I need to know what the best thing to use for shims when leveling a mobile home.?
Manufactured Homes November 25th, 2009I recently purchased a mobile home. Few of the windows work properly and based on a somewhat good eye i can tell it is because the home has settled over the past nine years since it was installed. Any ideas or suggestions on how to alleviate this problem would help. I know i need some hefty hydraulic jacks. shims of some sort and make shift water level to make sure everything ends up at the same level. This is pretty much all i know. I have some experience with homes but not mobile homes. I am guessing it is pretty much the same. Should i use pressure treated shims or cedar or what? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank You.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
You need hardwood shims. There can be no more than 2 inches of wood TOTAL… this includes the 2 wedge shims and any blocking.
Typically, a stack support will consist of concrete (in the ground, or a full pad), 8×8x16 concrete blocks, concrete cap blocks (2 to 4 inches thick), then hardwood blocks if necessary, and the hardwood shims. Steel shims can be used in place of the wood.
Do NOT use pressure treated wood, or cedar — these are ’soft’ woods and will compress greatly, under the weight of the home.
You can find hardwood shims at some mobile home suppliers, or even saw mills. They need to be about 3" wide x 1" thick (at thickest point) to about 8" length. Two wedge shape shims should be used together… never just one. Place them so that the thinnest portions of the shims are pointing towards each other, and tap them in place, by tapping on both shims at the same time. Again… to meet most building codes, you cannot have more than 2 inches of wood on top of each support stack.
Usually, the concrete blocs are stacked in pairs, with each ‘layer’ running across the one below, to help distribute the load. The top of these blocks must be capped off with a solid concrete block, aka patio block. By the way.. NONE of the blocking can have any cracks.
Once you are all done leveling the home… don’t forget to adjust the anchor straps.
A 12 ton bottle jack is plenty big enough to level a home.
Go ahead and make the water level… a typical contractors level is NOT accurate enough for this application. I know, Ive had to reset quite a few homes the dealers crews swore were level… and come to find out, they used a contractor’s level, not a water level. Using about a 3/8" or 5/16" inside diameter tube, at 100 feet… you can get an accuracy of within 1/8" inch. Ive seen dealer set homes that were 2 inches and more, out of level… let alone one that has settled for a number of years, as is your case.
When you make your water level… use WATER… not windshield fluid… if you want color in the tube, add some food coloring (makes it easier to see the level). Make sure you get all the air bubbles out of the line, before calibrating it. Do not lose any fluid after calibrating the system.
I take a piece of paper, and sketch out the locations for the support blocks… then check the level at each location, against my calibration check, and record how much variance there is, up or down, relative to the reference point. Then I have a good picture of where I need to raise or lower the home, to level it properly.
I can relevel most doublewides in under 4 hours total, from set up to clean up. But Ive had a LOT of practice at it, hehehe… most DIYers should expect to make a day of it, once they are ready to actually start measuring.
Good Luck
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Since its under the trailer, any 2X6 and 1X6 combinations will work. You don’t need anything thinner than that……..########
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
I’ve lived in more than one mobile in my life; and certainly Jacks will help initially.
You really don’t need a WATER level, just a contractor bubble level will work.
The more important issue might be the elevations needed to achieve LEVEL. With all due respect WOOD is not the best option, no matter the species.
My first choice to research would be manufacturers, their suggestions; and knowing the basis of the soil and current sub structure; IE: Cinder block; footers; concrete pier block; etc.
I’d be more inclined to look into aluminum or steel wedges/shims.
Steven Wolf
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Wood is really too soft to use as a shim….it will compress over a short period of time. Use some concrete blocks or stepping stone blocks. Thinner shims need to be metal plates. You can always go to scrape yard and buy small pieces at a really low price. Don’t worry about uniform shape…but you may get some of different thickness to make leveling easier.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 am
I just moved an old mobile home (1975). It had oak shims under the frame between the blocks. The oak shims were reused cause they were in good shape. some of the blocks had to be replaced because they cracked over the years.