I have a very small house that would benefit from a new foundation.
I have replaced a foundation under an existing house before, but it was a very large house with a substantial elevation change around the perimeter. We were able to drive a small skid loader under the house and build the new foundation in parts with some very carefully laid out CMU.
This house I have is VERY close to lot lines on two sides (2′ on one side) and the lot is nearly level. It seems crazy to rip up the entire place and dig under with even the smallest of skid loaders when all it needs is a stem wall. At present some of the joists are only about 6″ from crawl space grade. There isn’t even existing crawl space access except for a tiny trap door in the floor.
I prayed for lightening for a long time, but my prayers were not answered. Looks like I’ll have to fix it. I already know that I can start digging on my belly and jacking and cribbing as I go, but that’s gonna take forever (whine, whine).
Any suggestions about how to go about this will be appreciated.
Our ancestors killed mastadons with pointy sticks!
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Our ancestors killed mastadons with pointy sticks!
Maybe you'd get some people chiming in on this if you explained why you are wanting to replace the foundation. What, specifically, is the problem, and what is the objective?
Best thing to do is lift the whole house about 4 feet in the air, remove the existing foundation entirely, pour a new one, and lower the house down slightly... leave yourself a real crawl space. If you hire house movers for the lift they will probably do some tunneling to get their beams in, and cut some holes thru the floor to get jacks underneath.
Second best thing is what you described... somehow shore it in place and work from the exterior to put in new concrete.
If there is any moisture at all under the house it will take it's toll on the joists, being that low.
Thanks for the response, David.Looks like I'll be digging and jacking, since I'll be doing it myself.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our ancestors killed mastadons with pointy sticks!
What's it sitting on right now? Our house was on a bunch of flat fieldstones.
It is sitting on sandstone laid in soft and degraded mortar. One corner has mostly fallen out.The problem with the project is that even with a complete rehab the place wouldn't bring enough in our market to make it worth spending much on. Our air is so dry that the 80+ year old joists are still solid and not at all punky. I won't be starting the foundation project for a few months (too many other projects higher in priority). It'll be good to mull it over for awhile. No matter what, I have no complaint about the property: We paid $26k for two houses in '95 and we lived in them for 10 years. I can't exactly lose anything!++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our ancestors killed mastadons with pointy sticks!
I have a similar situation. There's an old edition on the back of my mom's house, there's no basement under this edition, it just had concrete around the perimeter. Anyway, the concrete was poor quality and is crumbling away, and in one spot there's even a large hole. What's the best option here? Could one jack up the edition, bust out the old concrete, and then be able to pour a new foundation around the perimeter? Or is that the best way to go?