Hi EK!

I think maybe the people who "relevelled" your home didn't do a very good job. Have you reported to the company that now your doors and windows don't function correctly? If so, what did they say? Did you shop around and make sure the company is certified to do this work? This may vary from state to state, but I know that in Washington, where I live, one must have a special certification to relevel manufactured homes, which tells me that it's a skill that requires special training. Did you consult any engineers or contractors prior to making the decision to relevel in order to get some advice as to whether relevelling was necessary?

Doing a Google search was quite enlightening! Every single site that said relevelling is necessary for manufactured homes was a site for a business that relevels them. And the frequency with which one should relevel varied widely! I saw one recommendation of every ten years, and one that recommended relevelling annually!

I can't believe that "un-levelling" your house would be a good choice. And I wouldn't go back to the same company that levelled it in the first place, unless you get some information as to why this happened. I would most definitely have a contractor who has experience with manufactured homes come out, take a look and give you some expert advice. I think that $100-$200 for an hour of his or her time would be money well spent.

And after about 30 minutes of my Google research, I'm more confused than ever about as to if and how often relevelling should be done! :-)

I read someplace that you should relevel your home if you start having trouble with doors and windows opening and closing properly, as you describe now having, and that it was not necessary other than that. Slight settling is not reason to relevel. I am considering having my 4 year old home releveled, but only because we had a small earthquake that cracked our pad. I have one closet door that still closes, but will no longer close with an overdoor hanger on it as it did before. So not badly out of level, but definitely not as initially leveled anymore, either. I will probably just sit on this for a couple more years of winter heaving my pad to make it really worthwhile.

To the OP, I agree that whatever the people did to "level" your home was not properly done, and you need to get the home back to a place where the doors and windows operate.

I also read that, on a site that wasn't a relevelling business site. It said the thing about doors and windows not working, and added that if you feel like you're hiking up and down a hill when you walk around your house, it probably needs relevelling. My parents owned their MH for around 35 years and never had it relevelled. Haha, I can remember my dad periodically setting a marble in the middle of the kitchen floor to see if it would roll. I have no idea whether that is a good way to check the level. I hope you can find a reasonable solution and get your house back the way it should be! Oh, and I like your idea of writing down the initial settings, if you will. I suppose, though, that other environmental happenings could make it so that the initial settings wouldn't be quite right anymore, but at least you'd have a starting point.

Debbie, the person who releveled has a special California contractor's license for mobile homes. He did warn me that releveling could actually cause problems with components of the house becoming warped, so I guess I can't blame him.

The home might have been intentionally given its unlevel state, during first installation, just to make all the windows/doors/etc work right (maybe also to help join the two halves of this double-wide). It's not a high-quality home, judging by the various components.

My only solution now is to have the troublesome windows removed and then squarely reinstalled back into the wall.

Hi EK! I was just thinking about your problem because I happened to read something that mentioned relevelling DWs, and was just wondering if you've done any further research or come to any decisions yet? I was also curious as to whether you live in a park, rented land, or your own land? And if your MH is on a foundation or pad, or just the dirt? The thing I read seemed to indicate that homes on at least a 6" pad need much less relevelling or no relevelling, ever. I don't know if that's true. But it made me wonder if you're in a situation where it would be possible to put it on a pad, if it's not already, and whether that would even be a good idea at this point? I'm in a park, on the ground, well on piers on the ground. There are cement pillars that go way, way far down into the ground, as required by state and county law (Spokane county, Washington). But I have a SW, so that's a different story anyway. At any rate, was just thinking about you and your situation and hoping there's been a resolution! :-)

Debbie, I've not looked into it further, except I got a bid from a window contractor for attempting to reinstall the problem windows and sliding glass door. For now, I can live with the home as-is.

The home is in a mobile home park, on a rented space.

It probably is permissible here to add a pad or cement supports if I wanted. That would let me avoid future releveling, but it's expensive.

Right now, the home is clamped onto steel piers, which are bolted onto thick wood blocks, which in turn rest on black plastic sheeting that covers the dirt/gravel. I don't think the wood blocks are fastened to the ground, nor are there any tie-downs. A local realtor told me she often deals in homes with this kind of support setup, so apparently it's legal in spite of being in California. In my locale, we don't get strong earthquakes ... yet.