Back to the foundation

[Nicholas]

What is holding up my house? Answer: Very little. I swear it must be levitating.

I notice that one side of my dining room shudders, so I got down in the dirt and took a look, not much (crawl) space here, and I was reminded that although we took care of the worse side with professional foundation repair, a closer inspection of the other side shows more past attempts to keep the place from sagging, including....

....nailing boards to a joist and supporting the bottom with a brick. This is not how I would do things.

So! I got a couple of those concrete foundation blocks, 16x16x4, and supported the dining room, using those with treated 2x6 on top with wedges to tighten up, for now.

Since the foundation repair included concrete encased adjustable piers, my next step is to get several of THESE JACKS from the local lowes depot stores, along with more concrete pads, and get down and dirty.

My daughters boyfriend doesn't know it yet, but he offered to help.......

[Manalto]

Being in the same part of the world makes this project of your of particular interest to me, so I shall stay tuned. My foundation issue is different, but I'll save that for another discussion.

You daughter's boyfriend had better bring the beer.

[Lily left the valley]

This reminds me of the gap under a few of our front porch supports I've noticed now that the snow has melted.

I really need to make time next week to see exactly how many aren't touching ground anymore. Hopefully after our sump is working right as rain again, yep.

[Nicholas]

Being in the same part of the world makes this project of your of particular interest to me, so I shall stay tuned. My foundation issue is different, but I'll save that for another discussion.

You daughter's boyfriend had better bring the beer.

Yes beer after, and I will stay tuned for your foundation issues.

This reminds me of the gap under a few of our front porch supports I've noticed now that the snow has melted.

I really need to make time next week to see exactly how many aren't touching ground anymore. Hopefully after our sump is working right as rain again, yep.

You could probably use the cement pads for a temp porch support. Oh the woes of the snows, I do not miss.

[Manalto]

Being in the same part of the world makes this project of your of particular interest to me, so I shall stay tuned. My foundation issue is different, but I'll save that for another discussion.

You daughter's boyfriend had better bring the beer.

I don't speak with an accent, honest. I guess I just have trouble with the pronoun you and its variants.

[Nicholas]

Being in the same part of the world makes this project of your of particular interest to me, so I shall stay tuned. My foundation issue is different, but I'll save that for another discussion.

You daughter's boyfriend had better bring the beer.

I don't speak with an accent, honest. I guess I just have trouble with the pronoun you and its variants.

As a blogger I am use to it. In other words, I understood what you meant. All ok.

[Nicholas]

Update on this repair.

The dining room now feels solid, and I am going to keep an eye on this. Instead of the jacks, I might stick with the block and wedge idea. It was mentioned to me by the foreman as they were jacking up the house that the house was "light".

I had found under the house a leftover beam from the construction, it was exactly 2x6 , (old style of wood size) and there was nothing wrong with it, and it was very light. I used it to beef up a section of front porch at the entrance it was just what was needed.

So the house being light and well built, the foundation or main beams an unknown and light hard wood, (cedar?) and the easily packed soil, It may be a lot easier to just block and wedge for support.

The jacking idea would require a lot of digging to allow for the footer and probably 6x6 beam to bridge. With the slight slope on the property the crawlspace is 8" on one side, 18" on the other.

I am going to do the half of the house starting at four windows, every other beam, or maybe every few beams, I will have to get under there to decide, up to just past dining room, which is beyond chimney in avatar pic. I am going to make my own wedges out of PT.

Meanwhile, enjoy this one, showing original brick pier, and what I am talking about. This one is under the two windows, to left of porch, now an extended bedroom:

[Jeepnstein]

When I have to do work like what you're facing I'll usually use railroad jacks and a piece of I beam to pick up the load of the house while I pour a proper concrete footing for a new post. Be prepared for plaster cracks and all sorts of fun because you'll have to take it past level in the other direction to get your new posts build.

One of the worst jobs I ever had was cutting the entire roof loose from the top plate of a brick house, jacking it about ten inches up, replacing the rotted top plate, and then lowering the roof back onto the new plate. You just have to work quickly and hope for no sudden wind storms.

[Nicholas]

When I have to do work like what you're facing I'll usually use railroad jacks and a piece of I beam to pick up the load of the house while I pour a proper concrete footing for a new post. Be prepared for plaster cracks and all sorts of fun because you'll have to take it past level in the other direction to get your new posts build.

One of the worst jobs I ever had was cutting the entire roof loose from the top plate of a brick house, jacking it about ten inches up, replacing the rotted top plate, and then lowering the roof back onto the new plate. You just have to work quickly and hope for no sudden wind storms.

The professionals did exactly that, inspected rebarb footers, 8 of them, solid block piers on the outer edge, adjustables holding up 6x6 bridge beams under. Took a week to do. This because the bathroom and part of both bedrooms were tilted almost two inches. I have cedar tongue and groove walls, so a couple of them did separate slightly. What I just need now is a little more support here and there.

That roof lift is scary and I hope I never get to that point. Mine has its share of sags here and there, no leaks or rot, but like the foundation, nothing much up there either, all pre building code stuff.

Photos of house lift in blog below

[phil]

If you have something handy I'd be tempted to stick a long timber or I beam under there and then if you need a hole for the jack to sit in it's easier to dig beside the building than underneath it.. But yea, wedges will work too.

I'm making a couple of steel wedges here right now. I took a block of steel and cut it at an angle, then Ill try to harden and anneal them a bit. I want them for splitting wood, sometimes its easier to use a wedge and big hammer than an axe that keeps getting stuck and not going through.