US20130186034A1

US20130186034A1 - Modular Foundation Method

Info

Publication number: US20130186034A1
Application number: US12/226,944
Authority: US
Inventors: Art Angelo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-08
Filing date: 2007-11-07
Publication date: 2013-07-25

Abstract

This improved method of forming a foundation uses a dynamic leveling foundation and method uses a prelevel coplanar support while installing permanent foundation. This improved method starts when a manufactured house arrives at the permanent site. The manufactured house has flooring assembly supported on its underside by horizontal parallel beams or joists that needs firmly grounded foundation support. The temporary support step provides a temporary level support for the manufactured house. When the temporary support is established, the house arrives from the factory. The preferred temporary support is a temporary tripod support system that may be installed under the sidewalls and the mate line. The tripod support system comprises multiple tripods each having a triangular transverse frame to support an extended undercarriage area. Each tripod makes at least two separate supporting abutments with its overlying perimeter joist or mate line joist which reduces total labor time.

Description

This application claims priority from and is a continuation in part of inventor Art Angelo's U.S. Ser. No. 11/317,349 Temporary Support System filed Dec. 23, 2005 and inventor Art Angelo's U.S. Ser. No. 11/226,962 Modular Buttress Foundation filed Sep. 15, 2005. This is a continuation of Angelo, Art Ser. No. 11/594,261 Modular Foundation Method application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a building foundation method for modular homes.
B. Discussion of Related Art
Traditional methods of making foundation in modular and manufactured homes have been inefficient and have damaged many homes causing loss to insurers and unnecessary environmental degradation because of demolition waste. If a modular house slips off its foundation, the house generally becomes uninhabitable and usually has to be demolished because of the foundation damage. This can cause a total loss of all time and effort and materials that were invested into the building. The old methods also waste time and material because redundant permanent foundation must be built to support the building of more permanent foundation. A variety of inventors have attempted to make structurally sound manufactured homes without material waste.
Manufactured homes are typically transported to a customer's site for a permanent or semi-permanent setup. One way to make a foundation is to cast an on the ground building foundation in the form of concrete piers to support the complete building while vertical supports such as construction piers and stanchions at selected locations in the foundation plan are engaged at their top ends to an undercarriage of the building and their bottom ends are buried in fabric containers of cementatious slurry until the piers and stanchions become an integral foundation in the solid block of concrete conformed to the ground for the leveled dwelling house. This method developed by inventor Art Angelo is related to the anchor panel method described by Michael Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,235 entitled Foundation and Floor Construction Means.
Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,320 entitled Foundation for a Modular Structure, and Butler in U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,725 entitled Interlocking Corrugated Panel Wall Cast In-Situ are all variations on the anchor panel method.
The foundation structure in the Butler references teaches use of on site concrete piers supporting a truss having a periphery bounded by corrugated metal panels that define a periphery of a concrete foundation. The use of concrete piers in either case is burdensome and increases the set up time. The further use of the panels increases the set up time even more, even though the panels may have a decorative effect. The necessity of cast-in-place and on-the-ground building foundations is redundant and adds time to setup and should be avoided. The best case situation is when the periphery foundation can be set at the same time as the foundation in the center of the house.
