How Manufactured Homes Are Delivered

Ali N.November 30, 2022 | 5 minute read

Learn more about how your manufactured home will be delivered and completed on your home site.

Picking out the home of your dreams is exciting, especially when you get to see it delivered and then placed on your land. This is where your dream of homeownership becomes a reality, and we want to ensure you’re well prepared for this process. So, let’s discuss what you need to know.

Working with a Home Consultant

While your home is being built inside one of our home building facilities, you'll be working with your home consultant to make sure your land is ready for your home to be delivered. Specifically, you will want to know what you are responsible for and what our home center experts can help with when it comes to preparing your home site and the final, on-site installation of your home.

Most home centers will handle hiring site preparation crews and the on-site completion of your home for you. If your home center does not, they can provide you with a list of local contractors that are familiar with our homes and guide you through your home site preparation journey. This may seem overwhelming to do alone, so we want to make sure you and your home consultant work together to ensure all the building and code requirements are met for your new home!

So what do you need to do to make this process go smoothly? Before the contractor begins preparing the land for the home’s delivery, be sure to let them know ahead of time if they’ll have to:

Avoid trees, brush, fences or other obstacles
Avoid low hanging power lines or an underpass
Drive on narrow roads with tight corners
Cross someone else’s land to get to yours

You’ll also work with the on-site construction crew to plan the delivery of your home and determine the layout of the home on your land. Once you and your crew have determined that your land is accessible for home delivery, land preparation can begin.

Home Site Preparation

We will get into the details of how a contractor prepares your home’s land, but first here is a great site preparation checklist you will want to consult so you will know what to expect.

To prepare your land for your home, the contractor will first ensure that it is level and compacted. Your contractor will also make sure your land is crowned for proper drainage, meaning that the ground slopes away from the home on all sides to prevent water from accumulating under it.

At this time the contractors will also:

Check the soil type
Determine the frost line
Ensure ground anchors will be used

After everything is verified to make sure the ground underneath it will be stable, the foundation can then be constructed.

The most common type of foundation used for manufactured homes is the pier and beam system. In this system, footers are dug and filled with cement to create support for the piers that provide structural stability for the home. A reinforced vapor barrier is then placed on top of the footers for added protection from pest, moisture and allergens. The solid steel frame on your home provides the beams that complete the pier and beam system.

This is also when you and your home consultant would also need to arrange for a separate contractor to dig for and install your septic system or well, if needed, and prepare for the home to be connected to any other utilities. At this time, you’ll also want to prepare to have your driveway built as well as for other land improvement options. Once all of this is complete, it will be time for your home to be delivered.

Delivering Your Manufactured Home

To make sure our homes are delivered safely and to give you peace of mind we created Clayton Connect, whose primary mission is to deliver your manufactured home to your home site.

Many of our customers can work with the Clayton Connect team, rather than a third party, which makes it easier for Clayton to coordinate and supervise the different parts of the home delivery process. Our team members take great pride making sure we have home deliver drivers who uphold our commitment to quality service and can help answer any questions you have.

On-Site Completion of Your Home

As far as what to expect once your home arrives at your home site, you'll have the opportunity to do a walkthrough with your home consultant before move-in day. If there are any concerns, your home consultant will work with the home building facility to resolve them quickly.

Once your home has arrived at the home site, the on-site construction crew will place it on the foundation with a jack and rolling system or by craning it onto the foundation. The home is then evaluated to make sure that weight is distributed evenly across the foundation system. Next, the home is anchored with tie downs, and, if it’s a multi-section home, securely joined together. The tie downs and anchor system will help stabilize your home against wind.

To finish installing your home at the home site, your crew will:

Connect utilities
Test hookups
Install appliances and home equipment that are not already installed
Complete interior touch-ups
Install exterior skirting if you choose to add skirting

As you can see, the home consultants, delivery team and on-site crew all work together to make your dream of homeownership into a reality. Throughout each step of the process, we’ll take extra care to deliver you the best quality home and best service. We can’t wait to give you and your family the keys to your new life. Come find a home center location near you today and begin that journey to homeownership.

Are you ready to find your dream home?

Start shopping now or find a home center in your area to learn more about Clayton Built® home options.

Tour Clayton Built® homes when you visit a location near you.

Find Locations

Legal Privacy Privacy Notice for California Residents