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Our new house has arrived.

Thank you. I don’t consider (framing) carpentry to be beyond handyman stuff. A lot of my work is building, rebuilding or expanding decks, sheds and other wooden structures.
Ttwtt , happy for you and your new home. I hope all goes well for you in the days ahead setting everything up. There is a lot to admire about someone who will venture to do a lot to make things happen. I know, I married one.
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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You are missing a 63 ford truck on cinder blocks, A single wide does not look legit in texas without one.

Single wide people are the worst on earth, sending this post from my single wide trailer in texas!
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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Oh a quick question which general region of central texas, not enough in the pick but looks like more towards the black soil east of i-35 rather than the dry soil west of i-35.
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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Congrats!
 
You are missing a 63 ford truck on cinder blocks, A single wide does not look legit in texas without one.

Single wide people are the worst on earth, sending this post from my single wide trailer in texas!

Good point, however having spent all of our cash on the new single-wide, we can’t afford a classic truck to display on blocks (yet). ;)
 
Oh a quick question which general region of central texas, not enough in the pick but looks like more towards the black soil east of i-35 rather than the dry soil west of i-35.

We are east of I-35. “Downtown” Uhland, TX straddles Hays and Caldwell counties. My posting name is Totally Texas White Trailer Trash & zip code.
 
We are east of I-35. “Downtown” Uhland, TX straddles Hays and Caldwell counties. My posting name is Totally Texas White Trailer Trash & zip code.
Ok so still uhland, pretty bad I can spot east and west i-35. Close to me temple tx is on east and west i-35, west of it temple gets ok rain, east temple on the other side is always getting hammered with rain, hence why in my area they call east of the highway the black soil, awesome for farming but bad for houses with foundations due to soil erosion from all the storms.
 
Ok so still uhland, pretty bad I can spot east and west i-35. Close to me temple tx is on east and west i-35, west of it temple gets ok rain, east temple on the other side is always getting hammered with rain, hence why in my area they call east of the highway the black soil, awesome for farming but bad for houses with foundations due to soil erosion from all the storms.

We are about 100 miles south of Temple and 6 miles east of I-35.
 
Make certain it is very solidly attached to the foundation. Like an empty semi truck trailer, a home such as your's is vulnerable to air pressures (wind/storms) that can make it like a balloon.

Again, congratulations on the new house. Hopefully you can also make it a most wonderful home for you and those of your heart too.
 
So you are aware that tornadoes, godzilla and most other acts of god seek out mobile homes? :)

It is not a mobile home. It is a manufactured home. They will last longer than and are less exposed to pests etc than the typical wood frame home - and often are made better overall. They are the most square footage for the money too. They are not like "mobile homes" of decades ago. Cost much more too.
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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Cool, Congrates, now the fun begins, decks, landscaping, gardens, a shop, a carport.......oh sorry, Great Day!
 
Cool, Congrates, now the fun begins, decks, landscaping, gardens, a shop, a carport.......oh sorry, Great Day!

I have already built a 12’x20’ shed on the lot. Skirting, dog pens and decks are next on my to do list.

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I have already built a 12’x20’ shed on the lot. Skirting, dog pens and decks are next on my to do list.
I later saw some of your work, well done. Been there a couple of times, if ya have any questions I Might be able to help. Anyway, ENJOY!
 
It is not a mobile home. It is a manufactured home. They will last longer than and are less exposed to pests etc than the typical wood frame home - and often are made better overall. They are the most square footage for the money too. They are not like "mobile homes" of decades ago. Cost much more too.
I am aware. When we bought our property we had the intention of installing water and septic for two additional homes. We installed two manufactured homes for relatives. Has worked out well so far. All that being true...Tornadoes still hunt them down and have come close once, like throwing a storage building and tearing off my barn doors into the field close.
 
We are east of I-35. “Downtown” Uhland, TX straddles Hays and Caldwell counties. My posting name is Totally Texas White Trailer Trash & zip code.

AH. Hays county texas. That explains a lot. I had to stay near there for 7 months when someone I knew had a breakthrough seizure from epilepsy, and needed rides from her apartment to Texas university at san marcos. One of her attempted neurologists was in Kyle.
 
Update: the house is now on piers (blocks), tied down and has temporary stairs. Time to get connected to electric, water, septic and have A/C added.

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Update: the water, electric and septic are now connected. The central AC is scheduled to be installed tomorrow.

Only one (major) issue remains to be resolved: the earth auger tie downs used by the installation contractor do not meet local (city) code. Once that is resolved, I can skirt it and install decks & (useable) stairs to get the occupancy permit.
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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What do you think of the argument that a stick house is a better value than a manufactured house?

I personally have seen some nice Manufactured homes
 
It still needs to be placed on piers (blocks) and tied down. After that, I will have the electric, water and septic connected. Next comes adding central A/C (a must in central Texas) and skirting it. I have (hopefully) included pictures of it arriving and after I painted the trim to match the shed which I recently built on the lot (it still needs a ramp added to it under the roll up door).

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Did you move?

Are you just adding this to your existing property?
 
That is a fact. I also don‘t have to worry about a slab cracking, but will have to periodically tune up the piers to keep the house level and the tie down straps tight.

When building on black dirt prairie (gumbo) it’s best to have a pier and beam foundation. The dirt moves with changes in ground moisture. Much like a sponge: when dry it gets hard and shrinks, when wet it expands and gets soft. I poured nearly 6K pounds of concrete for the (8) cross runner (strip) foundation for the piers (cinder blocks) to rest on.

Thank you... you are a smart man using pier and beam... Why the hell production builders here in Texas still use slabs is dumbfounding... They ALL end up needed repairs... dumbest thing ever...
 
What do you think of the argument that a stick house is a better value than a manufactured house?

I personally have seen some nice Manufactured homes

On a leased lot, it seemed to make more sense to have a house that could be more easily moved if that became necessary.

The key to judging any structure is how well it is designed and constructed. The model we chose to buy has a better foundation than most mobile (factory manufactured) houses. It has 2x8 floor joists at 16” on center with interior walls having 1/2” sheetrock, taped floated and textured (like a site built house). Most mobile/manufactured houses have 2x6 floor joists at 19.2” on center with interior walls having 3/8” sheetrock with a plastic coating and vertical strips (bats?) every 4’ covering the (vertical) joints to allow for the structural flex when the house is moved.
 
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1) Did you move?

2) Are you just adding this to your existing property?

1) Not yet.

2) No, it is a different lot but owned by our current landlord. The very old (1960’s vintage) mobile home that we are currently renting is in such bad condition that they will no longer pay for maintenance or repairs on it. It will be demolished after we move out and that lot leased out (or returned to pasture land).
 
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