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Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 6:35 am
by tomcatt
Good Morning,

A little background. My home was purchased and setup in 2008. It currently is setup on just crushed concrete and gravel. (Looking back, I should've spent the money to have a slab built or concrete runners. Hindsight.)

I was going to get my home re-leveled. One of the piers under the home has fallen over and there are cracks here and there in the interior walls.

How often should the home be re-leveled?

Anyone in the Houston or surrounding areas ever used R.D. Baker Foundations? Here is the website:
http://www.bakerfoundations.com
Was just curious, I haven't been able to find out any info good or bad on this company.

So far, most reputable foundation places I've called don't work on mobile homes.

Or, if anyone knows of a good reputable company to relevel in this area, please forward to me. Thanks.

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 10:14 am
by JD
When I talk to people in mobile home parks or old established set-ups on private property, I tell them "as a general rule, mobile homes should be releveled every 8-10 years. But fresh set homes are an entirely different situation. A fresh set home should be releveled after the first year. How frequently you will need to relevel is determined by the compaction of the soil on your lot.

If you had a pier fall over, you will need to find out why. Could be from root growth or maybe the pier was never straight to begin with. When I relevel homes, I often find piers that do not quite reach the frame. I have never seen one fall over, except from impact situations like a car running into the home.

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 5:08 pm
by Greg
Hi & welcome. It would take some work but you could dig down and pour piers.

As for companies, ask for references and make some calls, go look at their work.

Greg

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 3:14 am
by DaveyB
It might help if you refer to it as a "manufactured home" instead of a "mobile home" - you may find that some of the people you have already contacted may change their tune!

I have just posted a reply in another topic in this same forum entitled "Fire Trap", and linked a report I found on that subject. The same report also differentiates between mobile and manufactured homes and cites various codes which pertain specifically to one or the other. This could make huge difference for the foundation guys you mentioned, so it might be worth exploring!

Hope that helps!

DaveyB

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 2:12 pm
by tomcatt
Thanks for the replies everyone. I've got some homework to do.

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 4:37 am
by DaveyB
I have just had a crew come in and re-level my home. I was considering doing this myself, but decided to leave it to the experts and see how they handled it. Boy, was I impressed!

The company I used is local to me, and level over 500 homes each year according to their website. I left them a message over the weekend, got a call back on Monday morning, and they arrived on Tuesday ready to work.

Two pickup trucks pulled up, with three guys. Two of them suited up in thick suits, goggles, face masks, gloves, etc and proceeded to make small openings in the skirting. They both disappeared under the home and started checking every lag bolt under there. They used radios to inform the "boss" as to what they found, which he then explained to me in laymans terms.

He told me the underbelly and insulation were in good condition, while they found evidence of some plumbing work done by a previous owner which was also in good shape. Once all the lag bolts were done, the boss, Wes, started working through the home with a spirit level, and listening to what I'd deemed to be problems.

The creaking floor in the living room and master bedroom, along with the back door opening problems and the sliding window problems were all down to settling of the home at the South East corner. Some jacking under there, a little up, a little down, resolved all the problems in one go! The door is now square and opens and closes properly, while the window (Wes said he hadn't seen a window recover properly in 25 years) also squared up and opens/closes with ease!

The creaking areas were assisted with wedges driven in between the sub-floor and the supports and the floors are now creak-free (aside from the creak from my ageing joints that is!). The end result was that the South East corner of the home was lifted by over an inch and then re-stabilized at that level.

All in all, it cost me $295 for 2 hours work, but I feel comfortable that the job was done well and professionally. They even replaced all the skirting that they removed, and then cleaned it off, no signs to show they had even been there! I would be more than happy to provide references for these guys, they cover the Phoenix metro area as well as Tucson, Casa Grande, Yuma and Flagstaff. Their website has contact information, and I'm not getting a kickback from your contact with them if you should choose to do so.

I wrote this with a view to helping others, not to pick up a few cents, hopefully it helps someone else!

DaveyB

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:00 am
by Greg
Davey, Spirit levels? I hope that was done to check the rooms inside before releveling. There is no way I would relevel a home with one. Over a span of 60-80' if you are 1/8" off even with an 8 foot level that can throw you 1 1/4" off over an 80' span. Most professionals will only use a water level, it is 100% accurate over any length home. lasers can not see around pipes, piers & wires.

Greg

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 2:43 am
by DaveyB
Sorry, I should have been a bit clearer: The spirit level was used to level across the width of the home, not down the length of it, and to locate the crests and dips. A 1/8" error in the level would only result in a max of a 3/16" error across the 16' width of a singlewide (which I have).

With experience, and this guy has over 25years, that would be reduced considerably. Personally, I think 1/8" differential over a 16' span is within tolerances for a width measurement, and would probably be as accurate as you could achieve with a water level given that the "skin" on the water surface, clinging to the sides of the tube, would give a false perception of the true level of the water.

Hope that answers your question :)

DaveyB

Re: Home Re-Leveling

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 8:39 am
by Greg
3/16" is WELL within what I would call acceptable.

When I re leveled ours 2 years ago I was 1/4" on the long side (80'), but I think I need to recheck it this year since the front door seems to want to hang open at about 45* on it's own. But with almost 15" of rain this spring I'll wait until things dry out first.

Greg