Mobile Home Tie Downs in Mobile, AL

Who may install mobile home tie downs in Alabama?

AMHC rule 535-X-12-.02(5) says installation means locating, setting up, siting, tying down, anchoring or placing a home on its site. Under rules .01 and .04(1), every home, new or used, must be installed by a person the Commission has certified. That installer, or an employee who holds a current certificate of training, must be present for the entire job. Code of Alabama 24-5-32, as set out in the state's sunset report on the Commission, adds that it is unlawful to install or occupy a manufactured home unless it is tied down to properly installed ground anchors, and it names Mobile and Baldwin counties as hurricane wind zones.

The Commission may fine up to $500 for each home installed by an uncertified installer, and violating the installation requirements is a misdemeanor with a fine up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both (AMHC rules 535-X-12-.04(4) and .08(2)). Rule 535-X-13-.12 makes it a misdemeanor to install, allow to be installed, or occupy a home that is not set to the Commission's standards.

Tie down company, contractor or installer: which one do you need?

A business may call itself a contractor, but in Alabama the question is who holds the AMHC certificate and who will be on your lot for the whole job. The AMHC says an installer must file an application with a certification fee, hold a valid $20,000 bond and $100,000 in general liability insurance, finish the Commission's installer course with a test, and meet other personal requirements. You can check installers on the AMHC installer search. A certified installer must also buy an installation decal for each home. It shows the date, the installer's name and the certification number, and goes on the home on arrival, before work starts. The decal fee is $130 per home and the installer pays it (AMHC rule 535-X-19-.03, effective February 14, 2020).

How to hire someone to install mobile home tie downs

1. Get the certificate number. Ask who will do the work and what that person's AMHC certificate number is. Look it up before you agree to anything.
2. Describe the home. Give the length, the year built, the number of sections and the address. Send a photo of the data plate, which is often in a kitchen cabinet, at the electrical panel or in a bedroom closet (AMHC FAQ).
3. Ask for a written quote that lists the items in the comparison section below.
4. Ask who files the paperwork. Some jobs need AMHC notices and a decal, and the installer handles them.
5. Ask for a start window and for what can delay it.

Mobile home tie down kit installation: can an owner do it?

No, for the reason in the table above: retail prices for straps and anchors are public, but a kit does not change who may install it. Only anchors tested by an independent agency and approved by the Commission may be used (rule 535-X-13-.07). If a kit is part of your quote, ask whether its anchors are approved models for your soil.

Are tie downs required on mobile homes in Alabama?

Yes, for a home that is installed. The AMHC rules and state law require it, and the county's power checklist asks for the AMHC and installer decals.

• State law. Code of Alabama 24-5-32 requires a home to be tied down to properly installed ground anchors. A relocated existing home must comply immediately on arrival at its new site. The law does not apply to a home in transit between sites.
• AMHC rule. Rule 535-X-13-.07 sets the anchoring standard, and its Hurricane Zone table applies in Mobile and Baldwin counties. A new home is installed to its maker's manual, which since October 20, 2008 must meet or exceed the federal model installation standards (rule .06(10)-(11)).
• Data plate. A home built on or after June 15, 1976 cannot be installed in Alabama without a HUD label and data plate. The installer must not place a home in a zone that exceeds its design limits (rules .03 and .07(6)).
• County power release. Mobile County Inspection Services will not establish electric service until the AMHC inspection decal and the installer's decal are on the home. Alabama Power then needs about 24 hours after the county releases the service (Mobile County Mobile Home Checklist).

Lender requirements and the separate engineer's foundation certification

HUD's 2009 FHA guidance (Mortgagee Letter 2009-16) treats the engineer's foundation certification as a separate professional document under the Permanent Foundations Guide. It is not part of the tie-down job. Ask the lender in writing which document it wants and who must sign it, whether the loan is FHA, VA or USDA. Mobile Mobile Home Movers does not offer certifications.

