The Complete Manufactured Home Porch Manual (with 100 Photos!)
Adding a new deck or porch onto your mobile home is a great investment. It can increase your home’s value, add visual interest and curb appeal, and give your family more living space. If you’ve been thinking about building a new manufactured home deck or porch this is def the article for you.
We have collected over 100 photos of great mobile home deck and porch designs with lots of great tips and advice for planning and building your own.
What’s the difference between a deck and a porch?
The difference between a porch and a deck is just the roof. Porches have a roof, decks do not.
The design you chose for your manufactured home porch will be a big factor toward the cost.
If you go with a manufactured home porch that has a simple lean-to design using metal roofing you can probably build a 10′ X 10′ porch for just a few hundred dollars.
High-pitched gable roofs will require a lot more building materials and the skilled labor needed to create intricate designs so that will cost more.
How Much Does a Manufactured Home Porch Cost?
A new mobile home porch typically costs between $5,000 and $10,000 but with the right planning, it’s possible to build a porch for much less. Location is always going to be a big factor. Here in WV labor is a bit cheaper than it was in SC so keep that in mind.
Size, Design, Material, and Labor are the Biggest Cost Factors
The size of the porch will be the biggest factor in cost. Of course, larger porches and decks require more building materials.
Homeadvisor states, “The cost to build a 200-square-foot covered porch ranges from $4,600 to $22,000, or $10,500 on average. You can expect to pay $23 to $110 per square foot. The total includes flooring, steps, posts, railing, roofing and more. This includes a material cost of $11 to $70 per square foot and $12 to $40 per square foot in labor.”
The More You Can DIY the More Money Your Can Save
You can save money by doing many of the tasks yourself. Demolishing and removing the old porch yourself can save a lot of money.
Picking up the rubbish after construction can save a bit of money as well.
Even buying and delivering your own materials will save a bit on costs. Offering to be a helper during construction can also save money. It never hurts to ask.
Site Built Vs. Manufactured Home Porch
There is a difference between manufactured home porches and site-built home porches. However, it’s this difference that can make building a porch for a manufactured home cheaper.
Nothing can be built onto a manufactured home’s structure, meaning additions and porches must be built as a free-standing unit with its own footers and must move separately from the home just like you would build a mobile home addition.
Keep your Local Code and Regulation in Mind
Like all building projects, you’ll need to abide by the local building codes. For example, if your porch sits high off the ground it will need railings and those must usually be at least 32″ so that cost will need to be added. Steps are also highly regulated and the rise and run must be a certain measurement to meet code. Learn more about mobile home steps here.
Free Online Porch Design Programs
Do you want side steps or front steps? Is a pitched roof or a gable roof your favorite? Have a favorite railing design?
Front Porch Illustrator
The best website I’ve found for mobile home porch designs is Front Porch Ideas and More. They also have a very handy Front Porch Illustrator that can help you determine the right porch design for your home. While they do not have a manufactured home to chose from, they do have a standard ranch home that can suffice with a little imagination.
Here’s the home without a porch:
Here is one of the many choices of porch designs (Porch R9- Pitched roof, column capitals, painted ceiling, ashlar floor, and cast bed edging):
Visit the Front Porch Illustrator Here.
AZEK Deck Designer
Azek Building Products has a deck designer that could be useful to you. You’ll need to create an account and have Java installed but it does create a nifty 3D visualization of your desired designs with precise cut dimensions and material lists.
Planning a New Porch for Your Mobile or Manufactured Home
Once you’ve chosen the perfect deck or porch design for your manufactured home you’ll need to start planning the build.
Simple deck designs can be built by experienced DIY enthusiasts. If you’re knowledgeable of basic construction methods (footers, post & beam construction techniques, and roofing concepts) and comfortable with tools it should be a fairly straight-forward process. More complex builds are probably best left to the professionals.
You can find lots of free porch and deck designs online. Most come with complete schematics, cut dimensions, and materials list.
