialists. We have been involved in the research, design, development and installation of Manufactured Housing earthquake products for almost 2 decades.
Non-structural earthquake retrofitting (content risk reduction)
Residential
Another major loss after a seismic event is content loss (personal property). Emergency funds are generally not available for personal property loss. In many instances, the dollar value of personal property losses can be equal to or greater than structural losses. Seeing bits and pieces of finery, artwork, antiques, household appliances and fixtures, electronics and expensive personal possessions broken and scattered about is not a pleasant experience. He can work with the homeowner to minimize this unseen risk.
Commercial, Industrial, Institutional
Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost every time there is a major earthquake near a densely populated urban or suburban area. Tragically, entire businesses, hospitals, schools, and shopping centers can be abruptly shut down for indefinite periods of time.
Expert #13661 distributes and installs a complete line of brackets, straps, anchors, supports and miscellaneous earthquake retrofit products manufactured by Worksafe Technologies that can be quickly and economically installed in your home or business.