Insurance: what the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association asks

The Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association (AIUA) covers eligible property in Baldwin and Mobile counties south of the 31st parallel. Its FAQ says a mobile home must be at least 8 by 32 feet with tie downs installed, and the applicant must give proof of the current, completed AMHC Installation Certification Label. Mobile homes are not eligible for DP-2 replacement-cost coverage. Applications go only through an AIUA authorized agent, and flood coverage is required in flood zones A and V. We found no published rule for private insurers, so ask your own agent what paperwork it wants.

Mobile home tie down cost: sourced price points

We found no dated price for tie-down work in Mobile or Baldwin County. These points are national or out-of-state, and none is a quote.

Mobile home tie down cost per anchor, and mobile home anchor cost

The parts side is the easier half: a retail double-helix anchor lists at $29.99 to $40.99, and a frame strap at $10.99 to $19.99 with a buckle. Delaware's sheet puts anchor hardware at $110 to $250 for a whole home. Labor is harder to pin down. One Florida company published about $75 per anchor plus materials in 2021, and the Delaware sheet puts installation at $1,500 to $2,000 per home. Neither labor figure was gathered in Alabama, so use them only to see whether a quote is in a sensible range.

Single wide tie down cost

No source prices a single-wide by itself, but the tie-count table below lets us show the arithmetic. The figures multiply the tie counts by the retail prices above and by the Florida labor rate, with one anchor and one strap per tie. They are not quotes, and they mix a 2021 Florida labor rate with 2026 retail parts.

If an approved double-load anchor carries two ties, a 36-tie home needs 18 anchors, and the same arithmetic gives $2,285.46 to $2,807.46. These figures leave out pier-height extra ties, stabilizer plates or collars, roof protectors, longitudinal ties, a soil probe, re-leveling, an 811 notice, travel and the installer's own margin. The Delaware range sits below the three-band arithmetic. The two need not agree, because they come from different years, places and assumptions.

Double wide tie down cost

There is no sourced double wide tie down cost. The tie count for a two-section home comes first (see the double wide count below), then the price per tie and any set-up charges.

Mobile home tie down installation cost: what moves the price

• Home length and sections. Longer homes need more ties.
• Pier height. Each extra 12 inches, or part of it, over 24 adds a diagonal tie.
• Soil and probe. Soil class decides which approved anchor may be used, and a probe adds a step. Plates or collars are needed where a vertical anchor takes a diagonal pull.
• Anchor type. Double-load anchors can lower the anchor count.
• Access. Ask whether low clearance under the home, skirting or a tight lot changes the quote. The Alabama rule needs 12 inches clear under the frame for new blocking (rule .06).
• Re-leveling, if the home is out of level. Ask whether it is in the quote.
• Older-home repairs. Ask which repairs, if any, the installer expects and price each as its own line.
• Roof protectors and longitudinal ties where the manual calls for them.
• Government paperwork. The installer buys the $130 decal under the rule. Ask whether it is itemized in your quote.

Mobile home tie down replacement cost and anchor replacement cost

We found no sourced price for strap-only or anchor-only replacement. Estimate parts from the table, a strap at $10.99 to $24.99 and an anchor at $29.99 to $40.99, and ask for labor as a separate line.

Is a tie down quote free? How to compare estimates

Ask each company whether its quote is free and whether it includes a site visit. Then compare line by line. A tie down estimate should name:

• The installer's name and AMHC certificate number.
• The tie count, split into vertical and diagonal, checked against the table and any pier-height extras.
• The anchor model, and the soil class it is approved for.
• Whether a probe test is included, and where.
• Stabilizer plates or concrete collars, and how many.
• Strap size, plus roof protectors for any over-the-roof ties.
• Longitudinal ties, if the manufacturer requires them.
• Who files AMHC notices, who puts on the installer's decal, and who calls 811.
• Skirting access: who removes and refits panels.
• What is not included, such as re-leveling or pier repair.
• The start window and the finish estimate.
• The paperwork you will get afterward, such as an itemized report with photos.

Put two or three written quotes side by side. A price far below the rest may leave out parts, a probe or the permits. If a company says the owner can do the tie-down work, or that a mover that is not a certified installer can, walk away: Alabama's rules say otherwise.

How long does a tie down job take?

