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If there are problems with the foundation, there are two ways out – to build a new house or try to restore and replace it. In the second case, it is necessary to raise the house, and then carry out work with the foundation. The technology is available for buildings of any type, even for high-rise buildings, but you can only raise a wooden house on your own – it responds better to uneven loads.
What kind of house can be raised
In principle, specialists raise houses of any type, including brick or block ones. But with your own hands you can only cope with wooden houses – from logs, timber. You can also independently raise panel wooden houses. All of them, by virtue of their design, are the easiest to tolerate uneven loads, so when lifting, you can use one or two powerful jacks. They are usually rearranged around the perimeter – moving clockwise or counterclockwise, gradually raising the frame with a foundation. Due to the fact that the wood is elastic and resilient, the slight distortion created during operation is compensated, preventing the building from crumbling or cracking. This, and even the small weight of wooden structures, allows them to be lifted with their own hands.
Brick or block houses will not endure such an operation. They react very poorly to distortions and unevenly applied loads. Therefore, this process is much more complicated and expensive. Steel beams are brought under the building, creating a reinforcing belt below. Along the perimeter, powerful pneumatic jacks are installed, which are controlled from one point (control panel or computer). They start climbing at the same time. Only in this case it is possible to avoid the destruction of a brick, frame or block house.
When the need arises
Most often, it is necessary to raise a wooden house when there are problems with the foundation. Our cities and villages still have a lot of houses that were built 40-50 years ago. At that time, few people in private construction strictly adhered to building codes. They built as they could, from what was. Because the foundations of those years are gradually being destroyed, the houses warp. So there is a need to raise a wooden house to replace or restore the foundation.
But problems with the foundation are not only for old houses. Newly built houses also have errors during construction:
- insufficient deepening of the strip foundation, due to which, during heaving, the foundation is covered with cracks;
- insufficient waterproofing, which leads to dampness in the house;
- a low base, and because of this, it is cold in the house and it is impossible to carry out insulation, since a very low basement makes it impossible to carry out any work.
There are many more errors, but these are the most common. In all cases, repair, modernization or replacement of the foundation is required, which means that the house must be raised.
The second common reason why a wooden house needs to be raised is that the first crowns of the log house have rotted. The result is the same: the house settles and the further, the more. The rot continues to spread. Therefore, the log house is raised, after which the old rotten crowns are removed, replacing them with new ones. Otherwise, the repair of the log house cannot be carried out.
And the third reason is the need to move the building. This situation is not so common, but it also happens. Sometimes an unsuccessful site is chosen for the construction of a building, then a new foundation is put in another place and the house is dragged. But first you need to lift it, then install rollers – special ones with rollers or cut pipes – and then transport it somewhere. Sometimes a decision is made to move the house due to problems with the foundation. But at the same time, there is no desire to live in a house that stands on “chicken legs” all the time of repair.
What do you need to raise a wooden house
The technology is simple, and therefore you can do this work with your own hands, but you need to be extremely careful. So what tools do you need:
- Automobile screw jacks, multi-ton. You can get by with one, but it’s easier and faster to have at least two.
- Metal plates (thickness 3-4 mm, dimensions according to the cross section of the log house or a little more) – substitute under the heel of the jack so that the log house does not slip off.
- A certain number of pieces of boards with a thickness of at least 20 mm and timber, 20-30 cm long. The specific amount depends on the size of the house, the height to which it will be raised. These pieces of boards are used as linings during lifting. They serve as a temporary support for the raised log house.
First, the boards are laid, then, as they rise, they are replaced with a bar folded with a “well” - A water level or level that can be used outdoors.
- Materials and tools for repairing a foundation or a log house.
In general, this is all that is required in order to raise a wooden house.
Sequencing
First, it is worth assessing the condition of the building and especially the lower crowns. If the log house is sheathed with clapboard on the outside, it is removed, an awl is stuck into the beam or log. If it easily enters, then the wood is damaged, it will need to be changed. So, you buy a bar of a suitable section (even if the frame is made of logs), sealing tape, antibacterial impregnation for wood in contact with the ground. You process the timber, lay it to dry.
