Considering that mobile homes aren’t built on a standard foundation, you may be unsure as to how much weight they can support.
Whether you’re moving in furniture or planning to work out in your home, you may wonder how much support it can safely hold.
Here’s what you need to know about mobile homes and their weight specifications.
How Much Weight Can A Mobile Home Floor Hold?
A mobile home floor can hold up to 40 pounds of weight per square foot.
As long as you don’t have several heavy objects all sitting on the same square foot of space, then your mobile home can carry a decent amount of weight.
The average size of a mobile home is 1,184 square feet.
That means, as a whole, your mobile home can support around 47,360 pounds.
That includes weight per person.
It’s also worth noting that there may be certain parts that can support more weight and parts that cannot hold as much.
Areas where the mobile home has joists, for example, might be able to support more weight if they have support beneath them.
If they do not have support beneath them, then these are the weaker areas of your home.
In most cases, the further an area is from structural support beneath, the weaker it is.
That’s why you might feel your home shake if you walk or run in one part of your home as opposed to another.
If your home rests on a slab foundation, then it can also support more weight than a mobile home that rests on cinder blocks.
That’s because a slab foundation provides support throughout the house.
Cinder blocks only support the corners of the home.
To determine how much weight your home can support specifically, you’ll need to find out the total square footage of the home, then multiply it by 40.
Can You Put Heavy Furniture In A Mobile Home?
Yes, in most cases, you can put heavy furniture inside of a mobile home.
Heavy furniture might include sectionals, gym equipment, authentic wooden tables, large shelving units, and heavy-duty recliners.
Provided that the furniture is spread across several square feet as opposed to one, then the mobile home should be able to support it.
Certain cases may vary, however.
A great way to determine if a heavy piece of furniture is usable in your mobile home is to do some weighing.
First, determine the weight of the piece of furniture on its own.
This means weighing the furniture when it’s empty or without anyone sitting on it.
Then determine the additional weight that will be on the furniture.
If it’s a bookcase, for example, then determine how heavy the books are that are going to rest on it.
Let’s say that the bookcase only weighs 20 pounds.
If it takes up two square feet, then you still have 20 pounds per square foot that can safely hold weight.
Together, that’s 40 pounds of books.
You can estimate or actually pull out a scale and weigh each book to determine if the area is carrying too much weight or not.
The same goes for a piece of furniture in which you’re going to sit.
You need to know how much you weigh or how much the heaviest person in the mobile home weighs.
Then add that to the weight of the furniture that you took earlier.
For example, if a couch weighs 20 pounds and takes up five square feet, then it has 20 pounds leftover per foot.
That means it has 100 pounds to give before the weight capacity starts to fail.
If you weigh more than 100 pounds, then you may need to find a lighter couch, find a bigger couch, or place the couch in an area that has direct contact with the ground for support.
Can You Put Heavy Gym Equipment In A Mobile Home?
Another concern that many people have is whether they can store heavy gym equipment in their mobile homes.
It depends primarily on the weight of the gym equipment and whether the mobile home has support beneath it or not.
Certain types of gym equipment are very heavy.
Treadmills, weights, and even bicycles can weigh hundreds of pounds.
If they’re not large enough to spread across a large amount of square footage, then that might be too much weight for the floor to support.
When you add your own weight on top of the equipment, then it might become even more dangerous for your floor.
Follow the same method as above to determine the weight of the machinery.
Then weigh yourself.
Determine the square footage that the machine takes up on your floor.
This tells you how much weight each area can still support.
If your weight doesn’t exceed that total amount, then the mobile home floor can support it.
Keep in mind that even if it doesn’t support it, then there’s still a way that you can increase its stability.
Putting your mobile home on a slab foundation is the best method.
However, if that’s impossible, then you can layer cinder blocks beneath the mobile home to give it support.
This type of support isn’t as stable, but it can help bring additional support to certain areas of the home like an in-home gym area.
Can You Put A Gun Safe In A Mobile Home?
Some mobile homeowners may also wonder if they can put a gun safe in their homes.
Gun safes vary by weight, but many of them tend to be around 100 pounds.
However, some can even weigh as heavy as 1,000 pounds.
There are a few problems that come with putting a heavy gun safe in a mobile home, but in most cases, it’s safe to install.
The biggest threat to a gun safe is water damage and movement.
If the mobile home is old and has seen its share of water damage, then there’s a chance that the floor is weak.
If the floor is weak, then it won’t be able to support a heavy gun safe.
It will fall through the floor with time.
Movement is another big factor.
If you happen to move your mobile home to different locations frequently, then this can also impact the stability of the floor.
The joists can start to lose their integrity and become weak.
When you place the gun safe on it, then it can fall through the floor.
The problem worsens if you bolt the safe to the floor.
If the safe moves along with the floor, then there’s a chance that it might wrench itself free and topple, pulling the floor with it.
For mobile homes that are new and stationary, however, gun safes are usually safe to install in your mobile home.
Another major aspect to consider is the weight of the items going inside of the safe.
