Working Down Under

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Hello 2 all! I spent my weekend getting down under & getting dirty, fighting spider webs, straighting blocking and now I have the sore aching muscle's to go along with it! Attached is a pic of a pier with wood shims. The Question is, is this the correct way the shims are to be?

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Also, I forgot to mention I almost have it level now, Just a few more trips down below to repair some belly material and I will be ready for the new skirting.
Mike B.

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Wood shims will not last long and will not keep it level. With all the weight on them they will compress. I only use metal shims cut from plate steel. Just a thought. I hate to do a job twice.

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Hi Mike!

Hvac is correct, the best way is with metal. But, truth be told, most of us do have wood shims! Especially in dryer areas of the country.

What I want to know is how did you level the home? That's the most important question. Did you use a water level?

Even if you're on a foundation, which has many meanings, depending on your area.... keeping your home level is not a one time job and it's done. Even if you place your home on a full foundation, it's not going to work like a stick built. Our homes are just not stick built homes. There is just no two ways around this issue. It's part of the package.

Our home is on a full foundation, but we still need to keep and eye out as to whether it's level.

Maureen

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Hi Mike,

Well I must admit...metal shims is a new one on me. Have always seen, heard, and used hardwood shims.

Your relevel looks good, but as Maureen said did you use a water level, that is the only way to get a true level of your home.

Now the only other thing I saw that I feel you should address is vapor barrier. I see in your profile you live in the deep south...warm moist air and lots of it. Do yourself and your home a large favor and get 6 mil plastic laid under there.

If uncertain what I mean post back or do a search here on site.

Happy Holidays,

~Yanita~

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I will be using a water level to finalize the leveling in a few days. I must admit also.. I have never heard of metal shims either.First I had to straighten a few piers, I had a dip in the middle part of the home to raise first. Now the back door closes easy,and 2 interior doors close too. I had a vapor barrier. and will be putting new plastic down before the skirting. I wish I was on a full foundation, but I will have to work with what I have. Attached is another pic of the work in progress, old skirting removed, old vapor barrier pulled out.

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Greaaaat,

Just wanted to make sure there was a vapor barrier in place. Unfortunately many folks do not realize this should be there, UNTIL, there home receives alot of underbelly damage from the evaporating moisture.

You have a great Christmas.

~Yanita~

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Quoted From: Mike B.

Hello 2 all! I spent my weekend getting down under & getting dirty, fighting spider webs, straighting blocking and now I have the sore aching muscle's to go along with it! Attached is a pic of a pier with wood shims. The Question is, is this the correct way the shims are to be?


These 2 piers look ok.

The State of Florida says:

The pier cap and shim should be “pressure treated wood or other material approved by the department”. The only “other” material they list as of this date is a Slide-N-Lock Shim Wedge. It is a plastic wedge made by D-Rep Plastics in Clearwater, Florida.

Wedge - the maximum thickness of the wedge is 1 ½”.

Pier Cap – solid concrete block or pressure treated wood can be used. One or two 2”x8”x16” pressure treated wood can be used. Also a 4”x8”x16’ pressure treated wood can be used. If wood is used it can not exceed 4” in thickness.

Harry

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Florida has a lot of costal area and salt water. Corrosion would be the enemy of steel shims in that case. No matter what kind of wood you use it will compress from all the weight at the shim focal point. Will wood work? Sure it will but I amd my friends at camp prefer to use mostly metal. There is a nut down there that actually used stainless steel for shims. He had access to the material for free and he figured it would never rust.

At camp one thing we notice is that our homes almost never need to be releveled. Our footers are down 48 inches and we use only solid block for the piers. It costs more to do it this way but I try not to do things twice.

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Hi Mike,

As far as the piers go, and the shims... find out what is code in your area. That always best.

Please, please, please, use a water level to level the home. Anything else will not give you a true level on the home. Like hvac mentioned, these are jobs you only want to do once. But, in your area you aren't going to have 48 inch footers. You will need to relevel every few years. It's just the nature of the beast!

Mark has some info here on the site. There is more detailed info in the mobilehome repair manual. It's offered for sale on the site under the books and parts link. It's highly recommended!

Maureen

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Great pics! That's some major deja vu for me! My Sweetie and I spent both of our days off each week for all of summer "down under" repairing fixing and braving a lot of spiders!
~~shudders~~
We used a laser level to get a rough estimate of how "off" we were, but a water level would be overkill for us at this point. Our bedroom was so off level that our mattress (now don't laugh!) slid off our box spring by 4 or 5 inches every night! We jacked up that corner by about six inches, but after that, further jacking caused the entire end of the mobile to rise up, though it remained twisted - so we just stopped there. Same thing with the corner of the kitchen. We shimmed the low points tight and actually left a half inch or so between the high points and the blocks so they would settle down.
We'll get a water level and complete the job in the spring when the mobile has un-twisted itself a little! LOL!!

Your post has inspired me to put up pics of our work!

AT