Kitchen Remodels in Manufactured Homes in Washington

A manufactured home is built in a factory to a federal standard and regulated differently from a site-built house for its whole life. That includes remodeling. The permit for kitchen work comes from a state agency, the applicable code is different, and the paperwork matters more than usual when the home is sold. This page states what was verified for this guide and tells you what to confirm with the state before spending money.

Who permits the work

Alterations to the home itself are permitted and inspected by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), through its factory assembled structures program. L&I's page asks: "Are you remodeling or repairing your manufactured home? Depending on the work you are doing you may need a permit."

The city and the county have a different job. Vancouver Municipal Code chapter 17.25 covers "installation of manufactured homes", and Clark County's Mobile Home Permit covers "manufactured home placement, mobile home placement". Neither is the permit for a kitchen alteration.

The electrical split

L&I draws the line by location: "If the electrical work takes place outside your home, you need an electrical permit. If the electrical work takes place inside your home, you need a manufactured/mobile home permit." Kitchen wiring is inside the home, so it falls under the manufactured home permit. Work outside, such as the service equipment at a pedestal, is an electrical permit. Who issues ordinary electrical permits at your address is covered in electrical permits for kitchen remodels.

Which standards apply

WAC 296-150M-0306 sets the standard for alterations:

• "Alterations to a manufactured/mobile home must be in compliance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, 24 C.F.R. Part 3280", the federal standard the home was built to.
• Electrical alterations and additions must comply with the current edition of the National Electrical Code.
• Structural alterations follow the International Residential Code.

So some of what this guide says about site-built houses carries over, such as the kitchen electrical code for new circuits, and some does not. Do not assume a detail that is acceptable in a house is acceptable here. The L&I inspector applies the federal standard.

What kitchen work L&I's rule covers

L&I's permit rule, WAC 296-150M-0302, is a table of work types with a yes or no answer for each. The table below lists the kitchen-related rows that exist in it. The yes or no answer for each row could not be read reliably for this guide, so it is not given here. Look up the row in the rule, or call L&I, before you start.

How the L&I permit works

• Buying it. L&I says homeowners can buy a permit online and lists online processing as immediate.
• Fees. Set in WAC 296-150M-3000. The amounts were not read for this guide.
• Plan review. Structural rows carry the note that they may also require plan review, so allow for that if a wall opening is part of the design.
• Inspection. L&I inspects the permitted alteration. Ask when you buy the permit which stages must stay open for the inspector, as you would for inspections in a site-built house.

How the construction differs

These are general characteristics of factory-built homes, not legal requirements. They vary by manufacturer and age, so have the specific home looked at before a design is priced.

• Walls. Interior and exterior walls are often thinner than in a site-built house, which affects plumbing in walls, recessed items and how upper cabinets are fastened.
• Floor and weight. The floor sits on a steel chassis with its own support layout. Heavy additions, such as stone countertops or a large island, should be checked against it. See choosing countertops for lighter options.
• Sizes. Windows, doors, some fixtures and some cabinets may be non-standard dimensions, so measure before ordering stock sizes.
• Utilities under the floor. Supply and drain lines and ducts typically run in the enclosed underside. Moving a sink means opening and correctly resealing that enclosure.
• Exterior wall openings. A new window or a ducted hood termination is a structural row in L&I's table. Venting choices are in range hoods and ventilation.
• Fuel changes. Replacing an electric range with gas is listed separately in the rule. If you are weighing that, read gas, electric or induction first.

Older mobile homes can also contain lead paint and asbestos materials. The asbestos rules for Clark County apply to renovation of any existing structure.

Selling or refinancing later

Paperwork counts for more with a manufactured home, because the state's seller disclosure statement has questions written for it. RCW 64.06.020 asks: "Did you make any alterations to the home?", "Did any previous owner make any alterations to the home?" and "If alterations were made, were permits or variances for these alterations obtained?"

L&I also offers a Homeowner Requested Inspection, which it says "is often needed to disclose unpermitted work before you refinance or sell your manufactured or mobile home." It adds that these inspections "cannot be used to approve alterations." Keep the alteration permit and inspection record for anything you do. The wider picture is in unpermitted kitchen work.

What to confirm with L&I before you start

1. Whether each item in your scope needs an alteration permit, row by row, including cabinets and countertops.
2. Whether your project needs plan review.
3. The current permit fee.
4. Who should buy the permit if a contractor does the work, and whether L&I requires any specific credential of that contractor.
5. Which stages must be inspected before they are covered.

Finding a contractor

Not every remodeler takes manufactured home alterations, because the standard, the permit route and the construction details all differ from site-built work. Ask any contractor you approach whether they have done L&I-permitted alterations and who will obtain the permit. Anyone you hire must still be a registered Washington contractor, which you can check using the steps in how to verify a contractor.

That applies to us as well. This guide does not assume JDI Construction takes manufactured home projects. If you would like to know whether we can help with yours, contact us or call (360) 309-9571 and ask before you plan around us.