Mobile Home Demolition Boise: Double Wide Removal Explained

A lot of calls about mobile home demolition in Boise start the same way. "It's just a single wide." Then you walk around back and see the seam running down the middle of the roof.

That makes it a double wide. That seam changes more than people expect, so here's what's actually different when you're taking one down.

Why a double wide isn't just a bigger single wide

A double wide is really two homes. They're built separately, trucked in separately and bolted together on site, and the place where they meet is called the marriage line.

You can usually spot it. There's a seam down the length of the roof, and inside you'll often find a slight hump in the carpet or a beam across the ceiling where the halves join.

Why does that matter? Because nearly everything we do on a single wide happens twice here.

Two roofs, two floors, two steel frames underneath. Then there's the stuff tying the halves together, like the furnace crossover duct and the wiring and plumbing that run across the seam.

None of it's hard. There's just more of it.

Double wide removal in Boise, start to finish

Most people picture a machine knocking the whole thing flat in an afternoon. Sometimes it's close. More often it's a mix of hand work and machine work.

We start outside. Skirting comes off all the way around, and on a double wide that's a lot of skirting.

Then come the add-ons from over the years, like a porch, a carport or the covered patio somebody built in the nineties. Those go first so nothing falls the wrong way.

Next we split the halves at the marriage line, which means pulling the bolts and straps and cutting through the roof cap. After that, each half comes down on its own. Roof, then walls, then floor.

Last is the steel. Each half sits on its own steel chassis, so you end up with two frames to cut up and haul.

That steel goes to a metal recycler, along with aluminum siding and any copper we pull. Cabinets, fixtures and appliances in decent shape get set aside for donation, and the rest goes to the landfill.

So how long does it take? That depends on the home, the lot and how much has been added on over the years. A straightforward double wide on an open lot goes faster. A tight space in a Meridian park with neighbors ten feet away takes longer, because we're working carefully instead of fast.

Heads up: Before demo day, have your utility companies shut off and disconnect power, gas and water at the source, not just inside the house. On a double wide the crossover lines run under the floor where nobody can see them, and we won't start cutting until we know they're dead. The demolition permit through your city or Ada County will usually ask about disconnects too.

Mobile home demolition cost in Boise for a double wide

We price by the space and the work involved, so yes, a double wide costs more to take out than a single wide. More material, more labor, more loads.

The price doesn't simply scale with the size, though. Getting a crew and equipment to your place and handling the permit side don't change much between the two, and salvageable steel can offset some of the disposal.

A few things reliably push the number up. Additions built onto the home, a block or concrete foundation instead of piers, a house that's still full of belongings, or a tight park lot in Nampa where we can't get equipment close.

What brings it down? A home that's already been emptied, an open lot with room to work, and utilities disconnected before we show up.

We'd honestly rather you hear all that now than get surprised later, which is why we do a free on-site estimate with a firm price before anything gets touched.

No hidden fees. Cash, card and Venmo all work.

What double wide owners tend to miss

The foundation is the big one. Single wides almost always sit on piers, but double wides sometimes sit on a perimeter block wall or a poured footing, especially older homes on private land out toward Kuna or Star.

If yours does, ask whether removing it is part of the quote. Some people want it gone, and others want it left for the next home.

Next is the title. In Idaho a mobile home often has its own title separate from the land, so sort out that paperwork when it comes down and you won't stay on the hook for a home that no longer exists.

Your county assessor's office can tell you what they need. It's a quick call.

Last, park deadlines. If the manager wants the space cleared by a certain date, tell us when you call, because we'd rather plan around your deadline than rush the final day.

Bottom line on mobile home demolition in Boise

A double wide is two homes joined in the middle, so taking one down means handling both halves, both frames and everything connecting them. It's more work than a single wide, but for us it's routine work.

If you've got one in Boise, Caldwell or anywhere else in the Treasure Valley and you'd like a real number, give us a call at (208) 247-3193. We'll come take a look, tell you what's involved and give you a firm price, with no pressure either way.