There are various support designs for building suspension. U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,843 discloses height-adjustable I-Beam stanchions for supporting the I-Beam bearing the mobile home undercarriage. The stanchion has two angle iron support arms extending from the bottom of the stanchion at right angle to each other reaching the undercarriage to assist in supporting the I-Beam and undercarriage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,767 offers a mobile home support stand for permanently supporting a mobile home to counteract high winds and/or earth vibrations. The support stand has a support stud functioning as a screw-jack disposed between a ground steel post and a home I beam, and a hold down assembly clamps the post and beam together. Using these and other known structures was slow because ten or more vertical support piers were necessary for each undercarriage joist or I beam and the total number of piers is multiplied by the manufactured home size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This improved method of forming a foundation uses a dynamic leveling foundation and method uses a prelevel coplanar support while installing permanent foundation. This improved method starts when a manufactured house arrives at the permanent site. The manufactured house has flooring assembly supported on its underside by horizontal parallel beams or joists that needs firmly grounded foundation support.
The temporary support step provides a temporary level support for the manufactured house. When the temporary support is established, the house arrives from the factory. The preferred temporary support is a temporary tripod support system that may be installed under the sidewalls and the mate line. The tripod support system comprises multiple tripods each having a triangular transverse frame to support an extended undercarriage area. Due to its triangle top, each tripod makes at least two separate supporting abutments with its overlying perimeter joist or mate line joist which reduces total labor time required.
The buttress attachment step is after the temporary support step. Buttress assemblies are attached to the perimeter joist and mate line joist. The preferred buttress assembly is a tubular stanchion having an upper and lower end, an anchor base plate welded to the lower end of the stanchion and transverse tabs attached to the intermediate portion of the stanchion. Buttress assemblies hang in the air awaiting rebar. Rebar is then shaped around and hung on uplift bars that protrude from the bottom of the base plate and act as hooks to suspend the rebar. The uplift bars center the rebar allowing superior strength.
The fabric container is unfurled from a package so that it forms a sleeve and rests on the ground. A porous fabric container has inlet holes to receive concrete slurry and is attached to each buttress assembly member. Fabric sleeve corners form rectangular corners and can be joined to the straight sections of fabric sleeve.
The foundation pouring step involves pouring the concrete into the foundation sleeve. The concrete foundation material envelopes the bottom of the buttress assembly and conforms to the fabric sleeve which lies on the ground. The foundation sets with the enveloped portion of the buttress assembly embedded forming a direct support from the buttress assembly to the rebar reinforced concrete foundation, to the ground.
The tabs also called wings on the buttress support then receive a metallic backfill plate. A cement board is attached over the backfill plate. Stucco or other finish can be installed over the cement board. A ventilation screen covers a ventilation gap between the cement board and the rim joist. The final installation is a belly band which is a circumferential siding attached to the perimeter rim joist. The belly band has clearance between the stucco and the rim joist providing a circumferential and continuous ventilation. The cross ventilation allows airflow under the house and prevents black mold infestation. After backfill soil is put against the stucco attached to the cement board, the house is indistinguishable from an on site built house.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

