Doublewide back door sticking

[countrydan]

Our back door is sticking. I'm sure it's because of the temps outside and ground movement. I replaced the blocks under that joist span last spring. I can open it but gotta lift up. Some new kitchen floor areas are not as smooth either. The subfloor has moved a little bit.

Is this ok? I know there are thin cracks under the trailer in the concrete subfloor and some on the perimeter blocking.

[DaleM]

This has been a pretty bad year with real cold temps. My deck is up about a 1/2" more than what it usually goes up from frost heave. You could jack the hinge side up and rework the perimeter blocking under that side of the door. OR you could just leave it, it should go back to normal operation once the frost is out of the ground.

[Steve S.]

I've got the same problem with my back door and one of my interior doors which is oriented in the same direction. Like you, I had re-leveled (raised) the one side of my MH that was slightly low last year. I assumed the home would settle after a couple of months, but perhaps I need to go back under and re-tweak it a bit. That particular corner of my home has always had issues with frost heaving in the winter...perhaps it was set up a bit lower because of that by the previous owner. I really have to pull hard to get my back door open...not good in case of emergency.
I too have cracks around the perimeter of my concrete pad(I assume you meant pad and not subfloor), but all of them are outside the piers and none run under piers...no floor or wall issues that I can see in my home. Like Dale says, you might as well wait until the frost is out of the ground, which might be quite awhile this season...that's my plan.

[jimncheryl]

This just might help your door problems. I installed a set on one door to test and now all doors have them and when things move I adjust the door.
Jim

http://www.adjustabledoorhinge.com/

[Greg]

In this type of weather the only thing that will help is below the frost line piers or foundation.

We have lived in this home for 22 years and since we moved (bought land) and set it up on below frost line piers this is the FIRST year that it has not shifted. Mine are down between 48"-54" 18" diameter so I should not have any problems.

Greg

[countrydan]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I should have been clearer about this, but our dw is on a permanent foundation with concrete blocks along the perimeter with block supports on the concrete pad underneath. I'm sure some settling has occurred, as i can see some settlement cracks, but this foundation was done in 2000 I believe. I would expect most settling to be over with now.

Would you guys be super alarmed? Maybe ill call an engineer in the area for some advice.

[Greg]

If it is on a full, below the frost line foundation then nothing should shift. In your area I would guess that the frost line is around 30" or so. If the foundation blocks are just on the ground, it will move with the frost heave.

I don't think I would loose any sleep over it, but when warmer weather comes I think I would get the water level out and check things under there.

Greg

[mopower440]

This just might help your door problems. I installed a set on one door to test and now all doors have them and when things move I adjust the door.
Jim

http://www.adjustabledoorhinge.com/

will these adjustable hinges really work on a mobile home? Their exterior hinges have 4 screw holes but mine only have 3..?

[DaleM]

If on a slab like most homes in my area, the edges of the slab can and will heave. Slabs will flex a bit before they crack.

[jimncheryl]

I can not say if they will work on your home, my bet is yes.
I have them on 3 entrance doors and 4 interior doors they work flawlessly. My entrance doors have 4 screws and the interior doors have 3 screws.
You might contact the company and speak with them.
It sounds like it is possible someone installed the wrong hinges on your doors or maybe mine ???
When we bought this home 2 of the 3 doors did not work properly, I installed one set of hinges ,,, fixed the problem . I now have them on all doors and only had to adjust 2 since I installed them,, way to easy.

[Greg S]

will these adjustable hinges really work on a mobile home? Their exterior hinges have 4 screw holes but mine only have 3..?[/quote]

Since you would be replacing the entire hinge the number of screw holes on the existing hinge is not relevant.

[ponch37300]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I should have been clearer about this, but our dw is on a permanent foundation with concrete blocks along the perimeter with block supports on the concrete pad underneath. I'm sure some settling has occurred, as i can see some settlement cracks, but this foundation was done in 2000 I believe. I would expect most settling to be over with now.

Would you guys be super alarmed? Maybe ill call an engineer in the area for some advice.

It's not an issue with settling, it's an issue with ground frost. From you post it sounds like you have a slab with blocks on top going up to mobile home? Unless your slab has footings under it going down below the frost line then your slab will still move when the ground freezes. They said on the local news the other day that the water department is having a rough year because most of the water lines are 6 feet deep and the frost this year is down five and a half to six feet deep.

[countrydan]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I've decided I'm not gonna lose sleep over it and see what happens come spring/summer with the cracks after the ground thaws. We must have the nice in ground, below the frost line, foundation/piers/supports. Just a slab with concrete support blocks I guess. Hopefully the cracks don't open up any and we don't get any new ones. This weather has been rough so far.