Doors and windows sticking: is the home out of level?

A door that drags on the floor, rubs at the top corner or will not latch, and a window that binds in its frame, are the most common first signs that a mobile home has gone out of level. If several of them start at once, a pier under that part of the home has probably settled. A relevel typically runs $450 to $800 on a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 on a doublewide. We confirm the cause under the home before we write a price.

Check this first

• Is it one door or several? One door alone is often a hinge or a latch. Several on the same end point to the frame.
• Where does it rub? A door that rubs at the top on the latch side and has a gap at the bottom on the hinge side is being pulled out of square.
• Look at the corners. Cracks running diagonally from the corners of door and window frames often go with settling.
• On a doublewide, look along the ceiling where the two halves meet for a new gap or step.
• Look outside. Skirting bowing out on the same side, or a sprinkler that soaks the ground near that corner, is worth noting.

What causes it

Why it happens on valley sand

Most of the valley floor between Cathedral City and Palm Desert is Myoma fine sand, and the north side is Carsitas sand and gravelly sand. These are low-clay soils that do not swell and shrink like clay, so a door that starts sticking here is usually not seasonal heave. More often a footing has moved. NRCS notes that irrigation or seepage can create a seasonal water table 2 to 5 feet down in Carsitas sand, that perched water is common where Coachella soils are irrigated, and that summer thunderstorms can briefly flood the sand. A corner that sits next to a watered bed or a dripping line is the first one we check.

Older set-ups can also be on footings that were placed on disturbed sand. California’s rules want footings level on firm, undisturbed soil or compacted fill, and when we rebuild one, that is what we set it on.

When to call

Call when more than one door or window binds, when a crack opens from a frame corner, or when a doublewide’s ceiling seam shows a gap. Waiting does not usually make a relevel cheaper, because more piers can follow the first.

When you do, keep in mind that in California a relevel that alters or replaces supports is a reinstallation that needs a permit, pulled by a contractor who must show a valid licence. The licence class for this work is the CSLB C-47. Ask for the number. Our California rules page has the details.

Related

• Mobile home leveling: how a relevel works.
• Pier and pad repair: when one pier is the cause.
• Leveling cost calculator: a range for your home.
• Floor soft or bouncy: the other common symptom.