Do-It-Yourself Mobile Home Repair: Leveling Your Mobile Home

One of the hazards of living in a mobile home is that, over time, they may become unlevel. If left in this condition, an unlevel mobile home can cause your floors to squeak or even warp, for doors to stick, or for cracks to develop along your ceilings and walls. Fortunately, leveling your home is something that you can have someone do or you can even learn to maintain yourself for those who like to save some extra money.

Why Would My Mobile Home Be Unlevel?

There are a number of reasons why a mobile home would begin to warp, tilt or become unlevel, though the most common cause is an excess amount of moisture underneath your home. Over time, this will cause the ground to soften and will cause the blocks beneath your home to sink or shift. Another common problem is that the mobile home may not have been properly leveled or blocked when it was put up. If the home is improperly blocked or if they didn't use concrete or hardwood under your home, when it was originally blocked, this can also cause the home to become unlevel.

Sometimes, it can boil down to a simple case of not having placed enough blocks underneath the frame. Imagine balancing a long board between two cinder blocks, with one at each end - As you get up on the board and begin to walk down it, it begins to bow the closer you get to the center, because there is no support there. The same can happen with your mobile home.

Even homes that have been leveled with concrete blocks and that rest upon concrete platforms, or footings, will still need to be releveled over time. Shifting is a natural part of just about any structure, particularly if you live in a colder climate, where the ground is subjected to the freezing and thawing process. Over time, this will cause your ground to "heave," which can lead to cracked concrete platforms and an unlevel mobile home.

How to Tell if Your Mobile Home is Unlevel

There are many signs that can help you determine is your mobile home is unlevel, but it's important to stress that these signs are no guarantee that an unlevel mobile home is the cause (they can occur for other reasons). If you experience one of these problems, you may want to look for other signs that your home may be unlevel, prior to calling in the local handyman, or it may be a wise decision to invest in a high-quality level and check the home yourself.

Some signs that your mobile home may not be level include:

- Sticking windows and doors

- Doors that won't close properly or swing open on their own

- Squeaky floors

- Water on the countertops or floors will run to one side

- Sagging mobile home floors or those that feel warped or tilted

- Cracks along the walls or across the ceiling

- Skirting has buckled along the outside of the mobile home

- Home has pulled away from decorative bricks or steps

- Anchor straps appear loose

What to Do if You Suspect Your Mobile Home is Unlevel

If you suspect that you might need to level your mobile home, the first thing that you want to do is invest in a quality water level and go through, checking various points in your home and making note of any spots that seem high or low. This should become a part of your routine annual mobile home maintenance. Remember the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - finding out that your mobile home is becoming unlevel, when it's still in the early stages, will keep the task of leveling your mobile home a much easier one and will save you money on potentially costly repairs.

Next, take a moment and consider how handy you are. If you're new to mobile home repair or don't like crawling under homes, you may want to consider hiring a professional or having the local handyman come and help you level your home. However, if you think you're up to the task, you can even go about leveling your mobile home yourself.

How to Level a Mobile Home

Once you've used an accurate water level and determined where the unlevel points of your mobile home are, you're going to want to find your center stack of blocks and begin there. The center should be your reference point and you should then level the blocks moving outward from that point. Loosen the tie down straps and then get ready to get a little dirty (I suggest wearing some heavy-duty work gloves).

Moving to the center stack of blocks, set your jack on a secure base (plywood works best for this) and then jack the steal beam up until it's level with this reference point. Next, hammer your shims in so that they will support the new level and you can then replace any shims or blocks that need to be fixed in the original stack.

Working towards one end of the mobile home, you will have to gradually check levels and raise or lower the mobile home as you go, replacing shims and blocks as needed. Remember that it's essential to check the levels at each of the various points, because leveling one part of your mobile home can cause the other parts of the home to become unlevel. Think of it like smoothing air bubbles from under a vinyl decal - you start at the middle and then slowly smooth your way out to the ends.

Once you've leveled one end of your mobile home, you will then return back to the center and prepare to level the other end of your mobile home. Repeating the process over again, gradually test the levels as you go and make the needed repairs and adjustments as you reach each individual area. Once you've finished, use the water level once again and retest your mobile home to ensure everything has been leveled properly. When it has, make sure you secure your tie-down straps and you're done!

Leveling your mobile home is a slow process and it can consume the better part of a day, particularly if you're not experienced with the task. Just take your time and bring plenty of patience along; it will be worth all the time and effort when you figure the money you'll save in the long run. Happy home repair!

Sources:

Personal experience as a mobile home owner

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mobile-home-leveling.html - Informative article on step-by-step mobile home leveling