21 March 2016
So I think I mentioned before that in order to repair/replace the foundation and the floor structure in the house, I decided that we need to figure out a way to lift the house up, but leave the existing floor structure and foundation where they are.
I spent several hours on the internet searching for ideas on how to do this. The majority of the videos and discussions deal with replacing a bad foundation by sliding metal I beams underneath the floor structure and and lifting the house up. The foundation is then replaced or repaired, or in some cases a full basement is added. This works because the floor structure is still sound, and all the joists run in the same direction.
A great many more show and talk about how to repair a rotted section of floor structure ranging from a single rotted rim joist to 20 - 30 linear feet of floor and rim joists. In these cases you just go back far enough to find the good sections of floor structure and jack up that area of the house.
None of these have ideas on how to fix the house if BOTH the foundation and the floor structure need to be replaced.
I eventually found a couple videos that show some folks lifting up an entire structure in order to repair rotted sill plates and bad foundation. Here is one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXlyxzDQV8
I decided that this approach could be scaled up to lift the entire house. Ha ha ha! Yeah, call me crazy (if you haven't already).
Since we need the shed for storage. I then decided that the shed would make a very good proof of concept project. Since the shed is much smaller and less complicated than the house, I know I'll be able to take a lot of short cuts compared to the house. But I'll be able to test the basic process, and hopefully learn about what details we need to be careful with.
The shed walls will need to shift a lot. As foundation piers failed and the floor structured rotted, each wall became a tilted parallelogram that needs to end up being a rectangle with square corners. So all of the cladding on the inside and outside of the walls will need to come off to allow them to shift back.
A few trees will also have to be cleared away because when I started trying to think of a way to move the shed while it was elevated, things got really problematic.
The goal, similar to the house, is to build new foundation and floor structure, replace rotted wall and roof structure where needed, then put all the original cladding back.
Eventually we got everything stripped off.
Since the siding was providing all the lateral stability, I had to add diagonal cross bracing to keep the shed from falling over. We had not started demolishing the floor yet. All the wood in that right front corner simply disintegrated from us walking on it.
After demolishing what we could of the finish floor and sub floor, it is time to start working on raising the walls and roof. The finish floor was 3/4" tongue and groove pine. The sub floor was 1" thick oak.
The shed is 16 x 16, so I used two 2 x 12 x 12 boards on each side of the shed to get four feet sticking out on each end. I added more lateral bracing on the two gable ends just to help hold things together. Because I have the room around the shed, and it's not crazy heavy, I am supporting and jacking up the two ledger boards on each end. One support at each corner.
With some jacking, and pulling, and pushing, we finally got the shed clear of the floor and all four walls somewhat square and both ledger boards resting on the cribbing. You can see that the corner to the left had sunk down by over a foot.
Now we could demo the rest of the floor structure.
The next step is to rebuild the 9 piers, get them all level, and then put in new pressure treated floor structure. But first, these roots have to go. It seems as though they ate one of the piers. Ugh.
So I think I mentioned before that in order to repair/replace the foundation and the floor structure in the house, I decided that we need to figure out a way to lift the house up, but leave the existing floor structure and foundation where they are.
I spent several hours on the internet searching for ideas on how to do this. The majority of the videos and discussions deal with replacing a bad foundation by sliding metal I beams underneath the floor structure and and lifting the house up. The foundation is then replaced or repaired, or in some cases a full basement is added. This works because the floor structure is still sound, and all the joists run in the same direction.
A great many more show and talk about how to repair a rotted section of floor structure ranging from a single rotted rim joist to 20 - 30 linear feet of floor and rim joists. In these cases you just go back far enough to find the good sections of floor structure and jack up that area of the house.
None of these have ideas on how to fix the house if BOTH the foundation and the floor structure need to be replaced.
I eventually found a couple videos that show some folks lifting up an entire structure in order to repair rotted sill plates and bad foundation. Here is one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXlyxzDQV8
I decided that this approach could be scaled up to lift the entire house. Ha ha ha! Yeah, call me crazy (if you haven't already).
Since we need the shed for storage. I then decided that the shed would make a very good proof of concept project. Since the shed is much smaller and less complicated than the house, I know I'll be able to take a lot of short cuts compared to the house. But I'll be able to test the basic process, and hopefully learn about what details we need to be careful with.
The shed walls will need to shift a lot. As foundation piers failed and the floor structured rotted, each wall became a tilted parallelogram that needs to end up being a rectangle with square corners. So all of the cladding on the inside and outside of the walls will need to come off to allow them to shift back.
A few trees will also have to be cleared away because when I started trying to think of a way to move the shed while it was elevated, things got really problematic.
The goal, similar to the house, is to build new foundation and floor structure, replace rotted wall and roof structure where needed, then put all the original cladding back.
Eventually we got everything stripped off.
Since the siding was providing all the lateral stability, I had to add diagonal cross bracing to keep the shed from falling over. We had not started demolishing the floor yet. All the wood in that right front corner simply disintegrated from us walking on it.
After demolishing what we could of the finish floor and sub floor, it is time to start working on raising the walls and roof. The finish floor was 3/4" tongue and groove pine. The sub floor was 1" thick oak.
The shed is 16 x 16, so I used two 2 x 12 x 12 boards on each side of the shed to get four feet sticking out on each end. I added more lateral bracing on the two gable ends just to help hold things together. Because I have the room around the shed, and it's not crazy heavy, I am supporting and jacking up the two ledger boards on each end. One support at each corner.
With some jacking, and pulling, and pushing, we finally got the shed clear of the floor and all four walls somewhat square and both ledger boards resting on the cribbing. You can see that the corner to the left had sunk down by over a foot.
Now we could demo the rest of the floor structure.
The next step is to rebuild the 9 piers, get them all level, and then put in new pressure treated floor structure. But first, these roots have to go. It seems as though they ate one of the piers. Ugh.
Main issue I have is having the house up on supports when a strong wind storm comes along. I have zero knowledge as if this could be an issue but would think the wind load on the side of the house would problematic. I have seen barns moved by strong winds but never houses. It makes me tired just thinking about your physical labor. >>john waser
ReplyDeleteI did think about that, but I figured that since the siding has mostly been removed that the wind load is much lower than would be normal. However, I agree that if we get some 30-40 mph gusts, there's a good chance it will topple. A risk I was willing to take given the amount of more work it would take to secure it against such an event.
ReplyDeleteUpon reflection I realized that you're talking about the house,not the shed. I was talking about the shed. Yes, that is a concern. It's likely that we will hire an engineer to come out to assess the whole operation once we get closer. I want to have a complete plan ready for what sort of new foundation/pier system to put in, the best way to do the new floor structure, and where the critical load areas are for lifting the house. I have ideas about all of this, but a project this size is no time for amateur hour. As far as the wind is concerned, the engineer might also have suggestions about that, but I think that because of it's size and weight, it will be no more susceptible to getting push over or off its supports than it is now.
ReplyDeleteI agree, lifting a house is far more complex than lifting a "shed" and you usually only have one chance to get it right.
ReplyDeleteI live just up the road a bit. Beyond excited that you are renovating and have the blog with photos to share your progress. I have admired the house for years.When I saw the property for sale; so wanted to check it out and bid on it, but it was not within our budget. After seeing your photos, my husband would never have gone for it anyway. Welcome to the neighborhood. Looking forward to watching your progress in turning this property back into a historic showplace. ( Our home is a 1925 renovated farmhouse, but with nowhere near the character and beauty of your project).
ReplyDelete