By making longer lasting homes, the invention can reduce construction demolition waste. Accordingly, the general object of the present invention is to provide a strong foundation for modular housing improved in sidewall configuration, rigidity, labor efficiency and time savings. The foundation method can be used for a stick built or on site built house. The second object of the present invention is to rebuild disaster areas due to seismic damage and hurricane damage, where the rapid deployment of new housing this method can rebuild areas faster.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial side view of a tripod support of the present invention in operation showing one of three piers of the tripod supporting a sidewall or mate line of a home.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tripod showing its saddle jacks in position at each junction of the three cross beams.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional view of the saddle jack according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows in detail the saddle jack holding two adjacent cross beams at their junction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tripod support system supporting sidewalls of the manufactured home on site.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a buttress assembly in operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the buttress assembly of FIG. 6 in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a modular home employing the inventive buttress assembly and having perimeter foundation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

This improved method of forming a foundation uses a temporary prelevel coplanar support while installing a dynamic leveling permanent foundation. This improved method starts when a manufactured house arrives at the permanent site. The manufactured house has flooring assembly supported on its underside by horizontal parallel beams or joists that needs firmly grounded foundation support. The modular house may be a pair of elongated sections brought to the construction site by a truck. Preferably, the width of each module can fit on a single flatbed truck. The sections of the modular house are placed upon temporary supports by a crane and leveled. The buttress assemblies 210 arrive at the job site fully assembled and welded including the tubular stanchion 212, L-shaped bracket 211, vertical flange 214, base plate 217, anchor bolt head 218 or J shaped uplift bars, and steel tabs 219. Each of the sections of the modular house is joined to the others. Underneath the house the mate line piers 234 are attached to mate line joists 233. The improved buttress assembly 210 is installed to the perimeter joist so that the tubular stanchion 212 having at its top an L-shaped bracket 211 abuts the perimeter joist 322 at a perimeter joist bottom plane 323 and a perimeter joist inside plane 224. The fabric container 201 is unfurled allowing pouring of the concrete portion 206 into the fabric container 201. After the concrete portion 206 cures, the modular house temporary support is removed.
Temporary Support Step
The first step is the temporary support step that provides a temporary level support for the manufactured house. The preferred temporary support is a temporary tripod support system that may be installed under the sidewalls and the mate line. The temporary prelevel coplanar support is preferably embodied as a truss tripod unit 10, though each truss tripod unit could optionally have additional legs such that the total number of legs is more than three. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a tripod support 10 is shown assembled to buttress the bottom of a sidewall of home 11. The tripod support 10 has three identical piers of which piers 12 and 13 are numbered in FIG. 2. The pier 12 comprises four metal legs 15 through 18 welded to a rectangular bottom frame 19, which is in turn fastened by nails or screws to a bearing pad 20 laid on the ground. The pad 20 may be made of wood. The legs 15-18 are converged at their upper ends where they are welded together. At the top of the legs a stopper nut 21 is rotatably installed. The nut 21 is positioned so that its inner threads extend vertically in the center of the pier 12.
The tripod support system comprises multiple tripods each having a triangular transverse frame to support an extended undercarriage area. Due to its triangle top, each tripod makes at least two separate supporting abutments with its overlying perimeter joist or mate line joist which reduces total labor time required. Triangular framework 22 of three cross beams 22 a, 22 b and 22 c are suspended to make contact with the sidewall 11. This suspension is enforced by three saddle members 23 adjustably threaded to the nut 21 of the pier 12 through a rod 24 which has corresponding threads formed on its outer faces and is welded to the bottom of the saddle member 23 as shown in detail in FIG. 3. Thus, the saddle member 23, threaded rod 24 and nut 21 together constitute a saddle jack assembly 25 for buttressing the cross beams 22 a-22 c at their junctions.
Referring further to FIG. 4, the saddle member 23 with rod 24 of the saddle jack assembly 25 is adapted to be transported as a loose component to the construction site where it is assembled with the cross beams as well as the corresponding pier.
