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Leveling done wrong: too many shims, too few piers

If a relevel left your home worse, or it went out of level again within months, the fix was often made at the top of the pier instead of at the bottom. Putting it right usually means a relevel, typically $450 to $800 for a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide, plus $150 to $400 for each pier we rebuild.

Check this first

Open the access door with a flashlight and look at a few piers.

  • Shim towers. More than one or two shims between the wood plate and the beam. Arkansas caps shims at 1 inch.
  • Cap towers. Several cap blocks stacked on a pier. The state allows no more than 7 inches of caps combined.
  • Loose wedges. Hardwood wedges that have shrunk or slipped, or only one wedge where there should be two.
  • Off-center piers. A pier not centered under the I-beam, or not centered on its footing.
  • Missing piers. Long gaps along the beam. For a used home, piers go no more than 8 feet apart, with the first within 2 feet of each end of each beam.
  • Loose straps. Straps hanging slack after the job.

What went wrong, and how we fix it

What was doneWhy it failsWhat we doTypical cost
Shims stacked on a sunk footingThe footing keeps moving; shims crushRebuild the footing on firm ground$150 to $400 per pier
Caps stacked to make up heightThe rules allow no more than two cap blocks and 7 inches combinedRebuild the pier to the right height$150 to $400 per pier
Piers too far apartThe beam sags between themAdd piers to the spacing ruleper added pier
One end lifted hardRacks the walls and the marriage lineRelevel the whole home in small liftsrelevel range
Straps left slack, or old ones put backThe home is not held in a stormRe-tension, or replace with new partssmall, or $600 to $3,500

Why it shows up on Hot Springs ground

Around town, NRCS maps much of the ground as 10 to 20 inches over tilted shale or sandstone, and that depth “may be extremely variable within short distances”. A pier set on soil next to one set on rock will not move the same. If the original fix only added shims and never looked at what the footings sat on, the home can drift out again. In the clay subsoils toward Piney and Jessieville, and in bottoms that hold water from December to May, a footing on soft ground can keep moving until it is rebuilt.

Anchors after a bad job

Arkansas makes anchoring mandatory, and when anchoring is replaced the parts must be new, never re-used. If someone put your old straps back, or left anchors pulled half out of the ground, the quote lists it. See tie-downs and anchors.

Before you hire again

Ask for the installer’s AMHC license number and check it with the Commission. A Recovery Fund paid into by licensees can cover repair costs, up to $10,000 per violation, when a licensee will not or cannot correct work the Commission has directed them to fix. The Arkansas rules page explains the complaint process.

Related: mobile home leveling, pier and footing repair and doors and windows sticking. Typical costs are on the pricing page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many shims are too many?

Arkansas's specifications say shims between the wood plate and the beam may be no more than 1 inch thick, and cap blocks no more than 7 inches combined. A tall stack of shims or caps on a pier is a sign someone leveled the home without fixing the footing.

What does it typically cost to fix?

Usually a relevel, typically $450 to $800 for a singlewide and $750 to $1,400 for a doublewide, plus $150 to $400 for each pier that has to be rebuilt. If straps and anchors were left loose or need replacing, anchor work typically runs $600 to $3,500.

Can I complain about the person who did it?

If they were an AMHC licensee, you can complain to the Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission on its form, which asks for their license number. If they were not, you can still call the Commission and ask whether the work falls under its rules; state law allows penalties against unlicensed installers.

Should the straps have been loosened?

A home cannot be lifted with the straps tight, so they come loose for a relevel. They have to be re-tensioned afterwards, to the home or anchor manufacturer's instructions. Straps left slack after a relevel are easy to miss.

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