No source we found gives a job time. The factors are the count (20 to 36 ties across the three length bands), the soil, the access under the home, and whether leveling or skirting work is part of the visit. If the 811 rule applies to driving anchors, notice is needed at least two working days before; ask the installer. Ask for a start window and a finish estimate in writing.

How many anchors does a mobile home need? The Hurricane Zone table

AMHC rule 535-X-13-.07(3) gives the number of ties per side of the home, by home length. Length does not include the draw bar. This is the table for the Wind Zone II / Hurricane Zone, which covers Mobile and Baldwin counties.

• Pier height adds ties. If a pier is over 24 inches high, the rule adds one diagonal tie for each extra 12 inches or part of it. A 40-inch pier is 16 inches over 24, so by that reading it adds two diagonal ties.
• The table counts ties, not anchors. Rule .08(4) allows no more than one tiedown on an anchor unless the anchor is approved for the combined load, so the anchor count can be lower than the tie count.
• New homes follow the maker's manual. The table is the state's standard. A new home is installed to its manual, which must meet the federal model standards (rule .06(10)-(11)).

How many tie downs does a 16x80 mobile home need?

A home sold as 16x80 falls in the 61 to 90 foot band, with or without the draw bar: 9 vertical and 9 diagonal ties on each side, so 36 in all, plus any pier-height extras. A 14x70 is in the same band. A 14x56 is in the 41 to 60 foot band, which means 28 ties, and a single-wide of 40 feet or less needs 20. These are the table's minimums, and the installer's count must match the table and your manual.

How many tie downs does a double wide need?

We will not print a number. The rule counts ties "per side of each manufactured home." It does not say whether a double-wide counts as one home or two sections, and it gives no lengths for multi-section homes. Each section carries its own HUD label (rule .03(1)), and multi-section homes must be lagged and sealed together to the maker's instructions (rule .07(5)). Ask the installer to show the count in writing and say which manual or rule it comes from.

How far apart should mobile home anchors be?

Alabama's rule says anchors are spaced "as evenly as practical" with the piers (rule .07(2)). Piers sit no more than 6 feet apart on center and no more than 2 feet from each end of the frame (rule .06). The federal standard also puts straps within 2 feet of each end of the home and sets the angle of a diagonal strap between 30 and 60 degrees to the ground (24 CFR 3285.402). Ask the installer for a drawing that shows your anchor spacing for Wind Zone II.

Does my mobile home have enough tie downs?

Find your home's length, count the straps on one side, and compare with the table. If you see fewer than the table lists, or only diagonal straps with no vertical ones, ask an installer to look. The check is for information only; the inspection section below covers what a full check includes.

How do I know if my tie downs are bad?

Look from outside the home. Do not climb under it or touch the hardware.

• Kinks or bends. The rule bans kinked and bent straps at installation, so a kink on an old strap is worth showing an installer.
• An anchor head well above the soil line, when the rule puts the bottom of the head within 1 inch of the surface.
• Missing identification marks on anchors. The rule says they must stay visible after installation.
• Fewer straps than the table lists.

The rule-based signs above call for an installer, not a do-it-yourself fix. Rust, slack straps, tilted anchors or a home that seems to have shifted are practice-based worries with no Alabama rule behind them, but they are also worth showing to an installer. The inspection section below covers what a full inspection checks.

Mobile home tie down repair, re-tensioning and replacement

AMHC defines installation as locating, setting up, siting, tying down, anchoring or placing a home. We found nothing that says whether tightening, replacing or adding a strap on a home already in place counts as installation. Treat it as installer work, because an owner may not install, and ask the AMHC and the company to confirm. If the work counts as installation, the rule's strap and anchor specifications and its tie table apply.

Tie down strap replacement and tie down replacement

Can you replace one damaged strap instead of the whole system? Sometimes. The installer decides. Ask whether the rest of the system still has the right count and is in sound condition, since one new strap fixes little if the others are kinked or too few. If the work counts as installation, the rule's strap specification in the parts table applies. Ask the installer which standard applies to your home.

Anchor replacement and anchor repair

An anchor that has pulled up, tilted or rusted through is installer work. Ask the installer what the fix would be, such as a reset, a stabilizer plate or collar, or an approved model that matches the soil class. Ask whether the quote includes a probe reading at the repair location.

