Replies

1. 
   MikeSmith | Dec 21, 2004 08:25am | #1

   well...

    first .... i'd get a  laser

   then i'd bolt my sills down in accordance with your code

    then i'd start measuring and cutting..

    i bet you have a lot of shear corners to build too..

   is the house sitting over the foundation ?..

   maybe set up a batter baord & string line so you can facilitate your measurements

   drop plumb lines from every corner to help with your measurements also

   Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

   
   

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   Edited 12/21/2004 12:27 am ET by Mike Smith

1. 
   Jawbone | Dec 21, 2004 08:42am | #2

   Thank you

   I have done the steps you suggest

   I want to know more about the setting it back down.

1. 
   Pierre1 | Dec 21, 2004 09:21am | #3

   How many inches away are your sill beams from the top plate of your new stem walls? In other words, how far down does the house need to go?

1. 
   Jawbone | Dec 22, 2004 10:20am | #9

   21 inches except where the cribbing has sunk there it is between 21 and 25

1. 
   Pierre1 | Dec 22, 2004 10:48am | #10

   You jacked the house 27", built a stem wall, and have to lower it by 21" to 25" onto the new wall? I must be misunderstanding what the situation is. No worries, the others' suggestions are excellent.

2. 
   davidmeiland | Dec 21, 2004 09:24am | #4

   I lifted my house to retrofit a foundation, and then lowered it into place. This house has consistent joists, so I simply framed a level pony wall about 30" high on top of the concrete, and lowered the house. It sat level, and all joists were in contact with the top plate of the pony wall, with a few tiny variations that I addressed with tapered builder's shims.

   The first step is to frame a pony wall on top of the foundation. In my case I used 3x6 PT mudsills and 2x6 DF#2 framing @ 16" O.C, in accordance with the engineer's specs. As I said above, I framed level. Once the mudsills were bolted I used a laser to shoot an exact length for each stud, to make up for the minor variations in the concrete. I had to leave out top plate and a few studs at 4 different spots, to allow room for the house movers to get their 2 steel beams out. They asked for 12" clear space on either side of the beams. After the house was lowered I patched in the top plate using Simpson MST strap and added in the missing studs.

   If the floor joists are not consistent, you'll need to shim the bottoms of the joists so that they are level. Use a laser or a transit to locate your lowest joist, i.e. the joist that is widest. Cut yourself a nice batch of 1-1/2" wide by 5-1/2" long shims at the tablesaw--make them in thickness increments of 1/16.... 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4... up to the biggest size you will need (might be as much as 1/2" or more depending on the sawing of the old joists). Go around the house and attach the appropriate thickness of shim to the bottom of each joist, so that the bottoms of those shims are all level. You can use a string line along the bottoms of the joists to make it easy to measure the variations in the joists and pick the right shim thickness. Once you have completed this you will be able to lower the house down to the sill plate or pony wall top plate (whichever you are doing) and it will sit level.

   You'll have a major problem if the house movers did not jack the house up perfectly level. You should go inside the house with a laser and see how level the floors are, and also check how level the steel is. With inconsistent floor framing I would check the floors more carefully than the steel. If you add shims to the bottoms of the joists to level them, you will be locked in to the attitude of the house as it was raised. Does that make ANY sense?

   You should talk to the house movers and see what they want when they lower the house. They need to be able to lower it at least a few inches, in order to free up the steel. You can't frame up to the house in the raised position unless they say it's OK. In my case the house was raised 6 feet (so I could walk upright under it) and lowered 3 feet. Good house movers can lower a house directly down without lateral shift.

   Who's the house mover? Is it Trost or Solares?

   Hope this helps. You can see some photos of my job at http://bailerhill.com/316

    

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Dec 21, 2004 04:22pm | #6

   dave.... good show...Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   davidmeiland | Dec 21, 2004 05:15pm | #8

   It's an easy job, as you know. Layout is zero--you just plumb down from the house and set forms. Hard part is that there is a temptation to set the entire weight of the house on the green concrete. Pour, strip, twiddle your thumbs, go fishing... then come back and lower.

3. 
   DanH | Dec 21, 2004 04:18pm | #5

   Seems to me that they screwed up with the foundation. Normally, gaps should be left in the foundation to accommodate removal of the beams. Leastwise that's what I've seen them do here.

1. 
   davidmeiland | Dec 21, 2004 05:13pm | #7

   If the floor joists will be set on the mudsill, then the whole thing changes. The forms have to be constructed with the beam removal in mind--you leave out a 4-square-foot section of concrete stemwall wherever there's a beam, lower the house, remove the beams, and then infill the concrete and rebar. I don't like the idea myself... round these parts the stemwall oughta have 2 #5 rebar continuous along the top and you're interrupting that. Original poster mentioned 'framing on top of the foundation' so I assume he is doing a pony wall, which is an easier application.

   Edited 12/21/2004 9:21 am ET by davidmeiland

1. 
   JohnSprung | Dec 23, 2004 01:43am | #11

   > The forms have to be constructed with the beam removal in mind--

   I've seen this done with a lot of forethought.  They planned it so that the crawl space access and vents went exactly where the steel came out.

    

   -- J.S.