*
Posted by Lucian Lange:
I plan on fixing the floor of an old farm house. Currently there is no beam
under the existing bearing wall in the crawlspace. I would like to take lally columns under a wood beam under the bearing wall and lift it as required to take out the sag. I remember hearing somewhere that you can only lift it ‘x’ amount of distance at ‘y’ amount of time or you may damage the existing structure. Is there any truth to this? and What is ‘x’ and ‘y’?
Replies
*
You jack until it gets good and tight and the house starts to creak.
Then you go do something else for a day.
Then you go back and jack some more.
BTW, most steel adjustable jack posts will not jack up much weight. You'll need a couple of twenty ton hydraulics, more than likely. Be sure that it sets perfectly level on your cribbing base or it can kick out and hurt you. You'll also need a jack plate to keep the drive shaft from punching up through the beam and turning it into kindling.
Go slow, inspect yourself, and THINK.
Good luck!
*The scenic tour.
*Excellent post splintergroupie. Not for the inexperienced, and definitely not for the DIY crowd. I am amazed at the number of requests to lift out a 1" sag.
*To all above, good advice...I did a house in Tacoma (two story) with a little under one inch of sag over 18 feet give or take. It takes a lot of patience, a little bit of time, some patience, paying a lot of attention to safety, and a whole lot of patience. The house was a 1916, and the wood was solid...it just had a solid curve. Keep in mind it took many years of moisture and forces of physics to get it that way and a "fast fix" will just move the problems somewhere else. Thinking back, it probably would have been easier to just replace the beam rather than "re-bending" it.
*Thanks for the link, Splintie.I've bookmarked their home page