The cross beams 22 a-22 c have a common structure so that they can be interchangeably laid to extend between any two saddle jack assemblies 25 forming the triangular framework 22. In a right handed configuration, the four walls cooperate, two of them holding a right supporting beam and two of them holding a left supporting beam. The right supporting beam extends beyond the end of the left supporting beam. Because they are identical, the beams can be interchanged, and the saddle jacks can also be interchanged. The top of view of the saddle jack shows that the configuration can be reversed so that the left beam protrudes beyond the end of the right beam, so that the top view is a mirror image. Taking a mirror image configuration translates a right handed configuration into a left handed configuration.
The saddle member 23 has a horizontal plate 26 comprising an elongated main plate section 27 and a crossing plate section 28 extending from the main plate section so that the longitudinal axis of the section 27 and an extension of the longitudinal axis of the section 28 meet at an angle A of about 60°. In addition, the crossing plate section 28 has two end walls of which a shorter wall 29 stands upright from a shorter lateral end of the plate section 28 facing clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 4 and a longer wall 30 stands upright from a longer lateral end at the other side. The opposing walls 29 and 30 may have a third bridging wall between them as shown in FIG. 2 to limit the cross beam 22 a in its longitudinal movements although an open structure of FIG. 4 works well to hold the beam.
On the other hand, the main plate section 27 has a first end wall 31 extending along the entire lateral edge of the plate section 27 facing approximately the same direction of the shorter end wall 29 of the plate section 28. The first end wall 31 also joins the shorter end wall 29 at an inner merging point 32 between the plate sections 28 and 28.
However, at the other side of the first end wall 31 the main plate section 27 has a second end wall 33 extending from an open end 34 of the main section 27 and terminating short of a virtual extension line of the shorter end wall 29 to allow for laying the cross beam 22 a past the second end wall 33. The second end wall 33 faces inwardly of the triangular framework 22 in FIG. 2. The threaded rod 24 may be centered along a line connecting the inner merging point 32 and an outer merging point 35.
The cross beams 22 a and 22 b are shown as seated in the saddle jack assembly 25 making an angled joint of the beams each having rectangular cross sections. The beam 22 a has a first blunt end 36 adapted to be seated on the saddle member 23 defined by the plate section 28 and the opposing walls 29 and 30. The other second end of the beam 22 a is not shown in FIG. 4 but is similar to the next cross beam 22 b wherein its abutment end 37 is cut at the angle A to make an angled assemblage with the opposing side of the blunt end 36 of the cross beam 22 a when the cross beam 22 b is seated on the saddle member 23 defined by the plate section 27 and the opposing walls 31 and 33.
The saddle jack has an interior connection and an exterior connection. The interior connection has a portion of the connection inside of the triangle formed by the horizontal supporting beams, and the exterior connection is located outside of the triangle formed by the horizontal supporting beams. The first connection is the interior connection shown in FIG. 4 as a bolted connection 44, 45. The exterior connection is also shown as a bolted connection 40, 41. Assembling the blunt end 36 of the cross beam 22 a with the saddle jack assembly 25 may be done by using a thru bolt 40 and a nut 41 threaded through an opening 42 in the end wall 29 and an opening 43 in the end wall 30. Likewise, the mating abutment end 37 of the cross beam 22 b may be assembled with the saddle jack assembly 25 using a thru bolt 44 and a nut 45 threaded through an opening 46 in the end wall 31 and an opening 47 in the end wall 33. Optionally, washers 48 may be used with these fastening members.
FIG. 5 shows the tripod support system of the present invention applied to the manufactured home 11 on site. The home 11 has been suspended by the tripod support system of the present invention in which two of several tripod supports for the visible sidewall are demonstrating the actual field installations.
During the operation of the tripod supports, a ground surface cast-in-place foundation assembly 100 is made with a plurality of buttress assemblies 101 set in the foundation to vertically engage the perimeter beam of the level modular home 11. When the home foundation 100 is solidified, the tripod supports 10 may be easily retrieved by first turning a round of the stopper nuts 21 to lower the saddle jack assemblies 25 out of engagements with the home 11. The released tripod supports 10 can be immediately disassembled at their joints by unscrewing the nuts 41 and 45 of the saddle jack assemblies 25 into small and easy parts to transport to the next construction site. The nuts can be tightened against the pier, as seen in figure one, allowing the vertical and rotational retention of the saddle jack. The nuts can also be called locking nuts.
Buttress Attachment Step
The buttress attachment step is after the temporary support step. Buttress assemblies are attached to the perimeter joist and mate line joist. The preferred buttress assembly is a tubular stanchion having an upper and lower end, an anchor base plate welded to the lower end of the stanchion and transverse tabs attached to the intermediate portion of the stanchion. Buttress assemblies hang in the air awaiting rebar. Rebar is then shaped around and hung on uplift bars that protrude from the bottom of the base plate and act as hooks to position the suspended rebar. The anchor bolts are formed as bent metal hooks that form uplift bars that center the rebar allowing superior foundation strength. Alternatively, uplift bars can be welded on instead of anchor bolted.