Whether it’s guns, equipment, or important documents, the weight of the objects inside also adds to the total weight of the safe.
While a safe on its own might be okay on the floor, the additional weight may not be.
To counteract this problem, you can place cinder blocks beneath the floor and under the home.
You can also ensure that you buy a large enough safe that covers more square footage.
This helps to distribute the weight, allowing for more weight to go inside of the safe.
In most cases, however, you can use a gun safe in a mobile home.
Is Tile Too Heavy For A Mobile Home?
If you want to make your mobile home stand apart from the others, then you may want to consider installing tile.
Whether you want to put tile in your kitchen or bathroom, it can look great and make the entire area look upscale.
The problem with tile is that there are several different materials to work with.
A mobile home doesn’t work great with all of them.
Stone, for example, is going to be too heavy for mobile homes.
A better option is ceramic.
Not only is ceramic cheaper, but you can use it with movement accommodation joists that can account for the slight sway that some mobile homes have.
This ensures that the tiles don’t crack under the pressure of movement.
Ceramic is also better because it isn’t as heavy as stone.
If you’re concerned about weight, then ceramic is an ideal choice since you can still step on them without worrying about going through the floor.
That said, using tile in a mobile home requires a bit more effort than in a standard home.
That’s because the tile has to account for the unique needs of a mobile home.
The movement accommodation joists are absolutely necessary during ceramic tile installation.
Subflooring is also important.
If you’re in an old mobile home, then there’s a chance that the subfloor isn’t suitable for tiles.
You’ll need to install a new subfloor made of 5/8” plywood.
This gives additional strength to the floor and also helps with wet areas like the bathroom.
The subflooring has to be smooth.
Finally, you need to know how much mortar to use when installing tile.
For dry areas, you need to use 80% mortar.
For wet areas, you need to use 95% mortar.
This means the mortar is on the back of the tile as well as on its surface.
It’s possible to have tile in your mobile home, but if you want the safest type for its weight, ceramic tile is the option to choose.
When Shouldn’t You Tile Your Mobile Home?
While tile can make your mobile home look professional and upscale, there are times when you shouldn’t use it.
One of those times is when you’re worried about the weight on your floor.
In certain places of the home that don’t have a lot of support, it may not be worth putting in tile.
The extra weight might make it impossible to use.
Since that’s essentially space wasted, as well as money, tiling isn’t worth it.
Another situation is if you’re not fond of cold floors.
If you live in an area that has cold winters, then tile floors may not be ideal for you.
Ceramic tile, especially, tends to feel colder against your skin than other types.
If the idea of stepping onto a cold bit of flooring after waking up isn’t ideal, then you might want to use a different type of flooring.
A third reason you might not want to tile your floor is when you know that you’re going to be moving.
Tile does not react well to movement.
While your mobile home is moving down the highway, your tile might be cracking inside of it.
When you open the door, you might find your tile completely shattered.
It’s best for mobile homes will be staying on the lot permanently.
Finally, you might not want to use tile if you plan on switching it out in another year or so.
Flooring design trends change by the year.
If you end up using a style that’s dated, then you might want to change it.
The problem with tile, and especially ceramic tile, is that it’s difficult and messy to remove.
You may have to completely redo the subflooring afterward.
If you want to use tile in your mobile home, then you need to choose a style and design that’s timeless and that you’re going to be happy with for the rest of your life.
Can A Mobile Home Carry An Aquarium?
Another common heavy item that mobile homeowners sometimes want to buy is an aquarium.
Fish and other aquatic creatures make for great pets because they don’t take up the entire house, and caring for them is relatively easy and affordable.
That said, you may be unsure if a mobile home can support an aquarium.
Large aquariums can sometimes weigh up to 850 pounds.
The good news is that heavy aquariums are also large.
They have a large floor span, which means they spread their weight across several feet.
This makes it easier for the floor to carry it.
That said, you should consider reserving that space for the aquarium only.
Don’t use it for other heavy items.
It’s also worth supporting the bottom underneath the house with cinder blocks.
Provided there’s space for it, your mobile home can support most aquariums.
Why Is Your Mobile Home Floor Sinking?
If you notice that your mobile home floor is sinking, then it’s a genuine concern.
One reason it might be sinking is that there’s too much weight in that one area.
You can fix the problem immediately by moving items to another location.
You can also support it from below with cinder blocks.
Another reason your floor might be sinking is water damage.
When your mobile home takes on water damage, the materials used to make it start to deteriorate.
It loses its structure and becomes weak.
Replacing the floor and subfloor should fix the problem.
Finally, it may be sinking because the mobile home is sinking as a whole.
You may need to park it on a slab foundation to preserve it.
Conclusion
Mobile home floors can support a good amount of weight.
However, to ensure you protect your floor, the best thing you can do is park it on a slab foundation or use several cinder blocks to give the floor additional support.
If you notice your floor is sinking, then it could be a sign of a serious problem.
NEXT: Why Is Fremont California So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)