Why I built this site:
Three engineers, one foundation
TLDR: I hired three engineers to look at one foundation. I got three different answers about what the foundation needed to be certified. The first engineer added that would have cost thousands of dollars. The second told me we weren’t compliant, and that it would cost another $1,295 to find out what to fix (more to actually fix it). So I read the rules myself and hired a third engineer. None of the three checked our , which changes the rules. Now I’ve built this guide.
This is also my second shot at using Claude Code to design and prototype in code.
The house Five feet off the ground
We bought a manufactured home in a flood zone. It stands on pilings, about five feet above the ground. The lender wanted a foundation certification from a . Simple enough. Google it, pay for it, done.
The search Not that kind of inspector
I searched for “foundation inspection” and got plenty of results. Most of the companies I called didn’t do manufactured home foundations. Meanwhile our home inspector did his thing. He told me home inspectors don’t do foundation inspections.
Three opinions Three engineers
Same house. Same requirements. Different answers.
I found engineers on my own (the seller didn’t want a realtor, who normally helps with this, so we had to do all the footwork ourselves). All three said the foundation failed.
The first engineer required the space under the house enclosed, to keep out water and rodents. He required a cement coating over the outside of every pier. He insisted a handyman’s leftover posts counted as house piers (they didn’t). And he required 28 tie-downs in all. This would have cost thousands of dollars. The red flag was that enclosure. Few people in this neighborhood have enclosed foundations. It didn’t make sense. It took time and a lot of research, but I finally discovered that the , ’s foundation guide, does require the space to be enclosed, but doesn’t override ’s rules, if you’re in a flood zone. I got my answer after a flood zone lookup. We are in Zone AE, a high-risk flood area. A solid wall with no flood openings breaks FEMA’s rules in our zone. We’ve had up to eight inches of flood water under the house three times since we moved in.
I called engineer number one. He agreed about the enclosure but stood stubbornly on the other requirements. He said the HUD guide was “just a guide,” and he could tack on requirements.
The second engineer also failed our foundation. He wanted a brick, block or wood wall around it, on a new poured concrete footing. And he quoted $1,295 for plans showing how to fix it.
The third engineer certified our foundation after we added 22 tie-down straps.
None of them checked our flood zone. Two of the three wanted the foundation enclosed.
The scope What I hired them to do
I hired the engineers to answer one question: what does this foundation need to meet the HUD and FEMA specifications? That was the whole job. Instead, I got requirements on top of the specifications, added “to keep me safe.” I learned the existing specifications are controversial. I respected that they wanted to improve our foundation. But that wasn’t what the loan required.
An engineer’s judgment about your home counts. The question is whether they tell you which items the standard requires and which are their own , and what each one costs. Ask before you pay.
The point Not a villain story
I’m not saying engineers are the problem. The rules overlap. HUD guidance, loan rules and FEMA flood rules don’t always agree. Good engineers answer your questions without flinching. The purpose of this site is to give you the questions.
The limits What this isn’t
I’m a designer, not an engineer. This site is information. Only a licensed engineer can certify your foundation.
We never built the enclosure. I built a website instead.