Referring to FIG. 6, the novel and improved buttress assembly 210 is comprised of a selected length of tubular stanchion 212 having at its top an L-shaped bracket 211 to abut the perimeter joist 222 at its bottom plane 223 and an inside plane 224. The stanchion 212 has four side walls and a rectangular cross section. The L-shaped bracket 211 has a vertical flange 214 with a number of apertures through which attaching uplift bars 215 are threaded into the interior side of the joist 222 such that the base portion of the stanchion 212 is suspended several inches above ground surface 216. In conformance to current technology, it is appreciated that stanchion 212, bracket 214, base plate 217, anchor heads 218, girt 220 and uplift bars 215 and 221 of this invention be constructed of iron, steel, cast aluminum or other appropriately rigid material.
A base plate 217 is welded to the base portion of the stanchion 212. On the bottom of the base plate 217 a number of anchor bolt heads 218 are protruded downwardly. Alternatively, J-shaped uplift bars can also replace the straight uplift bars 218. On a wall of the stanchion 212 away from the vertical flange 214 two steel tabs 219 are welded intermediately with a longitudinal distance from each other to hold a girt 220.
Fabric Container Attachment Step
Fabric container 201 is placed beneath the stanchion 212 and while the bottom end of the container 201 resides on the ground surface 216, a rebar 202 is inserted into the container 201 and the entrance to container 201 is suitably tied around stanchion 212, concrete slurry 6 is poured into container 201 to its full capacity. The three dimensional shape of the base plate 217 with anchor heads 218 will also provide an exceptional holding force in the resulting concrete base 206 of the buttress foundation 210.
Thus, the buttress foundation 210 has been completed for the overlying structure of the perimeter joist 222 upon which the floor assembly 225 and building walls 226 are rested as shown in the drawings. Attached to the building walls 226 covering the joist 222, an exterior siding 227 protects the building against elements. As described above, the girt 220 is attached to the stanchion 212 at its steel tabs 219 by the attaching screws 221 from the exterior side of the girt 220. An elongated board 228 is then applied to the girt 220. Then, an elongated strip or trim 229 is attached to the bottom edge of the siding 227 covering the top edge of the elongated board 228. The mounting location of the elongated strip or trim 229 optionally allows a concealed air gap vent formed between the trim 229 and the elongated board 228.
FIG. 8 shows the manufactured home in two parts each having the junction between the home parts, i.e. the mate line 232 is defined by a couple of mate line joists 222 and suspended by mate line piers 230. The buttress assemblies 210 with the concrete portion 206 and fabric container 201 provide a perimeter support embodiment. The fabric container is formed as an elongated sleeve that is wrapped and installed around the buttress assemblies 210 allowing the concrete portion 206 to form a perimeter foundation that connects all of the buttress assemblies 210 in a single piece of concrete. The elongated fabric sleeve can be stored as a roll so that it can be cut to length on the job site. Also, the elongated fabric sleeve can be a continuous sleeve having no opening, allowing the openings to be cut at the job site.
The fabric container is unfurled from a package so that it forms a sleeve and rests on the ground. A porous fabric container has inlet holes to receive concrete slurry and is attached to each buttress assembly member. Fabric sleeve corners form rectangular corners and can be joined to the straight sections of fabric sleeve. Fabric container 201 is composed of any one of the many textile materials well known in the art.
Foundation Pouring Step
The foundation pouring step involves pouring the concrete into the foundation sleeve. The concrete foundation material envelopes the bottom of the buttress assembly and conforms to the fabric sleeve which lies on the ground. The foundation sets with the enveloped portion of the buttress assembly embedded forming a direct support from the buttress assembly to the rebar reinforced concrete foundation, to the ground. After the concrete foundation step, the concrete sets and the exterior siding step begins.
Exterior Siding Step
In the exterior siding step the house receives installation of exterior siding 227 such as stucco and elongated board 228. Later, an appropriate finish such as stucco can be applied to the board 228 so that when the perimeter of the house receives landscape backfill, the backfill will cover a portion of the board 228.
The tabs also called wings on the buttress support then receive a metal backfill plate 228 shaped as an elongated board. The elongated board 228 of the present invention may be of metal, treated plywood or other water resistant material. A cement board is attached over the backfill plate. Stucco or other finish can be installed over the cement board. A ventilation screen covers a ventilation gap between the cement board and the rim joist. The final installation is a belly band which is a circumferential siding attached to the perimeter rim joist. The belly band has clearance between the stucco and the rim joist providing a circumferential and continuous ventilation. The cross ventilation allows airflow under the house and prevents black mold infestation. After backfill soil is put against the stucco attached to the cement board, the house is indistinguishable from an on site built house.
Therefore, while the presently preferred form of the system and method has been shown and described, and several modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.

