Mobile Home Releveling in North Fort Myers

A mobile home sits on a steel frame carried by rows of piers, usually stacked blocks on pads with shims driven tight between the pier cap and the beam. When the ground under a pier gives way, that pier drops and the frame sags over it. When we relevel a home, we find the low piers and bring the frame back to level. A relevel typically costs $450 to $800 for a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide; your own number comes in writing once we have looked underneath.

Signs a home has moved

Doors that stick, swing on their own or will not latch
Windows that bind
Floors that slope or feel soft in one spot
Cracks at wall and ceiling corners
Skirting that bows, buckles or pulls away
On a doublewide, a gap opening along the marriage line

How we relevel a home

Survey. We read the height of the frame at every pier, usually with a water level, and map which piers dropped and by how much.
Lift. We raise the frame a little at a time at the low points, so the walls are not racked by lifting one spot too far.
Reset or rebuild. Low piers get new shims. Piers with cracked caps or shifted blocks get rebuilt. Florida’s rule calls for pier pads of at least 4 by 16 by 16 inches of solid concrete.
Recheck and straps. We survey the frame again and re-tension the tie-down straps, because a home that dropped can leave its straps slack.

The ground in North Fort Myers

Most of North Fort Myers sits on poorly drained flatwood sands, soil series such as Pineda, Oldsmar, Wabasso and Immokalee, with the water table often within 10 to 40 inches of the surface for much of the year. Wet sand carries a pier pad less firmly than dry ground. So while we are under the home we look for water ponding beneath it, and if grading should be part of the job we put that in the quote. Florida Rule 15C-1 asks for the ground to be graded so water does not pond under the home.

Carports and add-ons

In the state’s survey of three North Fort Myers parks after Ian, about 80% of the damage observed was carports and add-ons lifting off. If your home has an attached carport, screen room or porch roof, mention it when you call. We keep an eye on those supports while the home is lifted.

Before we start

Ask for the FLHSMV mobile home installer licence number. Florida requires that licence for installation work, and it is a fair question to put to anyone who works on your home.
Ask whether the job needs a Lee County permit. The county lists new installs, replacements and tie downs.
Ask how many piers we plan to reshim and how many to rebuild. The quote should say.

Typical ranges for every part of the job are on the pricing page. For anchor work, see tie-downs and anchors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a relevel typically cost?

Typical ranges are $450 to $800 for a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide. Pier rebuilds add about $150 to $400 each. We set your actual price in a written quote after surveying the home.

How long does a relevel take?

Typically 3 to 5 hours for a singlewide and 6 to 8 hours for a doublewide. A home that has dropped a lot, or one with many piers to rebuild, can take longer, and we will tell you that when we quote.

Will releveling fix sticking doors?

Often, because door frames rack back toward square as the frame comes back to level. Existing drywall cracks do not close on their own, but they usually stop growing once the frame is stable.

Should drainage be fixed first?

Sometimes, and we will say so if it should. Florida Rule 15C-1 asks for the ground under a home to be graded so water does not pond under it, and on North Fort Myers flatwood sand, where the water table is often within 10 to 40 inches of the surface, standing water keeps softening the same pads.