Tie down re-tensioning

Re-tensioning means taking up slack in a strap that has gone loose. The installer decides whether the strap and anchor behind it are still sound. If the home is out of level, ask the installer whether leveling should come before tension is checked.

Mobile home re-anchoring, tie down retrofitting and upgrades for older homes

On this page, re-anchoring means a full new set of anchors and straps. Retrofitting means adding ties or parts to an existing system. Older homes are where retrofits come up most. HUD tightened its wind rules for Zones II and III for homes built from July 13, 1994 (FEMA P-85, Chapter 1.2.3.1), so ask whether your older home's system differs from the Hurricane Zone table above. Ask the installer to count the ties against the table, say which parts would be added and which reused, and price each as its own line. The page on older mobile home tie down upgrades goes through the questions for these homes.

Tie downs and leveling: the difference, and mobile home blocking and anchoring

Blocking means the piers and pads that carry the home's weight. Alabama's minimum rule puts piers no more than 6 feet apart on center, within 2 feet of each frame end, on pads at least 16 by 16 by 4 inches, resting on soil rated for 2,000 pounds per square foot. Piers over 32 inches are double-tiered, and 60 inches is the maximum height unless an engineer designs it or National Flood Insurance Program rules call for something else (AMHC rule .06). Leveling uses shims and pier adjustments to make the floor flat. Anchoring holds the home down. If the home is out of level, ask the installer how leveling and the straps fit together, and see mobile home leveling and mobile home setup for the other half of the work.

Does the skirting have to come off to work on tie downs?

Ask whether the straps and anchors can be reached without removing skirting, and who removes and refits panels. Ask whether that is in the quote and what happens if panels crack. A newly set-up home may not be skirted until an AMHC inspector has inspected the set-up, or ten days after notice if none comes (rule .11). Skirting that closes in the space under a home must be vented, and a 6-mil ground vapor retarder should cover the ground there (rule .06(2)). Details are on the mobile home skirting page.

Tie down inspection: what's checked and how often

An inspection finds problems and puts them on paper. It does not tighten a strap or replace a part. What's checked: the tie count on each side against the Hurricane Zone table, pier heights, strap condition (rust, kinks, slack), anchor marks and heads, plates or collars, roof protectors, and whether the home has shifted. The signs listed above are the ones to look for from outside.

How often is not set by any Alabama rule we read, so this is practice, not law. Sensible times are before June 1, after a named storm or flood, after a re-level, and before a sale or an insurance renewal. The mobile home tie down inspection page has the checklist and the report to ask for.

Documentation for owners, buyers, insurers and lenders: photo reports

Four people may ask for paper on your tie downs, and each wants something different.

• Owners. Keep your own dated photos of each side of the home, the straps and the anchors, plus the installer's written quote and itemized report.
• Buyers. Mobile County asks for a title or Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin for homes 20 years old or newer, and a bill of sale for all homes. The installer's decal shows the installer's name and certification number.
• Insurers. The AIUA asks for proof of the current, completed AMHC Installation Certification Label. We found no published rule for private insurers, so ask your agent.
• Lenders. Ask which document is wanted. Ask who must sign it, as covered above.

A photo report should show the date and address, one wide shot and one close shot of every strap and anchor, the tie count on each side, and a list of what could not be seen. Ask the installer to say whether the report is also a quote.

Mobile home tie downs after a move, and on an existing mobile home

When a home moves, anchoring systems are removed in the reverse order from which they were installed (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.06). Only licensed manufacturers or retailers, or certified installers, may prepare a unit for transport (rule 535-X-12T). At the new site the certified installer sets up the home, which includes anchoring, and decides what is used there. A mover does not do this unless the mover is also a certified installer.

• Notices. Whoever pulls and drops a home for final delivery must tell the Commission the exact location within 72 hours of arrival. For a secondary siting with no retailer, the installer must notify the Commission 72 hours before starting (AMHC rule .11(4)-(5)).
• Decal on arrival. The installer's decal goes on the home before installation starts.
• New soil. The installer finds the soil class again, by probe or by using the default anchor approved for the weakest soils (rule .05(4)). Whether old parts can be reused is the installer's call; ask for it in writing.
• Inspection before skirting. No skirting until the AMHC set-up inspection or the ten-day release.

