how do you jack up a house??

[BWS]

we have an old farmhouse about 1120 sqft and are getting qoutes from contractors for foundations around 20k$$ the thing is i,m not so sure about my job at boeing so i am thinking of doing it myself with some bottle jacks.from what i can see some of the beams are rotten and i notice some funny things like posts sitting on big rocks.the inside floors not too bad for being level but i do think the back of the house slopes down about 5-6".some of the house has some concrete foundation so i dont know how a person would jack it up where there is already concrete?does anybody have any experiance with foundations??bws

 

[Anonymous Poster]

First, you buy a sufficient number of I beams to support the house while it is sitting on nothing but the I beams. Also, buy sufficient cribbing timber and jacks.
Then, you slide the beams into place under the house, this usually involves digging trenches.
Then, you bring all the beams up into place, and weld or bolt them together with other beams outside of the house.
Then, you build foundations for all jacking positions, and install the jacks into place, screw jacks, not hydraulic.
Then, you bring up all jacks to strain on the frame.
Then, you sever all sewer and water connections, as well as electrical connections that might hang the lift up.
Then, with at least 2 helpers, who know what they are doing, you begin taking the jacks up equally, so the walls don't crack.
As the lifting beams rise, make sure to keep them cribbed, just in case of jack failure.
Double check to make sure the house is free of all hangups, you will have missed at least one.
Initial lifting should bring the house up to level, before any elevating is done.
Jack the house to sufficient height, and crib in place.
Begin foundation work and complete.
Reverse process to let house down onto new foundation.
If you're lucky, nothing broke off, cracked, or collapsed.
The BIBLE on the subject of house lifting and hauling was written by Gene Tuxill, after he got tired of making insurance companys rich and quit moving houses.
If you have about $50,000 you can substitute air bags for the jacks, and eliminate one of the helpers.

 

[Solo]

BWS
Look for a professional. Raising a house is dangerous!
I have helped to do it, it is not a DIY job.
Solo

 

[Egon]

Do an estimate of what it costs to do yourself, compare it to the contractors price, factor in your own " whoops" factor, have several beer and the next day call the contractor of choice.

Egon

 

[Anonymous Poster]

whew boy, I've seen this type of thing in person and on several building shows (ie) This Old House.. In fact on TOH, they did a home in Florida with an all hydraulic system.. Still, it took tremendous planning, skill, and quite the number of workers to get it done. I go with the others and say find a real professional in this field..

 

[bgott]

Around here all the older houses are pier and beam. I know people that level them with 20 or so bottle jacks and 1 by 6 and 2 by 6 lumber cut to fit the top of the cinder blocks. You also need to go by a mobile home supply house and get a sack of hardwood wedges. Spread the jacks along the beams and set 'em on cinder blocks and 2 bys until they touch. Crawl around and lift the jacks a pump apiece. Slide a wedge in the gap. Go back and lift 'em all another pump. When you can, fit a one by in between the blocks and beams. Crawl around and hit the jack another lick. Slide the wedge in. When you have room, yank the 1 bys and use 2 bys. Use a water level to level it all out. You can make a water level by buying a 100' roll of 1/4" or 3/8" clear plastic tubing. Use a .99 cent gallon jug of windshield washer fluid ( you can see it easier than water) for the fluid. Take and unravel the whole role of tubing and stretch it out and stick one end in the fluid. Blow around the tube into the jug until the fluid comes out the other end. Raise and block the jug until the fluid level in the free end of the tube is where you want it and you can drag it around and have the same level everywhere. You don't have to cap the free end, just stick a nail through the tubing to use to hang the end up with when you're not eyeballing it. You want to level the tops of the blocks and let the beams come to that, you'll have tweeked beams that will screw you up if you try to use them for your level. Once you have it level and the piers straightened out you can remove the first couple of courses of siding and slide new beams in through the sides after you bridge the joists next to the beam with sistered 2 by 6s. The only dangerous part of doing it this way is if you get lazy and don't keep your gaps in between the blocks and beams filled while you are jacking. If a jack kicks or blows a seal and you don't have much space the house will just settle. Do your wedges and x bys one at a time as you jack it up, don't jack 'em all up and then run around and slide your wedges. This method will more than likely mess up parts of the house if it is really racked because they do it in a day. I have read where the experts recommend not jacking more than a quarter inch a week on a racked house so it has time to settle. Around here if they decide to level the house it's in real trouble and is getting other heavy repairs anyway. I've watched them jack up slabs, you have to dig down under the slab and set a "bell bottom pier" and set the jack on that. The ground around here is gumbo so they jack against the slab and it pushes the pier into the ground. Once the pier is pushed into the ground they set the jack on another pier and keep doing it until there is enough support to lift the slab. If the slab is sagging in the middle it is usually because of a broken pipe so they get to tunnel underneath the house and fix the pipe, then jack the slab on the way out. Any house I saw them working on when I lived in California that had a perimeter foundation seemed to get jacked up like the other guys talked about and had a new foundation poured. They have codes and earthquakes, we just have mud and clay and floods and such. If you really want to do it yourself you can always look around for some hippy lookin' carpenter types and ask how they do it. They probably know the best way to do it for your ground conditions and the best way to avoid having an inspector up your butt, also. Be forewarned, if you got estimates from contractors and they see you working on the house and no permit out front they will definitely snitch you out.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

BWS: Why jack the whole thing up? You said there is already some concrete footings/foundation. Unless the whole thing (floor beams) is totally rotted out (in which case the floor is probably REAL saggy and bouncy) leave it where it is and dig out short sections and pour your new foundation in sections (yeah, I know that's not the best, but from your description it's not Fallingwater or something). Install helper beams beside the rotted areas. Why worry about a slope to the rear (I was going to say that's good since when it rains through the roof the water will run out the back-but that's kinda nasty). In any event, all the info on raising/moving a house in this threat is very, very good. But why not attack it from the other end-unless the thing is falling down, in which case why save it. Also, no one has mentioned that the weight of the thing is relevant-I suspect that the gross tonnage you are dealing with is fairly modest. You can do a lot with a gin pole/bracing while putting in foundation sections. Just a thought for your consideration. JEH

 

[MarkStewart]

Just curious. What's a gin pole? Is it a lolly column? Is that what your refering to?

Thanks.
Mark

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A gin pole is a single stiffleg upright supporting a hoysting block at the top for running a hoysting line thru. It is usually supported at it's base, and controlled by guy wires.

A lally column is a type of supporting colum under a stationary load, such as the jackpost under the main beam of a house.