Aztek Building Products Free Deck Plans
Aztek Building Products, mentioned above, has several free deck designs on their website. Click here to view all of them. Once you click on the design you like it will open a PDF with several pages of detailed information, from schematics to material lists. Here’s an example:
Material List
Decks.com Free Deck Plans
Decks.com has hundreds of free deck plans available on their website. Click here to see them all. You’ll chose the design and then the size and enter your name and email information and they will email you a materials list. Here’s a sample of the various designs available:
What is the Right Size for a Manufactured Home Porch or Deck?
Once you’ve decided on the style of your new porch you’ll need to decide on the size.
The scale is an important aspect to consider when planning a porch or deck. You’ll want it to look like it was always a part of the home and to help add dimension, a quality that is sorely lacking in most manufactured homes.
Most professionals advise that you never go under 6 foot on either width or length for a mobile home deck or porch.
You’ll want enough space to sit and visit with friends and family comfortably. If you plan on grilling or having a table you’ll probably need at least 8-foot.
You’ll also need to consider railing placement since railing is rarely positioned at the very edge with traditional porch designs. Typically there will be at least a 1″ overhang and if you are using 6″ columns they will need to be positioned over the framing – this automatically reduces your width by 7 inches minimum thus your 6′ wide porch will only have 5′ 5″ of usable space.
Length will be based on your home’s length and personal preference more than anything. Take into consideration shelter from the rain while walking to your garage or driveway and if you want the porch to wrap around to the side of your home.
Roofing Considerations for a New Porch
The roof of your new porch will impact your home significantly. You’ll have to consider the rise and run of the roof and how it will be incorporated into the roof on the home. Most professionals suggest that porch roofs have a minimum 3/12 pitch, meaning the roof rises 3″ for every 1 foot of length. This provides adequate rain and snow runoff.
Turning a Deck into a Porch – Weight Support Differences
If you have a manufactured home deck that you want to turn into a covered porch you’ll have to consider a few things. Ideally, the best scenario would have been building the roof when you built the deck because there are footing and weight considerations to take into account.
While it’s a great project, you’ll have to ensure that your deck can handle the added weight of the roof. Porches must support 80 lbs per square foot. Decks only need to support 55 lbs.
Here’s what Decks.com had to say:
The downside is that porches are more expensive than just a deck and are relatively hard to build. You also must note that decks with porches must be designed to support 80 lbs per square foot compared to 55 lbs per square foot for decks. This extra 25 lbs is required to safely support the roof and snow loads. Decks with porches need to be specially engineered to distribute more complicated loads to the frost Footings are often required on the sides of decks that use a gable porch roof. Footing sizes are larger and need to be positioned so that support posts can directly transfer roof loads through sound framing to solid foundations.
How to Build a New Mobile Home Deck
If you will be building your new mobile home porch or deck yourself you should do a little research to reacquaint yourself with the basic building techniques.
Porches are an American tradition. Many of us were practically raised on a front porch. I know I sure was! Aside from being a great gathering place for family and neighbors, porches have many other advantages – extended living space and energy savings are two of the best.
If your home is high enough off the ground your options for roofing are broadened. You can design the roof to simply continue down from the homes roof pitch which is what they did.
This photo of the building process and was found on a great little blog called Butterfly Musings.
You can read more about this mobile home remodel here.
This single wide has a combination porch and deck that wraps around the single wide. It’s perfect because this home happens to be right beside a beautiful river and the view is awesome!
This next double wide manufactured home has a beautiful porch! Faux rock panels are used on the columns and it really makes a statement. This home was found on FauxPanels.com.
The single wide below is beautiful! Not only did it get new log siding but it also got a complete front porch. You can see the original home in the lower right corner – the transformation is gorgeous! The image is from Modulog.com.
One of my favorite blogs is My Hearts Song. Geneva and her husband have completely remodeled their single wide and the end result is spectacular. She does a great job of sharing their projects with her readers and answering questions. My Heart’s Song is a must-read blog for every manufactured homeowner.
