Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 10, 2000 11:45pm | #1

   *
   Lloyd,

   After hurricane Andrew a number of homes in the Miami area,to include some with concrete slabs, were raised above the flood level. Based on this I would think your project is technically doable. Think I would call in a house mover to do the actual lifting. He will have the steel beams, jacks, cribing, knowledge, trained crew and insurance to do that part of the job. I would also have an engineer look at the foundations to confirm they can carry the aditional load of another floor and to validate your plans for handling the loads carried by piers within the foundation. You did not tell us what the plan is for the resulting lower level. If it is garage space the project may make economic sense. If, however, it will be living space it may make better sense to take off the roof and build up.

   Steve

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 11, 2000 01:12am | #2

   *When I lived in Berkeley, CA, it was not uncommon to see modest houses that were up on blocks getting a first floor built under them - it seemed to me to be more common than building a new second floor (but, of course, such surmises can be misleading given the faulty memory of some of us...) The builders would typically jack the house up far enough to slide some 4 ft 4x4 or larger timbers under the house to form a crib and keep raising the house by small amounts and adding timbers until they had it 8 or more feet off the ground. The cribs were placedat least at the four corners and usually at several other points under the house. (This site from Tennessee shows some similar techniques in use: raised house ) Never heard of any problems with the technique, but I can't say that I would want to be under a house that is perched on 8 feet or more of 4x4 crib during one of the famed California earthquakes. The building movers even have a web site:http://www.buildingmovers.com/There is also a web site in Australia that shows a house up in the air awaiting a new first floor. It appears that they use something different than the timber cribbinghttp://www.wrightbld.com.au/raise.html

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 11, 2000 04:52am | #3

   *Wait a minute.Are you talking about creating a raised ranch by going up with a second level or by raising the current house up on the foundation?I'm guessing the former.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 11, 2000 05:31am | #4

   *I should hope that the current home is not currently on slab.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 11, 2000 05:32am | #6

   *I've seen this done several times and plan on raising my house in the next six months. In the past I've seen shipping pallets used for cribbing and timber used to. The best way I've seen is to set steel I beams under the house and then go back with a second set perpendicular to the first. The steel should go all the way through the foundation with enough extra length to allow cribbing beyond the perimeter of the house.You can see that this will allow complete access under the house with no interference from the cribbing . There are several companies that will help you with the how to. Use Casey's recomendations from above.

2. 
   Lloyd_Bentz | Jul 11, 2000 05:32am | #5

   *
   customer wants to raise house in order to build up walls on current foundation to form a raised ranch, looking for references, ideas ect..thankyou