Mobile home releveling in Lakeland and Polk County
Sticking doors, cracked corners and a floor that slopes all point the same way: the home has settled off its piers. We find out why, bring it back to level and tie it back down.
What a relevel actually is
Your home rests on steel I-beams that run its full length, and those beams sit on rows of piers: concrete block stacks or steel stands on pads, with wood shims and wedges on top. A relevel means jacking the home at the beams, bringing each low spot back up, and resetting the piers so they carry the weight evenly again.
Why homes around here go out of level
- The ground moves. Rain runs under the home, the soil softens or washes out, and a pier sinks. The ground changes a lot across Polk County, and different ground settles differently.
- Pads and blocks fail. A cracked pad or a block that's split lets that pier drop.
- Shims work loose. Wood shims dry out, shrink or rot, and the gap they leave is a low spot.
- Piers were missing or too far apart from the start, so the beam sags between them.
- Storms. High wind pulls on the home and its tie-downs, and things shift.
Signs it's time
- Doors that stick, swing open on their own or won't latch
- Windows that bind or won't close all the way
- Cracks running from the corners of doors and windows
- A gap opening where the walls meet the ceiling
- A floor you can feel slope or dip down the hallway
- Skirting that's buckled, pushed out or pulling loose
- On a double-wide, a crack or gap along the marriage line
- Plumbing drains that started running slow for no reason
What we check under your home
Before we quote anything we go underneath and look at the whole support system, not just the corner you noticed:
- Pier spacing and placement. Piers belong under the I-beams, close enough together that the beam doesn't sag between them, with the home's setup instructions as the guide where they exist. Missing or badly spaced piers are one of the most common causes of a sag.
- Pads, blocks and shims. Cracked, sunken, split or rotted pieces get replaced.
- Tie-downs and anchors. We look at every strap and anchor. Rusted straps and anchors that have pulled loose are common, and they matter most when a storm comes through.
- The I-beams. Rust, bends or sag between piers.
- The underbelly. If it's torn or wet, we'll tell you while we're under there. See underbelly repair.
- Water. Standing water or a leak under the home will undo a relevel, so we look for where it's coming from.
How the job goes
Free look underneath
We find the low spots and the cause, and give you a price before any work starts.
Raise it carefully
We jack at the I-beams in small steps, so the walls and ceilings move with the frame instead of against it.
Reset the support
Piers, pads and shims are reset, replaced or added where the home needs them.
Tie it back down
Straps are re-tensioned and any bad anchors or straps called out, then we walk the home with you and check the doors.
Questions about releveling
Will releveling fix my sticking doors?
Often, yes. Doors and windows bind because the frame around them has twisted as the home settled. Bring the home back to level and most of them close again. A door that was trimmed or re-hung to fit the sag may need a small adjustment afterward.
Does releveling fix the cracks in my walls?
It stops them from getting worse, and some close up. Cracks that have been open a long time usually need a little patch and paint once the home is level.
Is a relevel the same as checking my tie-downs?
They go together. Raising or lowering the home changes the tension on the tie-down straps, so we check and re-tighten them as part of the job and tell you if any anchors or straps need replacing.
Do I need a permit to relevel my home?
It depends on where the home sits and how much work it needs. The City of Lakeland, for example, requires a permit for foundation remediation work inside city limits, and Polk County requires permits for repairs and alterations to mobile homes in the unincorporated county. We'll go over what your job needs when we look at it.
Can you level a double-wide?
Yes. On a double-wide both halves have to come up together and meet evenly at the marriage line, or you trade one problem for another. We level them as one home.
A 1-year warranty on every re-level, underbelly and subfloor job.
Every re-level, underbelly repair, saggy floor and subfloor job we do comes with a 1-year warranty. If you have a question about the work afterward, you call Adam directly, not a call center.
Doors sticking? Let's look underneath.
Tell us what you're noticing, like doors that stick, a soft spot or a dip down the hallway, and we'll come out and look under the home before anyone talks numbers. Estimates are free.