Mobile Home Leveling in Palm Desert

Releveling brings a mobile home’s steel frame back into one flat plane by lifting the low points in small steps and resetting the piers under them. Our typical range is $450 to $800 for a singlewide, $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide and $1,100 to $2,000 for a triplewide. You get a written price after we have been under the home, and nothing is lifted until you have said yes.

In California, a relevel that alters or replaces supports is treated as a reinstallation that needs a permit (Health and Safety Code 18613), pulled by a contractor who must show a valid licence, or by the owner doing the work. The licence class is the CSLB C-47. Ask for the number and check it on CSLB.

How we relevel a home

We read the frame first. We go under the home and take a reading at each pier along the main beams, and on a doublewide along the marriage line too. That tells us which piers have settled and by how much. The low spots are often not where the owner guesses from inside.

We look at what is under each pier. On the valley floor that is usually Myoma fine sand, which NRCS describes as loose and single grain, or on the north side Carsitas sand and gravelly sand. California’s rules want each footing set level on firm, undisturbed soil or compacted fill. A pier that has tipped because its footing sank into soft or disturbed sand needs a new footing, not more shims. That becomes pier and pad repair.

We lift in small steps. Raising one point too far at once can twist the frame and crack drywall or bind doors on the other end. We bring the low side up gradually and recheck the readings as we go.

We reset and shim. Once the frame is back in plane, each pier is reset or rebuilt and shimmed tight to the beam. California caps piers at 36 inches, and piers that are not concrete block piers carry a label of approval.

We check the tie-downs. Releveling can loosen straps or show anchors that have pulled. Replacing stabilizing devices is part of the same reinstallation rule, so if they need work, it goes on the quote. See tie-downs and anchors.

Why one corner drops

The valley’s sands drain quickly, and they are low in clay, so they do not swell and shrink the way clay does. When a footing moves here, water is the first thing we look for. 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 sprinkler head aimed at the skirting, a leaking supply line or a downspout that empties beside the home is worth fixing before or with the relevel. Otherwise the same corner can settle again.

Older homes

Many homes in the valley were set up years ago. An installation that met the rules of its day can stay in use unless it is found substandard, but once the supports are changed, today’s Title 25 rules apply to the work. That can mean new footings where the old ones would not pass now. We point out on the quote anything we see that falls in that gap.

Before you call

• Note which doors or windows stick, and whether it is getting worse.
• On a doublewide, look along the ceiling seam for a gap or step.
• Look through the skirting access door if you can do it safely, and tell us what you see.

Then try our leveling cost calculator for a range, or read doors and windows sticking to match the symptom. Our typical ranges for every related job are on the pricing page.