Potential structual damage done during a relevel?

[embagel]

I am totally new to any type of home ownership, and am considering buying an old (1967) home in a 55+ park in MA. The current owner has done a lot of work updating. He put in floating wood floors, new slider type windows, insulated/vinyl siding and skirting, new furnace, new air conditioners, sheetrock on some walls, a rubber roof top, and built an attached cabana. However, he didn't level the place before any of this work was done.

I had a professional come and check the level as I could tell it was 'off'. He used the water method and found it was 10 inches higher in the front than the back, and about 3 inches off side to side. Wow, that is a lot. He said that leveling it is going to cause extensive damage to the work that had been done. The sheetrock will crack, the cabana will detach, the windows might pop, the skirting will need to be completely redone. He estimated it could easily cost $5,000 plus to level the place and fix the likely damage. And other problems could arise.

I'm just wondering if his assessment is accurate or is he making it out to sound worse than it is? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I would not be able to do any repairs myself as I know nothing about home repair so the work would all be contracted out.

Thanks for your help.

[JD]

If your contractor is correct on the 10" and 3" off measurement, then yes, leveling the home could have pretty drastic effects on sheetrock and could cause floor squeaks. having to move a home that much would probably require some new skirting. If the skirting is vinyl, you can salvage the top trim, the bottom ground channel and some of the panels. Personally, I would not raise one end to match the other end. I would key in on the entry doors and use an adequate compromise between the two doors as grade. This will keep conflicts with steps and decks to a minimum. Usually, a double wide will settle lower on the outside walls, leaving the high spot at the marriage joint. It may be better to lower the middle than to raise the outside walls of the home. Moving the level more than an inch in either direction could require additional block pads or replacement of metal jacks, depending on what type of piers you have. The side to side level is more important than the front to back level, but in this case 10" difference is crazy big. I consider a home's level bad when it is off 1.5" side to side and 3" from front to back. If you have aluminum awnings attached to the home, they will usually push or pull the posts in as the home is moved. A wood awning, probably not. Even with an aluminum awning, moving a home that much will require incremental moves, checking all aspects of the home at each interval. It may be a better idea to only level the home as much as you can and stop before damage is done to the roof, awnings, etc. You will probably have to deal with skirting no matter what.

When I level a home, I take a piece of paper and draw 4 lines representing the "I" beams of a double wide. Then I draw small circles representing each pier. Close to scale is good. Then I establish grade with the static end of the water level and then take the other end to each pier. I will write -1/2" , +3/4" or what ever the difference is at each pier compared to grade. My grade is established where the "to grade" pier meets the "I" beam. So this is the measure spot on each pier, where it meets the "I" beam. When I am done, I have a topographical map of all pier levels. Now instead of just raising one end, I can find the happy medium (where there is no conflict with doors and decks/steps) and for example, loer one end 2" and raise the other end. In the case of 10" out, I may choose only to raise 4-5 inches, depending on where I feel the point of possible damage to roofs, awnings, etc. is. Out a couple of inches from front to back is a lot better than out 10".

A home will not be consistently out and even 10"(or 3") across the entire home. One side will be higher than the other and the higher side may switch sides at the other end of the home. There will be some areas lower than others. The home does not settle evenly.

I am giving this info as just that, info. It is only to give you a better picture as to how this extreme level could be performed. With a home out as much as you described, you would want a competent and highly experienced licensed contractor to do the work. One with liability insurance would be highly advisable. Ask for a current "Proof of Insurance" letter from the insurance company. Then call the company. This is a common request of insured contractors.

The above info is only part of what needs to be considered when moving a home extreme amounts. The safety of personnel and your home is at risk with a job as you described. I would only trust a seasoned pro if I was you.

With all this being said, get a second and third opinion/estimates. You could even use a cheap string level on the outside of your home as a quick and dirty test. You cannot accurately level a home this way, but you should be able to detect whether you are close to 10" out or not. A laser level at night would also give you a rough idea. 10" out from front to back is pretty outrageous. I am not saying that it is not true, only that in 23 years of working mobile homes in agriculture country (often soft ground), I have never seen a home close to that far out.

Hope this helps.
JMO, JD

[Greg]

If the home is that far out, releveling it in stages MAY limit some of the damage. If you do an inch or so every 2 weeks may allow things to settle into place a little at a time.

I use soapstone and write the amount of correction needed on the frame next to the pier. Greg

[embagel]

Thanks for the information, much appreciated. I've decided not to buy the place. Just too many unknowns. I live in Western MA and there aren't many resources here for a professional skilled in this type of work. Just afraid of getting myself into a situation where multiple things start going wrong, and costs start growing.

[Denise]

A laser level at night would also give you a rough idea. (reply to embagle's post)

JD, what kind of laser level? A search has brought up so many options....

Thanks

[JD]

I would not use a laser level when leveling a mobile home, but in this case, 10" out should be pretty easy to see with most anything, a string level, a laser level or just a good eye. Again, we are talking about 10", that is a lot.

I have a Craftsman branded laser level with a nice tripod and case. I am sure it was on sale and not expensive. It has been very useful with indoor remodeling. I will use it to rough set piers when building a deck. Lot's of uses. They are useless in direct sunlight though.

JMO
JD