This is their front porch construction and below is the porch beautifully decorated which is one of Geneva’s many talents. She can come to decorate my home anytime!
The double wide below is one of the most popular featured homes here on Mobile Home Living. It’s a great home with lots of customization, including a wrap-around porch that runs the entire length of the front of the home and the width. You can read all about the home here.
Did you know that Better Homes and Gardens once featured a single wide remodel in their magazine? We featured it here on Mobile Home Living too! One of the weird things about the feature was the fact that BHG called the home a trailer house – I just always thought that was weird (and sorta rude – why couldn’t it just be a mobile home?)
Here’s the home in the midst of construction. The owners added double the square footage with the addition of a screened-in front porch and roof-over.
Adding a Porch to a Manufactured Home
Building a porch or deck onto a manufactured home is a bit easier than building onto a site-built house. Since most areas don’t allow a true attachment to a manufactured home the building aspect is just a tad bit easier – you won’t have to modify the home much. The porch and roof will simply ‘butt against’ the home instead of being attached via framing. You should definitely check your local code before building!
The design you chose will probably impact your life and your home more than you realize. Choose wisely!
Once you chose your porch design and size you can utilize the free plans and get complete material lists and schematics, both invaluable items to have when building anything.
Here are 100 great mobile home deck and porch designsthat can help you decide which style best suits you.
This porch design with a gabled roof is one of the most traditional designs in the US. It’s going to be one of the most expensive designs because of the shingled roof.
Source
Related: If you like decorating your home in a country style this double wide is perfect for you.
The manufactured home deck below will cost less than the gabled porch above since there is no roof.
Manufactured home porches that look to be 100% part of the home, like the one below, are perfect if you want to make a factory-built home look more like a site-built home. These will be expensive.
The porch below is one of the most affordable. If you want a simple porch and you’re on a budget this design is probably the best.
This is another example of the affordable metal roof lean-to design. However, making a home wheelchair accesible will significantly increase costs. My dad had to have a 12′ ramp built onto his home and it costs right at $650 in materials alone.
I love this porch! It has the simple gabled roof design but is not closed in so it looks more rustic (especially with that rafter design).
See the interior of the single wide above here.
See Mobile Home Decorating Ideas for Every Room in the House
See more of this beautiful manufactured home here!
See more of this gorgeous mobile home here!
See more of this awesome manufactured home remodel here!
See this awesome manufactured home remodel here!
See more of this beautiful manufactured home here!
See more of this gorgeous mobile home remodel here on Mobile Home Living!
Get lots of great manufactured home landscaping tips here!
See the interior of this 1997 Clayton double wide here.
See the rest of this gorgeous home here.
See the entire single wide, named The Whim, here.
See the interior of this beautiful cabin style double wide here.
Thank you so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
This article was first published with 45 porch designs on March 29, 2015, and has been updated to include 100 manufactured home porch and deck designs along with updated information.
Great place!!
This is such a wonderful, helpful article.
We just finished re-staining our 12×16 front porch, touching up the
white railing, ect. It really makes a difference in a home’s look and ‘feel’.
We are happy and proud when we turn our wooded driveway corner and see
our beautiful home waiting for us. Thank you for all the great work you do. There
is no other place online like it.
We moved into a 2002 Solitaire 2000 s/f home. Now for the front for a grand interest
I am looking at buying a mobile home (double wide) in Eastern Washington. I happened to see the word mommaw and had to look. I was raised in Boone County West Virginia. I loved my mommaws and their porches. Thank you. Many great memories flooding back. Lisa
Hi Lisa, I’m originally from Wyoming County and know Boone County well! Always good to hear from a fellow Mountaineer!
Another mountaineer here! Mason Co WV! Getting ready to put a double wide on some property in FL. And I need a big screened-in porch!
Hi Lora! Great to hear from another mountaineer (though I’m a Marshall U fan!). We lived in FL for about 3 years and yes you do need a screened-in porch with fans!
You should take pics so we can feature you!!