For a home nobody moved, ask the installer which standard applies to your home. Which AMHC notices apply to repair on a home already in place is not stated in the rules we read, so ask the company in writing which ones it files.

Storm readiness and post-storm checks: storm tie downs and hurricane preparation

This is practice advice, not a rule, because we found no Alabama rule that sets a check schedule or a post-storm duty.

How to secure a mobile home for a hurricane

• Look before June 1. Walk around before the hurricane season opens (June 1 to November 30). Photograph each side of the home, the straps and the anchors, so you can show their condition before any storm.
• Call early. If you see rust, slack or a missing strap, call a company before a storm is named.
• Leave tightening and adding straps to an installer.
• Follow local emergency orders.

Mobile home shifted in a storm: repair steps

1. Stay out if the home looks unsafe or the ground is flooded.
2. Photograph every side, the piers, straps and anchors, and any strain on utility lines.
3. Have licensed trades check gas, electric and water connections. Alabama says these connections are made by licensed or certified contractors (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.02).
4. Call an installer for repair or replacement. Do not re-tension the straps yourself.
5. Tell your insurer and keep your photos.

The Commission handles consumer complaints about installation. In its response to a state audit, it said it lacks authority to require corrections more than one year after installation of a new home, unless there is an imminent safety hazard or serious defect. That limit is for new homes. For an older home, ask the AMHC what applies.

Why tie downs matter: wind uplift, lateral movement and hurricanes in Mobile and Baldwin counties

Mobile and Baldwin counties are a Hurricane Zone under AMHC rules, and the rule describes anchoring as resisting overturning and sliding.

AMHC rule 535-X-13-.02(17) defines a "Hurricane Zone" as an area of Alabama that has met sustained winds of 100 mph or more, and it names Mobile and Baldwin counties. The same table applies in Mobile, Prichard, Saraland and Satsuma in Mobile County, and in Daphne, Fairhope, Spanish Fort, Bay Minette and Robertsdale in Baldwin County.

After Hurricanes Sally and Zeta in 2020, 852 FEMA individual assistance applications came from mobile homes, equal to 70% of the households living in mobile homes in the city of Mobile (City of Mobile Local Recovery Plan, 2024). The same plan says Mobile County has 39 federally declared disasters on record, counted from 1953, 24 of them hurricanes.

Tie downs resist overturning and sliding, and they meet a written standard. No source we found supports saying any home is safe from storm damage, and this page does not. Flood is a separate problem with its own rules.

Do I need a permit for mobile home tie downs?

We did not find a rule that requires a separate permit to re-anchor a home that is already in place. For new placements, Mobile County Inspection Services applies a checklist before power is released, and it includes the AMHC inspection decal and the installer's decal. Mobile County's building code makes the owner, installer and contractor jointly responsible for getting a building permit, but it does not say whether re-anchoring needs one. Inside the city of Mobile, manufactured homes are allowed only by conditional use permit in certain residential districts. Before work starts, ask the installer which office, if any, wants paperwork: Mobile County Inspection Services, the City of Mobile, or the building office for the county or city where the home sits.

Call 811 before anchors go in

Ground anchors are driven into the soil, and buried lines may be there. Alabama 811 law says notice of excavation must be given at least two but not more than ten working days before work starts, not counting the day of notice. A notice is valid for 20 working days from the planned start. Near a marked line, the tolerance zone is the width of the facility plus 18 inches on each side, and non-invasive methods such as hand digging are used there.

Ask the installer whether the 811 rule applies to driving anchors, and who will make the request and when. If it applies, notice is needed at least two working days before. The state fines a first violation of the damage-prevention law up to $500 per incident, and gross negligence up to $10,000. Alabama 811's site offers an online locate request. Its law page links to a revised law that takes effect January 1, 2027; ask the installer which version applies to your job.

