house lifiting

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chefman45887

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Hi,

I am new here for the most part, need input on a house lift. I have gutted the whole house out but the stick framing, no floors just interior walls side walls floor joists. I know the roof , trusses and all will need to be replaced after that said and done the foundation is shot its a crawl and wasnt done correctly. i plan on doing full basement . i have done alot of research on material pricing i have done alot 20 years of diy but house lifting, this is gray to me.


House specs rounded up to foot:

48ft long by 25 ft wide

Questions I have:

1. cribbing I plan on using 4x4 timber with 3 pieces in each row, will this be enough support?

I am running a cribbing pier in each corner 4ft out from corner and 3 more separated equally along the center from left to right of the 24 foot width 4 foot off the sides of the house. 7 total

2. I have seen alot of youtube and diy videos where i see i beam since the house is gutted will i need anything this heavy duty ?

Any other input would be greatly appreciated.


Mike
 
4x4s have a bend facter, 6x6s or 8x8s would be better and how many depends on the soil you are lifting on. Each floor joist needs to be supported at both end so yes you need beams to span between jacks. They would be sized to the weight of the house and the length of the span.
The other thing is, without a floor ther is nothing holding the bottom of the house square. Once you lift it, it could twist out of shape really fast.
Most diyer's want to figure this out on there own but the pros would bring in an engineer.
 
Lifting on some hard yellow clay here ill go with the 6x6 , so the new 3/4" subfloor should be put in before a lift ? will get that figured in as well. i beams wont be bad just a matter of getting them in. since the house is 48ft long so go 52ft on some 6-8 inch i-beam for over hang.
 
I would think 40 ft on an 8" beam would be way to long of a span, that may need one or two more jacks. For that kind of span you would need more like a 14" beam.
If you are just lifting the house to dig out for a new foundation is one thing but you are planning to raise it for a higher basement, I would call a house mover.
 
well not only for a 8 ft basement but the grade of the middle of the road is level with my seal/sill plate on house. the lift from where it is now with the old to finish is only 2 1/2 feet.

i was thinking to use 2 8 inch i beams one on one side one on other and in line with 6 jacks total , could always run of sets of cribbing on each side then 2 in the middle you can never have too much support.
 
I think 12 jacks min.
Let's get this right, you are going to run around from jack to jack trying to keep the house within 1/2" of level stopping two or three times to re-crib the jacks and all the time watching the cribbing isn't sinking into the ground. And what's the back up plan if one or two sink? If it sounds like I am trying to scare you out of this, I am.
We need other opinions here.
 
oh not in the least looking at a crew of 6-8 people the crawl space in some spots has 6 foot already taken out by previous owner the very front of house has maybe 4 inches of clearance from bottom of floor joist . i already own 10-40 ton hydraulic jacks ,the house weight no more than 40 ton total i have 4000 ton of jack if i run 2 8 inch eye beam and 2 jack in the middle with cribbage all around in 6x6 should be plenty enough. i have had ground engineer come out and do soil test and i should be fine the crappy crawl space foundation with 0 zero footer house was built in 40's is holding the house up as scary as that sounds with little movement and the surprising thing is the floor joists are all level.
 
Well that's up to you but I wouldn't do it. I really think you want the floor in first and lots of cross bracing in the house so it is as ridged as possible. You don't need it coming down like a house of cards.
 
i couldnt agree more i will take your words to heed to see what the house mover can quote me and have a structural engineer come in before the house lifter that way when i have everything braced i have someone checking to make sure the house of cards doesnt come down.
 
Good luck, it CAN be done by a diy-er with lots of luck. (luck being the essential here)

My husband tore out 3 of our 4 basement walls and replaced them on our 24x36 foot bungalow. He used bridge planks borrowed from the county to span across the joists and a bunch of floor jacks - about every third joist if i recall correctly.

Of course, the center of the house was still supported on the main beam, and we were living in the house too, so no quite the same situation.
 
I just participated in moving a 56x 25 house. It sits now on my property on 4 sets of Cribbing on 2 70 foot I beams. It will stay there for the winter.
All I can say is it can be done, I could have done it all my self with the right equipment. The mover that did mine used only 4 jacks and four sets of cribbing to lift it from the basement/crawl. I bet you can get a mover to come in and lift it for ya and set it on cribbing till you are ready to set it back down for less then 5 grand. Just a guess there but I had mine moved for 10 grand, so I imagine just a lift would be about half of that.

Good luck with your project I will be watching this thread to see how you are coming along.
 
I lifted my house about 8 years ago -- hired professional lifters and then did most of the inside work on the new rooms myself. They used an air jack system to do the actual lift, and used 8x8's for cribbing. Looked like the house was standing on stacks of lincoln logs. They hung the existing furnace and water heater on a little platform under the house so they went up with it, and we were able to live in the house during the several weeks that it took them to replace the foundation. It was kind of weird, like being in a minor earthquake all the time, but it was livable. I have a lot of photos of the process on my website - http://www.geekazon.com/house/ that might help you visualize the process. After all this time I still get an email every couple weeks from someone asking questions. So feel free to ask me anything.
 
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ty for the input Doug, The house is completely gutted, during this mild winter I have been replacing floor joists as well as sandwiched 3- 2x8 together the full length of the house in staggered format glued and screwed for the center support . This house will be a double project, the roof will have to be replaced new trusses and all,then set up interior layout new 3/4" subfloor then setup the lifting. I will be getting quotes in april may time frame to see cost incurred for new footer and block. going to lift the home 3 block higher than were it currently is at the moment, considering the grading and the sill plate of the home is right in line with the center of the road. shooting for a spring 2013 go date if not sooner if the price point is right.
 
Brace and brace somemore if joists are level why not put the floor down just for keeping square and don"t for get the BRACE. Just how high do you have to go and is this 1 story or 2 let us know.
 
the house is single story,dimensions are 25'Wx48'L , had to replace joists in kitchen and bath , center support setup is crucial for any home especially when this one has to be lifted. how much higher 24" to were the home would last my lifetime with ease.
 
update- decided with cost incurred basement will not be happening , house still will be lifted, had structural engineer come in to do a walk through, roof interior flooring/floorplan are 1st, brace a lot , 12-20 ton jacks 4-6" wide 1/4" thick i beam 30 foot long with 6x6 cribbing , 3 jacks per i beam. 200 linear feet of block, 7 coarse.
 
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