Mobile Home Leveling in Desert Edge and Sky Valley

Desert Edge is almost entirely mobile homes: about 3,200 of them, 92% of all its homes, with a median resident age of about 64, among the oldest in the valley. Sky Valley adds about 1,100 more, nearly two homes in three. Between them that is more than 4,200 mobile homes on the north side of the valley. Desert Edge is about 13.5 miles and Sky Valley about 10.6 miles in a straight line from the middle of Palm Desert. We relevel homes, rebuild piers and footings, check tie-downs and repair skirting and underbellies in both. Typical relevel ranges are $450 to $800 for a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide, with a written price after we have seen the home.

Unincorporated county

Neither place is part of a city. Desert Edge and Sky Valley are census-designated places in unincorporated Riverside County, and neither is part of Desert Hot Springs. Outside parks, Riverside County Building and Safety issues permits. Inside parks, HCD is the enforcement agency unless another agency has taken over; HCD’s Southern Area Office is in Riverside, (800) 952-8356. Ask the park office which applies before any support work starts.

California treats altering or replacing a home’s supports or tie-downs as a reinstallation that needs a permit (Health and Safety Code 18613). The contractor who pulls it must show a valid licence, and the class is the CSLB C-47. Ask for the number and check it on CSLB. Our California rules page explains more.

Part-year homes

About 39% of Desert Edge’s homes and 28% of Sky Valley’s are held for seasonal use, per the Census, against 7% for Riverside County as a whole. For an owner who is away for months, a pier can settle without anyone noticing. A level, pier and tie-down inspection with a written report typically runs $150 to $350.

Carsitas sand and water

Desert Edge sits entirely on Carsitas sand and gravelly sand, by our read of the NRCS soil map, and Sky Valley’s valley ground is Carsitas sand too. NRCS describes Carsitas as formed in alluvium on alluvial fans, and its soil data show low clay and no caliche. Two notes in the NRCS description matter for leveling: irrigation or seepage can cause a seasonal water table at 2 to 5 feet, and torrential summer thunderstorms can briefly flood the soil. A footing beside a watered garden, a leak or a runoff path is one we look at closely, and if it has sunk, we rebuild it on firm ground rather than reshim it. See pier and pad repair.

Wind on the north side

The Coachella Valley’s habitat plan names the Whitewater and Mission Creek washes as source areas for the sand the wind carries down the valley, and on July 31, 2023 a haboob brought gusts over 50 mph and visibility near zero. Wind loosens skirting and tests slack tie-downs. See skirting repair and tie-downs and anchors.

Sky Valley Resort and Desert Hot Springs

Sky Valley Resort on Dillon Road is an RV resort with homes on site; if you own one of those homes, ask the resort office about its rules for work under the home. Desert Hot Springs itself, about 18 miles in a straight line from Palm Desert, has about 1,000 mobile homes, and its preliminary two-day rain total from Hilary in August 2023 was 3.35 inches. Ask if you are there and we will tell you whether we can take the job.

Related

• Thousand Palms
• Mobile home leveling
• Typical prices