CALL OUT LIST OF ELEMENTS

- 10 Tripod Support
- 11 Home
- 12, 13 Pier
- 15-18 Leg
- 19 Bottom Frame
- 20 Bearing Pad
- 21 Stopper Nut
- 22 Triangular Framework
- 22 a-22 c Cross Beam
- 23 Saddle Member
- 24 Threaded Rod
- 25 Saddle Jack Assembly
- 26 Horizontal Plate
- 27 Main Plate Section
- 28 Crossing Plate Section
- 29 Shorter End Wall
- 30 Longer End Wall
- 31 First End Wall
- 32 Inner Merging Point
- 33 Second End Wall
- 34 Open End
- 35 Outer Merging Point
- 36 Blunt End
- 37 Abutment End
- 40, 44 Thru Bolt
- 41, 45 Nut
- 42, 43, 46, 47 Opening
- 48 Washer
- 100 Cast-in-Place Foundation
- 101 Buttress Assembly

Claims

1. A modular foundation method for a modular home comprising the steps of:

a. providing a temporary support comprising at least three horizontal beams for support, wherein each of the at least three horizontal beams has at least two joints, which is at least one on each end; and at least three saddle jacks, one mounted on each pier having a vertically adjustable level, wherein each saddle jack fastens to a pair of horizontal beams at the horizontal beam joints, whereby the saddle jacks and piers are assembled to support the horizontal beams;

b. attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home; wherein the to plurality of buttresses have an upper end attached to a joist and a lower end;

c. enveloping the lower end of the buttresses within a fabric container;

d. pouring a concrete slurry into the container to form a foundation.

2. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of attaching a peripheral siding to the buttresses.

3. The modular foundation method of claim 2, wherein some of the buttresses include a pair of uplift bars for positioning rebar.

4. The modular foundation method of claim 2, wherein the step of attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home includes the substeps of:

a. attaching a plurality of buttresses having a seat for a perimeter beam, a tubular stanchion having upper and lower ends, and an anchor base plate fixedly connected to the lower end of the stanchion,

b. arranging at intervals the plurality of buttress members affixed to the perimeter beam wherein the seat is an L-shaped bracket to abut said perimeter beam at its bottom and side planes, the bracket having a vertical flange with a number of apertures through which attaching bolts are threaded into the interior side of the perimeter beam, whereby the base portion of the stanchion is suspended above ground surface.

5. The modular foundation method of claim 1, wherein the step of attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home includes the substeps of:

a. attaching a plurality of buttresses having a seat for a perimeter beam, a tubular stanchion having upper and lower ends, and an anchor base plate fixedly connected to the lower end of the stanchion, and

6. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of vertically adjusting the saddle jacks.

7. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of vertically adjusting the saddle jacks wherein the saddle jacks are adjusted via a threaded rod engaged with a nut rotatably mounted to receive the threaded rod.

8. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and horizontal beam by forming horizontally disposed holes wherein the saddle jack is open at a top end and connecting the horizontal beams at a 60 degree angle.

9. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of connecting each saddle jack with a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam.

10. The modular foundation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of connecting a left and right horizontal beam at a 60 degree angle, wherein an interior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack right side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the right horizontal beam, wherein an exterior horizontal beam joint is formed on the saddle jack left side as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and the left horizontal beam.

11. The modular buttress system of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a couple of transverse tabs attached to the intermediate portions of the stanchion between the upper and lower ends.

12. A modular foundation method for a modular home comprising the steps of:

a. providing a temporary support comprising at least three horizontal beams for support; and at least three saddle jacks, one mounted on each pier having a vertically adjustable level, wherein each saddle jack fastens to a horizontal beam, whereby the saddle jacks and piers are assembled to support the horizontal beams;

b. attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home; wherein the plurality of buttresses have an upper end attached to a joist and a lower end;

c. including the lower end of the buttresses within an opening of a fabric container;

d. pouring a concrete slurry into the fabric container to form a foundation;

e. waiting for the concrete to harden around the lower end of the buttresses; and

f. attaching a peripheral siding to the buttresses.

13. The modular foundation method of claim 12, wherein the step of attaching a peripheral siding to the buttresses includes the substep of attaching a backfill plate between the buttresses; the substep of attaching a belly band and the substep of intentionally leaving a clearance between the stucco and the rim joist to provide ventilation.

14. The modular foundation method of claim 13, wherein the step of attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home includes the substeps of:

15. The modular foundation method of claim 12, wherein the saddle jack vertically adjustable level is a threaded rod engaged with a nut rotatably mounted to receive the threaded rod.

16. The modular foundation method of claim 12, wherein the saddle jack is open at a top end and connects horizontal beams at a 60 degree angle, wherein horizontal beam joints are formed as horizontally disposed holes providing a bolted secure connection between the saddle jack and horizontal beam.

17. The modular foundation method of claim 12, wherein the step of attaching a plurality of buttresses to joists under the modular home includes the substeps of: