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I got this dilemma with my house. Today we will start with the foundation. My rancher’s foundation is nothing more then a two block tier, and a little mortar under it serving as it’s footing. I seen no evidence of cracks or shifting but I would feel much better fixing the problem. I talked to a next door neighbor who told me there was an attempt to jack the house before, but there were unable to do so. I was wondering what would be the best rout. Jack each section at a time remove the foundation. Start it over. Or making a new one next the existing one inside the craw space and cantilever it? Leaving the old one in place as well.
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You will definetly feel better after fixing it. Hope you are in a low sesmic zone.
A friend's neighbor's house slid a few inches off the foundation last week in Maple Valley WA., must have had sill plates attached with half driven nails and the nail heads into the mortar/concrete (I've been told a few did it that way in days past. What attaches to your foundation, is there anything except gravity?
There are a ton of unanswered questions that derive from you orignial post, the first being why couldn't it be jacked if it was tried before - too much plaster or too many windows cracking??
*1. First I live in South Jersey 2. It looks like gravity holds it on. 3. A shoddy addition might have made it to hard to lift the whole house up. I think I can jack it up a part at a time. I have been told to bulldoze it but...... I have it in me to make it better.
*Has any one ever heard of making a new foundation inside and cantilevering the load bearing walls? + The old one will still be there. It has held up the house for 30 years and it survived some good storms and floods as well.
*Go for it and good luck. S. Jersey may get the ends of Hurricanes, so adding a good tie to the foundation is essential to your well being. Sounds like you will have lots of other FIXES to do!If you can get inside the crawl space as is, your idea of pouring or building a new wall inside the old and leaving the old is good. Put in a good solid concrete footing (6 by 12 MINIMUM) for the new wall. Tie the new wall to every joist with hurricane or sesmic ties, if it is only 2 blocks high, tie all the way into the new footing.
*Yah we get our gust of wind in Augest thats for sure. Thanks....sounds good I will check how its tied in. An will put in what is needed to hold it down.
*No one else has any ideals for me?
*I have two ways of doing this. For a customer I would get enough steel i-beams and 6x6 cribbing to jack up and support the entire building. Depending on the size of the lot and the customer's wishes I would either put a new foundation directly under the existing house or adjacent to the house. Lower the house onto the new foundation and attach as you can. Unless you are in an earthquake or hurricane area, you don't have to be nutty about the foundation-house connection.For myself I would do one 10-12 foot section at a time, removing this part of the old foundation, supporting with an appropriate but minimal collection of supports, dig for a new footing, and lay a new block wall. This would take a lot more time but would cost a lot less in cash. Good luck whatever you do. You will learn a lot.
*You know what makes me go hmmmm? >>> "I seen no evidence of cracks or shifting but I would feel much better fixing the problem.So what is the problem, you don't like the look of the blocks? There are no cracks yet? Too much free time?
*I wish to do some remodeling. I want to know the foundation is correct.. Who knows what will happen when I start work if my foundation is not made correctly. Not willing to take a chance.
*I had another thought to this. If I was to put an interior foundation on my existing house. Could I make the new one's block stop 4" short of the joist. Thus not needing to jack the house up. Then fixing a three piece sandwich to each joist one under each joist for bearing anti shearing and the other two to clasp it with some bolts. These will rest on the sill of the new foundation. I would do all this for 1.I can inspect the old foundation with some sight. 2. I would need no jacks. 3. These scraps of 2x12s and bolts I can get for free. There was much hard ware that was not used on my last few job. The Sup let the workers take what they wanted. At lest that part will come free. By the way could I use 2x6s ?
*You might consider underpinning the existing foundation. If the block is good, all you need to do is build a better footing. You could dig it out one section at a time without jacking. Just put in some supports.
*My father's house is a rambling one-story concoction of 7 different additions, most built on shallow-laid cemented fieldstone with two small basements connected by crawlspace. Back in the 70's he got the notion to dig out a tunnel from one basement to the other, so he could get from the circuit breakers to the furnace without going all the way upstairs. Using temporary posts, he started excavating the crawl space with 2 wheelbarrows, pick and shovel, and a teenage boy. As he undermined the foundation, he would pour a new section of foundation in 4 foot long sections. 27 years later he's b still at it!The house has 1400'² of basement now, and he's 72 and still going. By day he's a management consultant for manufacturing companies, but his degree is in engineering. At the same time, he's replaced all the wiring underneath and insulated. Your son won't forgive you for years, though.
*... i would use either one of schellings methods.. that 's the way we've always done it..
*We specialize in this kind of work. Here are my thoughts.( Limited to my intelectual restraints, and subject to change without notice!LOL) Your house is fine. That is a huge statement for someone to make, without seeing it, I know. But please consider this. For ten thousand years, we have been building houses on four cornerstones, and two beams. These houses stood for centuries, and some still stand today. Now think of how much support you house has. Infinitly more, yes? Then it stands to reason your little home is just fine. If there are no cracks, then I would bet my lucky dime that you have no real problems. If there is indeed no footings, I don't think it would hurt a thing to fix that. Here in Tacoma,WA it is code to do the following. Excavate an area about three feet long under the block foundation. Do the same ten feet down the line, and so on. Pour a good size footing,(24" wide, and 12" deep) under the block in the excavation. You can use the earth for the forms if you wish.( Called here Earth CAst). Now do the next three feet same as the first. Finally, finish the final four foot sections that are left. You now have a good footing, and a decent block foundation. If this is a one story home, you are in great shape, as far as structural integrity. If high winds are a problem, a good seismic strapping would be a good idea, to attach the foundation to the sill. If you are in a two or three story home, you are still probably just fine. Do the modifications I have described, and keep an eye on it. A few small cracks are nothing to get worried about, but you don't want any excessive settling down the road. Foundations are one of those things that some guys just go nuts overboard with. Don't get sucked into the mentality that you need to build a bunker to support a house. It simply isn't true. Best of luck.
*Ah, the Harv,, we also specialise in foundation replacement. Unlike other contributors here we are to lazy for piece meal replacement.You certainly shouldn't pay a house mover to lift the sucker up a foot, tear out the walls you are concerned about and replace the whole thing at once, much too easy. A good house man can lift that puppy without cracking much, if anything. Do it yourself with bottle jacks, maybe you have a few cracks..Cantilever?? many mega nuts to that or not in this lifetime.
*Harv, here in northern Michigan with freeze/thaw cycles you may have a problem but perhaps not where you live. No cracking or differential settlement is a good sign. Depending on soil conditions and thickness of mortar beneath the foundation blocks, you have a footing that is 8" wide - certainly not "by the book" but it sounds as though it is adequate for your situation. Randy R.
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I got this dilemma with my house. Today we will start with the foundation. My rancher's foundation is nothing more then a two block tier, and a little mortar under it serving as it's footing. I seen no evidence of cracks or shifting but I would feel much better fixing the problem. I talked to a next door neighbor who told me there was an attempt to jack the house before, but there were unable to do so. I was wondering what would be the best rout. Jack each section at a time remove the foundation. Start it over. Or making a new one next the existing one inside the craw space and cantilever it? Leaving the old one in place as well.