Leveled my first manufactured home, but the end is high

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novasbc1024
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:51 am

Hi,

Newly joined, but have read posts here for several years.

Last year, we started working on a manufactured home on some family owned property, which was built in 1994. We had to do a lot of repairs due to water damage, and I did a lot of plumbing and electrical fixes & updates.

We are working on drywall and repainting, and I noticed that one side of the house was fairly unlevel since we had it professionally leveled about 18 months ago.

Rather than pay someone, I decided to try it myself, and built a water level.

I found quite a bit of shifting - I suppose due to the clay soil, and we don't have the skirting set up yet - or have done the work to ensure water doesn't drain under the home (going to do that in the next month).

When I was done, especially on one side of the house where it's been notorious for sinking due to water settling, I found something odd. After leveling the rest, it was sitting high. I figured it would have sat low if the I-Beams had been low over the years (it hadn't been leveled since 1994 - and we leveled it professionally in May 2017).
2018-10-08 home leveling.PNG
As you can see, all but the leftmost six piers/ibeam level is within 1/4" of my reference point (A9). Yet, those six pillars progressively reach into the sky (up to 1.5"). The green highlighted areas are ones which I have good contact with the bottom of the ibeam.

So, my question is - should I let these sit off the pillars, and hope that they will settle down into place after I get furniture back in? I'm afraid that might cause a lot of breakage if it drops 1.5". Otherwise, I guess I'd just need to live with the final 10-15 foot being at an angle.

I think it's clear that at some point in it's history, it was bent. It may have happened between the factory and it's current location (it hasn't been moved since the original install). I don't feel this is likely due to settling, as otherwise it would have been lower in this area rather than higher.

Thanks!

Mark
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

It may settle back into place on it's own, or you could pour some below the frost line piers (4' deep at least) with threaded rod in them and try to pull the frame down a little at a time.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
novasbc1024
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:51 am

Greg wrote: Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:01 pm It may settle back into place on it's own, or you could pour some below the frost line piers (4' deep at least) with threaded rod in them and try to pull the frame down a little at a time.

Greg
Thanks - I had been trying to think of ways to give it a nudge back down - but definitely figured I'd have to do it a little at a time. I guess I'll have to look at it as a lengthy process to correct.
novasbc1024
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2018 10:51 am

To post an update, went out this morning and checked, and pillars A3 and B3 were on their piers, and A1 and B1 had dropped about 1.25".

Glad it's coming down, when I go to install the cabinets and the new shower I can reliably have everything where they need to be, and now that I know how to level it on my own I can keep it up to date.
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