Mobile Homes
Mobile homes offer a number of attractions for someone looking for an economical home. At the moment a Mobile home is VAT rated at 0% so you get more home for your money, and since they are not subject to building regulations, erecting a mobile home is considerably easier and cheaper than a permanent living house. In the recent budget the Chancelleor of the Exchequer announced that from 1st October 2012 static caravans and mobile homes would be subject to standard rate VAT at 20%, so unfortunately from that date a mobile home will lose its price advantage, but still retains the advantage of not being liable to building regulations or full planning permission.
Historically mobile homes have been very low quality dwellings with poor or even non existent insulation and flimsy construction. However it does not have to be that way. ScanVista supply the 'Mobo' range of mobile homes from Jorntrahus which are designed to meet UK building regulations as a permanent living house even though they are not actually subject to them.
What defines a mobile home?
There is actually very little difference between a mobile home and our other cabins. The Mobo range has a slightly higher specification than our Tallbo cabins. A cabin qualifies as a mobile home so long as it meets a small number of criteria :-
- It must be no more than 24 feet wide and sixty five feet long.
- There must be no significant projections on the sides e.g. the porch way must not stick out.
- The ceiling inside must be less than ten feet high.
- It must be capable of coming apart in no more than two pieces.
- It must be capable of being moved, but that does not mean it has to have wheels. A wooden skid frame is acceptable.
In addition to meet the British Standard there are restrictions on the height of window cills, window dimensions, and some other technical details. There is no requirement for the mobile home to be delivered in two pieces. It is perfectly acceptable to assemble a mobile home on site so long as it can easily be separated in half at a later date.
Mobile homes from Jorntrahus
Our Mobo range of homes are constructed using the same 58mm corner crossjointed Pine logs we use in all our permanent living log homes. Walls are fully insulated with a composite structure consisting of 120mm of Isover glass wool batts clad with a 22mm log profiled Pine cladding to resemble the outer log. Total wall thickness is 200mm and the wall has a U value of 0.3 which is considerably better than can be achieved with a solid wood wall of the same thickness. All electrics run behind the cladding on the wall and normal cavity boxes can be used.
Windows are the same double glazed windows used in the Tallbo range of log cabins, except they are larger being 1.2m high. There is a 16mm gap between the two layers of glazing and the windows have a U value of 1.6. Where Mobos have a glazed door in the lounge, then the door is triple glazed with a U value of 1.0
The default roof of a Mobo kit is sheet mineral felt. Other options such as shingles or tiles are available on request. Steel guttering is supplied with the Mobo kit.
The floor of a Mobo is 22mm Pine floorboards, and the floor is fully insulated with 220mm of Isover insulation. Ceilings are clad in Pine panelling with insulation above.
A Mobile home may stand either on a wooden skid, or else on a steel wheeled chassis to allow easy moving.
