Footings for Dummy Mobile Home Owners

Pouring concrete footings

Here at the Antisocial Network, our crack research staff witnesses a lot of bull being tossed around by self-appointed freelance writers more interested in their bank accounts than the accuracy of their words. Let's be clear: it's no sin to perform in-depth research on a topic. write up an article, and run it by someone with enough expertise to spot misstatements and omissions. At the mother lode of internet misinformation (eHow.com) however, the "contributors" rarely perform in-depth research and those who vet the content ("content editors") are typically just as clueless about the topic as the freelancer writing the article. That's why unqualified people like Heather Heinzer could get away with writing total bull like her post "How to Make Footers for Mobile Home Foundations"¹ for Hunker.com.

Heather may have lived in a trailer.... errr, mobile home at one time or another, but that experience doesn't mean she's qualified to write the article. It's not so unlikely that she had to look up "footer" (and probably "footing," too) before writing, given her definition of the word:

"Footers are the base on which mobile-home foundations sit..."

...which, we guess, is fairly close to the mark; although it says nothing about why you need a footing under a foundation or a pier (or  a mobile home). Where Heather goes all wonky in her post, however, is in her apparent inability to read even the simplest of instructions. Take, for instance, her guide to footing location:

"Remember to place footers and support piers under any portion of the home that will bear a heavy load."

You mean "under load-bearing walls"? Then say so, Heather. And which system is this about: foundations or piers? Make up your mind, since they aren't the same thing; even if you think they are. Let's move on to determining proper dimensions of the footings, where Heinzer truly messes up: "Dig trenches for footers, making sure to dig below the frost line for your area. This will allow room for the footers to shift in changing weather conditions." Dear Lord, deliver us from anyone stupid enough to think you'd want your foundation to shift as the weather changes! Heather, you dumbass, footings extend below the frost line to ensure that they are stable during freeze-thaw cycles! How stupid can one person be?

The rest of the article is more bullshit, including such instructions as "Level all footers using [a] piece of lumber..." – we think she's talking about floating the wet concrete, but who knows. She says nothing – not one single word – about leveling the layout, doesn't even include a level or line level in her "Things you'll need" list. Given Heinzer's obvious unfamiliarity with foundations, footings, construction, concrete, and just about anything else in this project, it's no wonder she's picking up Dumbass of the Day award number two for her trophy shelf.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_7214802_make-footers-mobile-home-foundations.html

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