Jack up a garage?

[galaxie428]

I have a 2 car garage that is around 30x30. It is built on a slab, the walls are built right on the slab and the wood is constantly getting wet every time we pull one of our wet vehicles in. The doors are not tall enough to allow me to pull my truck in. I have heard of people having to jack up their house for various things, how hard would it be to do this and put at least one layer of block around for the walls to sit on? I assume this would not be a cheap process? Have any of you ever did anything like this?

What would I need to do this?

 

[Egon]

Might be easier than you think.

Bottle jacks & blocking should do the job.:thumbsup:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxP-i4xQ8ek&feature=related[/ame]

 

[dstig1]

Search for house movers. I bet you will find it can be done for only a few hundred dollars. Then have a mason set a course or two of block (or even pour a short wall), drop it back down & secure, and reframe where needed, plus a taller garage door to solve your issues.

If you were brave, you could try it yourself, but by the time you bought all the cribbing and jacks, it would probably be cheaper hiring it out. Plus you would have to assume the risk of a major failure/tipping over/falling off the jacks/etc. I'm all for DIY but when the cost and risk are so high, it is better left to someone who does it all the time.

 

[rsewill]

Check with your local government agency to see what permits are required first.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Not hard at all. I have seen it done on airplane hangers built just like you said, on a slab.

Remove everything from inside. Cross brace the walls. Build 2x6 perches about 8" up inside with support as necessary. Remove all J-Bolts. Use about 20 small bottle jacks to jack against the slab and the 2x6 perches to lift. You will need 5 or 6 people for this task. Jack evenly to desired height. This may take multiple steps using cribbing. Have mason lay blocks and set it back down on it securing with new J-Bolts.

Dont for get to have the block wall tied into the slabs J-Bolts. I would do it myself in a heart beat.

Chris

 

[MasseyWV]

I'm facing a similar situation this summer, only in my case I have an attached garage that I'm planning to support and level while shortening the walls to make room for adding a proper foundation with better drainage underneath, before pouring a new concrete slab inside.

Moisture has always been a problem which has caused one corner to sag due to rot, and my plan is to level it using a bottle jack with posts and wedges, before adding a temporary stud wall for support while I do the foundation work.

 

[dstig1]

Not hard at all. I have seen it done on airplane hangers built just like you said, on a slab.

Remove everything from inside. Cross brace the walls. Build 2x6 perches about 8" up inside with support as necessary. Remove all J-Bolts. Use about 20 small bottle jacks to jack against the slab and the 2x6 perches to lift. You will need 5 or 6 people for this task. Jack evenly to desired height. This may take multiple steps using cribbing. Have mason lay blocks and set it back down on it securing with new J-Bolts.

Dont for get to have the block wall tied into the slabs J-Bolts. I would do it myself in a heart beat.

Chris

While I don't think it is particularly hard (especially for a detached garage), there is risk and by the time you bought 20 bottle jacks and cribbing, you'd be money ahead to hire it, I bet. First thing I'd do is find one or two house moving places, call and ask. Based on the one experience I had with a friend talking with an outfit for something far more complex, it seemed very cheap.

 

[dstig1]

Not hard at all. I have seen it done on airplane hangers built just like you said, on a slab.

Remove everything from inside. Cross brace the walls. Build 2x6 perches about 8" up inside with support as necessary. Remove all J-Bolts. Use about 20 small bottle jacks to jack against the slab and the 2x6 perches to lift. You will need 5 or 6 people for this task. Jack evenly to desired height. This may take multiple steps using cribbing. Have mason lay blocks and set it back down on it securing with new J-Bolts.

Dont for get to have the block wall tied into the slabs J-Bolts. I would do it myself in a heart beat.

Chris

While I don't think it is particularly hard (especially for a detached garage), there is risk and by the time you bought 20 bottle jacks and cribbing, you'd be money ahead to hire it, I bet. First thing I'd do is find one or two house moving places, call and ask. Based on the one experience I had with a friend talking with an outfit for something far more complex, it seemed very cheap.

 

[ruren]

Certainly practical if the building is sound. I have been involved with a number of projects over the years to replace bad foundations or move buildings that involved lifting them off their foundations. Jacking up a garage 8 or 16 inches and adding a course or two of block would be relatively easy with the right equipment since you have easy access to the structure inside to support it and (I'm assuming) no drywall or plaster to damage and minimal utilities to mess with.

If you can find a contractor that does foundation repairs or a house mover as someone suggested you may find the cost to have someone lift the building is reasonable. I would think acquiring enough blocking and jacks to do it yourself would be as costly as paying someone that has the tools and experience.

 

[hr3]

Been there done that but mine was only 24' wide.. Cross brace all door openings cut 4 holes for your 2 beams to go through head off the holes with 2by10's and add 2by4's to the top plate.. Then we put the beams through the holes,, had lots of blocking and lifted each corner 2" at a time" at first we did only 1" but went more after we got going". Did it with 1 20 ton bottle jack..

Was kinda fun..