How to Sure-Wall Piers

Youve got your new double-wide mobile home set on your lot, now comes the setup. And theres lots of setup involved. The power and water have to be connected, you have to meet the countys standards for decks at the front and back doors, and theres much more. When setting a double-wide or other mobile home, concrete blocks are stacked to hold a lot of weight. With several concrete piers under the house many new home owners are either in the blind about treating the pillars so they dont fall, or theyre told about it, but its optional, so they dont have it done. Concrete blocks, when stacked, can hold the weight, but under certain conditions, those piers can crumble or even fall.

It was probably the price of the work that made you opt out of having the piers under your home sure-walled. Thats because the real expense is for paying someone to crawl under the house to work. If you dont mind doing the work yourself you can save hundreds or more. Its not even hard to sure-wall concrete pillars and youll see that when you get started.

Sure-wall mix is sold at home improvement stores. Its a dry product which, when mixed with water, works to seal blocks, keep them from crumbling, and make a stack of blocks be like one. The fiberglass in the mix works to make a stack of bricks much more steady. Follow the instructions to mix the powder but make it a bit thicker than called for on the label. If you follow the instructions on the label, and paint the mix onto the blocks with a paintbrush, youre going to be under that mobile home for a long, long time. Instead, make the mix a bit thicker than called for. Go under the house with at least a couple of pairs of thick gloves - they will get ruined. Its helpful to cut a square from plastic, then cut another square inside that one. The inside square should be the size of a concrete block. Cut a slit in the square so you can wrap it around the bottom of the concrete pier. Scoop up hands full of the mixture and spread it all over the column, from the bottom, up. Do all four sides then allow to dry. Do this to each and every column under the house to steady the blocks. If youre getting ready to have a home set, or you already have, pass on the package that pays for the sure-wall application and do it yourself. Take a bright light under the home with you and youll do fine. When youre done, take your family on a weekend getaway with the money you saved.