Parts of a tie-down system: ground anchors, anchor heads, stabilizer plates, galvanized straps and ties

Each part has a job, and Alabama's rule sets limits on most of them. The parts are ground anchors with anchor heads, stabilizer plates or collars, galvanized straps, frame (diagonal) ties, over-the-top (vertical) ties, longitudinal stabilizers and tension devices.

Vertical and diagonal tie downs

A vertical tie goes at each diagonal tie location in homes designed for Wind Zones II and III. A diagonal tie pulls at an angle against sliding. The rule's footnote notes that federal standards require every home designed for Wind Zones II and III to have a vertical tie at each diagonal tie location. That matters for older homes, covered in the retrofit section above.

Over the top tie downs

Alabama requires a metal roof protector with over-the-roof ties (AMHC rule .08(9)). Ask the quote whether the home's manual calls for them and whether roof protectors are priced in.

Longitudinal stabilizer system

These are ties and anchors that hold a home against movement along its length. The AMHC rule says manufacturer-required longitudinal ties must be installed. The federal anchoring rule for Wind Zones II and III also calls for longitudinal anchors at the ends of transportable sections, or an engineer-certified alternative (24 CFR 3285.402).

Mobile home strapping and hurricane straps for a mobile home

Alabama's rule does not use the term "hurricane straps". It sets rules for steel straps (tiedowns) and for over-the-roof ties, described above. The strap is steel strapping, type 1, finish B, grade 1, 1 1/4 inch wide and 0.035 inch thick, and it must not be kinked, bent or abnormally stressed when installed (AMHC rule .08(7)-(8)). The federal standard calls for protection on anchors, straps and metal plates at least equivalent to a zinc coating of 0.30 ounce per square foot (24 CFR 3285.402). A slack strap is worth showing to an installer.

Tension devices on tie down straps

Retail listings sell frame ties with a buckle or with a hook (Mobile Home Outfitters, read October 17, 2026). No Alabama rule we read names a tension device or sets a strap tension, so ask the installer how tension is set and who will check it.

Wind Zone 2 tie downs and the data plate

Zone II is the 100 mph zone and Zone III is the 110 mph zone (FEMA P-85, Figure 1-1). Your data plate shows the zone your home was built for, and a Wind Zone I home cannot be installed in Wind Zone II (AMHC rule .07(6)). HUD tightened its wind rules for Zones II and III for homes built from July 13, 1994 (FEMA P-85, Chapter 1.2.3.1). If your plate shows Zone I, or the home is older than that, read the retrofit section above before you call anyone.

Soil type and anchor choice, plus probe testing for mobile home anchors

Alabama sorts soil into five classes by blow count and by the torque needed to turn a test probe. The installer must find the class and may use each anchor only in a class it is approved for (AMHC rules .05, .07(1) and .08(2)).

Below the class IV values, the rule says to consult a registered professional engineer. The federal standard uses different class names and break points, so ask which table the installer used. We did not find a published soil class for Mobile or Baldwin County, and this page does not guess one. The city sits on the low-lying Gulf Coastal Plain, and its recovery plan describes flood risk and poor drainage. That is why the class must be found on your lot and not assumed.

Mobile home anchor soil test: the probe

The test uses a helical probe whose helical section is 10.75 inches long with a 1.25 inch major diameter, turned into the ground while a gauge reads the torque. Without a probe test, the rule says a Commission-approved C4 or C5 anchor must be used, the one approved for the weakest soils (AMHC rule .05(4)). A probe can let the installer use an anchor matched to the soil, and a skipped test means the default anchor. The federal standard probes at least three places and lets the lowest reading govern (24 CFR 3285.402). Ask whether a probe test is in the quote.

Ground anchors: auger anchors, slab anchors and rock anchors

Each model must be third-party tested and approved, must hold at least 4,725 pounds, and may move no more than 2 inches vertically or 3 inches horizontally in the test (AMHC rule .09(3)). Models must also be field-tested for holding power in the weaker half of the soil classes, and tested in all soil types in Alabama (rule .09(6)(j) and (8)(c)). An installed anchor goes to full depth, with the bottom of its head within 1 inch of the soil surface (rule .08(3)).

