Unleveling home to make windows and doors more square?

[SoCalPalmHarbor]

Hello everyone, it's good to be here! Hopefully you'll be willing and able to share your opinions about an issue with my home.

I recently had my 2002 Palm Harbor double-wide home releveled, which had never been done to it before. Some windows and a sliding glass door were made visibly less true/square by this; a couple windows barely latch shut and that glass door is even harder to keep closed than it used to be. Also, a sliding shower door now becomes difficult to slide as it reaches the end of its track. And the exterior water heater closet's door sticks out because that door is mounted on a wood piece that now bends outward.

Maybe the steel piers' original levels were set to make the windows and doors work OK, and the installers cared less about the home being level.

I'd rather not have those windows and sliding doors reinstalled and made square with the new level (if that's even practical). That would involve more expense, especially where drywall would need to be redone.

It seems that this relevel wasn't done correctly anyway; my random spot checking suggests the beams might be at least a quarter inch off in places.

I'm inclined to have the relevel at least partially undone, to bring things back to a more usable state. But that would require making the level substantially off near that sliding glass door.

This relevel was done mainly because I saw one footlong crack in the siding near one corner of the home (nowhere near that sliding glass door). I feared it's a stress crack. I releveled also partly because the home's manufacturer and some people online recommend doing it periodically.

This makes me wonder whether it was a bad idea to relevel (a realtor and her civil engineer husband, who were aware of the crack, told me so and predicted these kinds of problems). And the company which installed the home told me that homes normally should never require releveling. Maybe that's because the local (San Diego county) soil is very solid?

How do you all deal with the problems created when you relevel? How much unlevelness do you tolerate to avoid trouble? What should I do now?

Thank you very much for any guidance.

[JD]

The actual leveling of the home may have been performed correctly. The basic part of that service is to make sure that the point where piers meet the I-beams are level.

On a 2002 home, there should also be edge piers or some other form of support below the rim joist and at king studs of all doors and large picture windows. If you adjust the main piers, you almost certainly will need to adjust these additional support piers. On entry doors, they are usually placed on the hinge side of the door. Raising and lowering that pier will usually eliminate the problem you are having. On sliding glass doors and large picture windows, these edge piers are usually placed on each side, under the king studs. Adjustments here will usually level those units. All adjustment need to be made in relationship to the actual level of the home.

If you do not have these edge piers, this could be your problem and adding them could be your solution. Not being able to see the home myself, I cannot say for certain that the above is the problem, but it would be my very strong suspicion.

JMHO

[Greg]

I would question if the home is actually 100% level. How did they level it? If they used a carpenter's level I can about guarantee it is off. If you notice, with a 4' level you can pick it up 1/16" and still have it show level. Continue that angle over a 50' run and you can be a few INCHES off.

Greg

[SoCalPalmHarbor]

Note to Greg: they used a water level.

On a 2002 home, there should also be edge piers or some other form of support below the rim joist and at king studs of all doors and large picture windows. If you adjust the main piers, you almost certainly will need to adjust these additional support piers. On entry doors, they are usually placed on the hinge side of the door. Raising and lowering that pier will usually eliminate the problem you are having. On sliding glass doors and large picture windows, these edge piers are usually placed on each side, under the king studs. Adjustments here will usually level those units. All adjustment need to be made in relationship to the actual level of the home.

Yes, there are edge piers around the home. They go to a different height than the beam-supporting piers; I don't know how the correct height for them, relative to the beams, is determined. But my relevel guy says that everything is at a good level.

He is willing to have me sign a document indicating that I asked to put the house out of level, and then he would do it, but he dislikes the idea and so do I. He also thinks it would be better to have the problem windows detached and then reattached in a way that makes them square.

Should I hire a second relevel company to check his work? My spot checking with a simple water level indicated the bottoms of beams often varied in height by 0.25 to almost 0.5 inches, along a single beam and also between beams at distances of about 10 to 15 feet. Maybe I should try harder to get things right before committing to various fixes, like those windows and the drywall that cracked due to the releveling.

[Greg]

If you have a water level, you could check it yourself. If it is within 1/4" it should be fine. Since you would only be checking it, it wouldn't take too long.

Greg

[JD]

Checking the level is a good idea, especially if you are confident the results are right. Assuming the level at the I-beams is good (within 1/4"), you could do a very simple check on the perimeter piers/joist with a stringline. Run the stringline 15' in each direction of a door or window in question, or even further to check more than one door and/or window. You can use a mason spin knot, or any way you can to put tension n the string and have it flat against the bottom of the rim joist. This works easily with metal perimeter piers, not so much with concrete block. The point its the same. Once the line is tight with tension. flat against the bottom, slide a 1/2" block on each end of the string, near where it terminates. Now measure along the string to see how much variance in measurement there is. Use a 1" block if necessary. If the rim joist is straight, this is probably NOT what is causing the door or window to be out of square.