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This NBC News 2 in Orlando, WESH, video report is insightful on numerous levels.
First, it reflects the ‘right stuff’ exhibited by the members of the installation team that put the higher priority on saving a man’s life than protecting the home that was being installed. That’s behavior that reflects a proper ‘people first’ concern that should be applauded.
Next, it obliquely reveals how seldom such dangerous incidents occur. Manufactured home installation is science, with some art and experience mixed in, as professional installers can tell you.
Third, it is a reminder why ongoing training and safety measures are so important to installers and transporters. Precisely because such incidents are relatively rare, it suggests that state-level training classes in place are doing a decent job.
Fourth, with all due respect, it reflects the need for many newscasters and mainstream media reporters to be properly informed about the correct terminology. As media ourselves, we strive to get terminology correct when we are writing about other people’s field of expertise. That same courtesy ought to be applied to manufactured homes. See the related reports, further below the byline.
Modern manufactured homes, even ‘entry level’ manufactured homes, are heavy. A single-section home may be 20,000 pounds (+/-), or ten tons. Multiple section homes – often errantly referred to by many as ‘double-wides,’ can weigh around that weight or more.
A manufactured home being installed is not a pretty site, as it is not the home at its best, when it is completely set up. But it is an interesting and necessary process.
Tens of thousands of such installations occur every year.
As the affordable housing crisis grows, the need for affordable manufactured homes are increasing too. Not to be forgotten or overlooked in the mix is the vital role that installation crews play.
When a multiple section manufactured home installation is complete, it can look much the same as a conventional home, as some of the photo below reflects. That’s possible at a fraction of the price of conventional housing.
The two topics may seem – and are – quite different, but let’s quote from a piece of legislation that is working its way through the Congress at this time.
Quoting from the GovInfo.gov website:
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Manufactured housing is a significant source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the United States.
(2) Nearly 22,000,000 people in the United States live in manufactured housing, which opens the door to homeownership for families who, in many housing markets, cannot afford to buy a site-built home.
(3) Manufactured housing is the only form of housing regulated by a Federal building code, which includes standards for health, safety, energy efficiency, and durability, and is found on land owned by the homeowner and land leased by the homeowner in communities owned and operated by private entities, nonprofit organizations, or resident-owned communities.
(4) Manufactured homes can open the door to homeownership for millions of families; they can appreciate in value and be an effective long-term affordable housing solution for some families and communities across the United States.
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Based upon the evidence, those 4 points made by Congress are spot on. They reflect a summary of what MHLivingNews has documented from third-party research and reported on for years.
It sounds like this installer will recover, which all should be grateful for, but we should also be glad that professionals are at work day-by-day doing jobs like this that are so important for so many others.
“We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Lifestyle news, commentary, and analysis.) (Third-party images and citations are provided under fair use guidelines.)
Soheyla Kovach co-founder of MHLivingNews, on left,
with son Tamas (pronounced like Tah Mash), and publisher L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, on the right.
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