• Auger anchors. The retail listing we found is a double-head, double-helix anchor (Mobile Home Outfitters).
• Slab anchors for a mobile home. The AMHC rule text we read does not spell out slab anchors. It does let the Commission approve optional anchoring systems if they do not conflict with the maker's instructions (rule .07(7)). If your home sits on a slab, ask the installer which approved system will be used.
• Rock anchors. Allowed only in solid rock (rule .08(10)).

Mobile home stabilizer plates and concrete collars

When an anchor is set vertically but pulls on a diagonal strap, the rule calls for a stabilizer plate, a concrete collar or another approved stabilizer device. The plate goes in vertical to its full depth with its head flush with the soil. A collar must be 10 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep (rule .08(6)). Anchors are set vertically, or with the rod in line with the pull (rule .08(5)). Ask the quote to say which is used and how many.

Mobile home tie downs in sandy soil

Sands and coarse gravel with a blow count of 40 or more sit in class II, while loose fine sand sits in class V, the weakest group. So "sandy soil" does not tell an installer which anchor to use. The probe does. If your yard is sandy, ask for the probe readings or the class the installer recorded, and which anchor model is approved for that class.

Mobile home tie down questions

Are tie downs required on mobile homes in Mobile, AL?

Yes, for an installed home. Code of Alabama 24-5-32 requires a home to be tied down to properly installed ground anchors, and AMHC rule 535-X-13-.07 sets the Hurricane Zone table that applies in Mobile and Baldwin counties. A relocated home must comply on arrival at its new site.

What is a wind zone?

HUD's wind zones are a map of design wind speeds. Zone II is 100 mph and Zone III is 110 mph (FEMA P-85). Mobile and Baldwin counties are a Hurricane Zone under AMHC rules. The data plate in your home shows the wind zone it was built for, and a Zone I home cannot be installed in Zone II.

Do I need new tie downs after the move?

You need a tie-down system that meets the table at the new site. Anchoring is part of the certified installer's set-up. Old straps and anchors come off when a licensed manufacturer, retailer or certified installer prepares the unit (rule 535-X-12T-.06), and the installer decides whether any can be reused. Each reused part must still be an approved model with readable marks and a good strap, set in a soil class it is approved for.

Can tie downs be installed on a home the company didn't move?

Anchoring is installation, which a certified installer does, whoever moved the home. For a secondary siting with no retailer, the installer must notify the AMHC 72 hours before starting. What notices apply to repair on a home already in place is not stated in the rules we read, so ask.

Can I replace a damaged strap instead of the full system?

Sometimes. The installer decides. If the work counts as installation, the rule's strap specification (1 1/4 inch by 0.035 inch) applies. Ask the installer which standard applies to your home and whether the rest of the system is sound.

What is the difference between tie downs and leveling?

Leveling and blocking use piers and shims to carry the weight and make the floor flat. Tie downs hold the home against wind. Ask the installer whether leveling should come before the straps are checked.

Does soil type matter for anchoring?

Yes. Alabama sorts soil into five classes, and an anchor may be used only in a class it is approved for. A probe finds the class. Without one, the default is an anchor approved for the weakest soils.

How many tie downs does a 16x80 mobile home need?

The Hurricane Zone table gives 9 vertical and 9 diagonal ties on each side for homes 61 to 90 feet long, so 36 ties in all, plus one more diagonal tie for each extra 12 inches of pier height over 24 inches.

How many tie downs does a double wide need?

The rule counts ties per side of each home and does not say how to count a two-section home, so we give no number. Ask the installer to show the count and the manual or rule it comes from.

Do I need a permit for mobile home tie downs?

We found no rule requiring a separate permit to re-anchor a home in place. New placements go through the county checklist, which needs the AMHC decal and the installer's decal. Ask the installer which office wants paperwork.

Can I put in tie downs myself?

No. In Alabama an owner may not install a home unless the owner is a certified installer, and tying down counts as installation.

How long does a tie down job take?

No source gives a time. It follows the tie count, the soil and the access under the home, and an 811 notice may come first if the rule applies to driving anchors. Ask for a start window and a finish estimate in writing.