Mobile Home Piers & Runners
(1) This photo from a recent mobile home foundation inspection shows a properly installed transverse concrete runner and a cinderblock pier mounted on it.
(2) Some lenders are requiring that the dry stack cinderblock piers have some sort of epoxy binding agent as is shown in this photo. We disagree with this finding. It provides no contribution to the structural purpose of the cinderblock pier.
(3) In this photo are a row of cinderblock piers. The one in the foreground appears to be holding up well. The one behind it however has had the base pad settled and this has caused the pier to rotate such that it is not carrying its load fully. If not corrected, this will ultimately cause the individual cinderblocks to crack and fail. Remedies may include setting a concrete footer adjacent to the rotated pier and once the concrete is cured, transfer the base and blocks to the new footing.
(4) Often when a tree is near the manufactured home, root barriers need to be installed as a preventive maintenance item. In this photo, you can see the root running along the surface on the outside as well as on top of the surface in the crawlspace. These roots, when they decay, offer a water inlet to the foundation and can do extensive harm, for either a pier and beam or a slab foundation