A Manufactured Home Roof Needs Its Own Check Before Anyone Quotes It

If your house sits on a permanent foundation but was built in a factory and set on your lot in sections, its roof was framed to a different standard than the stick-built houses around it. Many homes across rural St. Charles County were built this way. The roof is usually the first place the difference shows up once a crew starts stripping shingles, so the quote you receive should say what kind of roof it is dealing with before it puts a number on the work.

Find the label before you call anyone

A home built to the federal HUD code carries a certification label on the outside of each transportable section, usually near the end wall. Inside the home, a data plate lists the wind zone and roof load the home was designed for. Homes built before June 15, 1976 are generally called mobile homes, and they fall under different construction rules. If you cannot find either label, look in the crawl space, the closet near the water heater, or the inside of a kitchen cabinet. Your county assessor or the home's original paperwork may also list the build year and manufacturer.

Write down what you find. The roofer needs the build year, the manufacturer name and the wind zone to price the job correctly, and the same information tells you whether the roof is a candidate for a roof-over or needs a full tear-off.

Framing, pitch and the deck underneath

Manufactured homes often have trusses rather than hand-cut rafters, and the roof pitch is frequently lower than what you would see on a similar-looking house down the street. Lower pitch changes how the shingles lay, how fast water moves off the surface, and how far a crew can safely walk on the slope. It also changes the minimum pitch your shingle manufacturer allows, so check that number in the product spec before you sign.

The roof deck on many of these homes is thinner than the sheathing used in site-built construction. Ask the roofer what thickness of panel is under your shingles, whether any panels need replacing, and who decides that once the old shingles come off. A proposal that says only 'replace roof decking as needed' leaves the price open to a unit rate you have not seen yet. Ask for the decking rate in writing, per sheet, before the crew starts.

Tie-downs and the roof edge

Most manufactured homes are anchored to the ground with ground anchors and straps, and the roof is connected to the walls with clips or straps that resist wind uplift. Those connectors sit right where a crew works at the eave and the rake. A roofer who does not mention them is either planning to work around them or has not looked.

Ask each roofer three things. Which tie-down or roof-to-wall connectors are visible from the attic or the eave? Will any of them be disturbed during tear-off? And who reattaches them, and to what standard? The answer should be in the written scope, not only in a conversation on the driveway. If a connector is damaged during the work, the repair belongs on the proposal as its own line.

Roof-over, warranty and the manual

Some owners want to skip the tear-off and install new shingles over the existing roof. That can be a reasonable choice on a sound deck with one layer, but it adds weight and changes the way the roof edge sits. Before you agree to it, find the manufacturer's installation manual or warranty booklet for your home. Many of them state what roof additions are allowed, and some warranties end if a later roof changes the original design.

If the manual is missing, ask the manufacturer or a dealer whether one can be obtained from the home's serial number. Do not accept a roof-over on the strength of a verbal assurance that it is fine. Ask the roofer to show you the page of the manual that covers roof additions, and keep a copy in your home file.

Permits, and the desk that answers the question

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so the local permit desk is where most of the rules about your roof will be found. Whether a re-roof needs a permit, and whether the permit includes a framing or deck inspection, depends on the city or county where your lot sits. Call the permit desk for that jurisdiction before the shingles are ordered and ask whether a manufactured home roof has any special requirements. The roofing permits page on this site describes how the county desk handles most residential roof work.

Ask the roofer who pulls the permit, who schedules the inspection and who is present when the inspector comes. A roofer who says the permit is a formality and will not name the person pulling it has not answered the question.

What it costs, and why the price moves

On a manufactured home, four cost items tend to move a roof bid up or down more than on a typical site-built house. The first is the deck: thinner panels and the number of sheets that need replacing. The second is the reattachment of tie-downs and roof-to-wall connectors. The third is the pitch, since a low slope changes the crew's pace and the materials needed at the eave and rake. The fourth is the disposal, because the weight of the old roof and the number of layers determine how big a dumpster the job needs.

When you compare two quotes, check that each one lists those four items separately or states what it assumes. A quote that is lower because it leaves out the connectors is not the same job as one that includes them. The shingle line should also name the product. Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles, so the spec should state the product line, the color and the wind rating, and it should name the nail pattern the manufacturer requires for the pitch you have.

What to ask before you sign

• What is the build year, manufacturer and wind zone on the data plate, and does your scope assume that information?
• What is the roof pitch, and does it meet the minimum pitch in the shingle spec?
• What deck thickness is under the shingles, and what is the per-sheet rate if sheets need replacing?
• Which tie-down and roof-to-wall connectors will be visible, disturbed or reattached, and who does that work?
• Does the manufacturer's manual or warranty allow a roof-over, and can you see the page?
• Who pulls the permit in this jurisdiction, and who meets the inspector?
• Where will the dumpster sit, and how many layers are being removed?

A written answer to each of those questions is more useful than a verbal assurance. If a roofer cannot answer one of them, ask when they will know, and put that date in the proposal.

Where to start

Find the label, write down the build year and the wind zone, and call the permit desk for your jurisdiction before you pick a crew. If you want a second set of eyes on the roof and the proposal, call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333 and ask for a written scope that covers the framing, the deck, the connectors and the permit. The scope should be yours to keep whether or not you hire the company that wrote it.