Hi Mercer county WVa in Mission Texas now
Wyoming County! Great to see ya on here!
Such a wonderful site to use as inspiration. Moving into a mobile home after house destroyed by Hurricane Harvey and trying to find ways to disguise the “mobile” look of it. Some great ideas here! Especially for front porch designs.
Hi Nana,
So sorry you lost your home in the hurricane. I hope you can make your new house home real quick. Would love to see your home when you get settled in. Best of luck to you! Keep in touch!
This is fantastic information! I really appreciate the many resources after the article – thanks! Before next winter hits, I’m hoping to replace my front deck with an enclosed porch/mudroom. I’m still searching for inspiration, but I’m confident I’ll find something I love here in this post ☺️
Hello, my name is Theresa
I have a single mobile home in Elgin IL.
Currently I do have a deck now but its not a high quality product. The wood is rotting only 10 years old. I, am looking to replace the deck plus 2 doors front and back. also looking to possibly add a gazebo attach with the deck. The Mobile is 19 x 16 or 18 x 16 the deck now I think is a 16 x 8? please send me
prices ranging from what to what? I do like the length of the deck and height I have no choice it off the ground. above the skirting and im on a cement slab under my home.
contact me with Ideas and verity of pricing styles and pictures to view phone no to contact
thank you Theresa
Hi Theresa,
I don’t sell anything or have anything to do with building or repairing. I’m just a mobile homeowner that started a blog and writes about them. Sorry! (sounds like a great project though!)
The best screened porch designs incorporate the following five design elements into the overall structure. Most people; however, often fail to realize how important each element impacts the overall comfort and enjoyment of their screened porch. Before you start planning your screen porch addition, be sure to understand how each of these will affect your overall design. Doing so will ensure years of enjoyment.
What are the 5 design elements?
What 5 design elements are you referring to?
FYI: A lot of bloggers and website owners will post comments that are meant to look like legitimate additions to the conversation so they can get a backlink to their site. When an established site like Mobile Home Living ‘links’ to a site it’s supposed to help that site rank higher on Google search and I suspect that is what happened here. It’s a constant battle to keep the comment section clean.
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i really like the ideas , I am l always looking for budget friendly ways to make my home look not so much like a moble homes
We have a wheelchair ramp; My husband wants steps to portable car port. We are 38 inches off the ground.
Can remove part of the rail to make room for
Steps. My question: what kind and how many
Steps? Will need railing. Thank you for your advise, Karen
Hi Karen!
Unfortunately, ramps and rails are regulated by your local or state code so you’ll need to call your local building permit office to find out what their rules are.
Without seeing your ramp it would be hard to give you the help you need but I don’t see why you would have any issues. Typically, wheelchair ramps are paired with steps. I’ve seen several different styles myself.
Best of luck to you!
A welcoming front porch or nice deck adds a lot to a home. A good design and layout can take the curb appeal to the next level. I really liked many of the inspiration pics you posted. We’ve only ever built ground level decks and hired out anything that needed to be elevated and have steps and railings. I would like to add a nice deck to our side entry someday and will have to check out the links for plans and ideas.
Hope all is well with you and the family. I haven’t been to your blog in ages and now I’m catching up Always enjoy the home tours and see what people are doing with their MH’s.
Hi Shirlee! It’s great to hear from you!!
PS We’re doing well! I bought a 1965 Airstream Safari that has been taking up all my time and energy (and I love every minute of it!). I’ll be showing the work as we go. Right now, we’re just cleaning and repairing the basics whenever we get free time. Joe went back to work and has been working non-stop (I swear it’s either feast or famine with us…lol) but we should have it road ready in 4 or 5 months and then we’ll be going on a cross-country tour. Watch out! The hillbillies are heading west!! I hope you’re doing well! I always love to hear from you!
Nice assortment, Crystal…from simple to complex and not very expensive to very expensive.
Lots of ideas to “steal”!
Hi Suzanne! So glad you like it! Thank you so much for reading MHL! I appreciate you sooo much!