If the house has a brick oven, around it you need to dismantle the floor a little, free up the places where the chimney passes through the ceiling and roof. If the furnace is with a water register, it will also be necessary to cut off the supply and return pipelines – then it will need to be slightly redone and welded again. It will also be necessary to disconnect all communications if they come from the underground – water supply, sewerage, etc.
If there are extensions to the house under a common roof or connected to the walls of the house, the matter is more complicated. It is required to free the house (the best option) or fix the extension to the main house and lift everything together. The second option is more complex, it is implemented if at least one wall has a rigid connection with the main house – for example, it is solid with the wall of the house. But even in this case, one cannot do without a preliminary consultation with a specialist. It is much easier to lift the house if nothing pulls it and does not interfere with the rise. Later, the extension can be raised separately. This is an option if it is made incoherent or connected – these are only staples or other similar ties.
Immediately before work, it will be necessary to open the windows and open the doors. This will not allow them to be damaged during distortions.
How many jacks to put and where to place them
If the house is built on a strip foundation and the strip is equal in width or larger than the size of the log house, you will have to cut openings in the strip for the installation of jacks. Otherwise, you won’t be able to install them.
It will be easier if the building stands on a pile or column foundation. These are usually light structures such as a bathhouse, a small country or garden house. In this case, the soil at the jack installation sites is leveled, compacted, and a rigid, even base is placed on it. This is a piece of a wide board or a sheet of thick metal. It is important to provide a good, reliable support – when lifting a wooden house in this case, the load is transferred to the ground pointwise, at the places where the jacks are installed. And the load at these points is very large. To prevent the jack from “driving” during operation, a reliable foundation is required.
If the house stands on a strip foundation, first of all, openings are broken out in the foundation with a sledgehammer for the installation of jacks. They are made along the perimeter, after about 2-2,5 meters, but stepping back from the corner at least half a meter. Mandatory platform in the place of cutting – pier. Make the opening so that the jack stands up freely and the platform is level. Also, studs are cut around the perimeter of the house, with which the frame was attached to the foundation. Further, having cleared the openings from construction debris, a jack is installed. Under it, it is desirable to lay a metal sheet. It will more evenly distribute the load, will not allow the material to crumble under the stop.
A little about the number of jacks and their carrying capacity. You can have at least one. But then the work will be lengthy – it will have to be rearranged in each of the holes, lifted to the selected level, and then move on. This is exactly what is usually done when lifting the house on their own. But there can also be two or three jacks – they can be installed in adjacent openings and lift everything to the same height. The work will go faster, but the risk of skew increases. Those who professionally lift houses usually have enough jacks to install them on two opposite sides and lift a wooden (log or panel) house at the same time.
The load capacity of the jacks depends on the size of the house and on their number. Usually take on 8 or 10 tons. These are ordinary lifts for trucks, there are a lot of them on the market, they cost relatively little.
One more thing: it is desirable to additionally fix several lower crowns of the log house – to drive in large metal brackets. It is also worth fixing the extension, places of cuts and other problem points. This will prevent the house from crumbling in the process of work. The same “paper clips” are installed in the replaced areas.
Process itself
Raise the frame a little with a jack. Only 2-3 cm at a time. No more. In the gap formed between the log house and the whole part of the foundation, the previously cut linings (pieces of boards) are laid. When laying the supports, they try to give them the shape of a truncated pyramid – they put boards of greater length down, and less and less above. This design is more stable than bars of the same length stacked on top of each other.
If the house has piers (cuts), it is also desirable to support them. As you rise in these places, linings are also necessarily laid, and not only at the place where they intersect with the main walls, but also in a couple of places along the length (under the house). If at first it is impossible to do this, due to the low height of the subfloor, they do it later, when the height has already been gained at least a little. For some time, due to elasticity, they will hold out, but then it is advisable to give them support.
After installing the pads, the jack is lowered, removed, go to the next opening, raised again, the pads are laid, and so on. In the process of work, several thin linings from boards are replaced with more massive ones from a bar – the smaller their number, the less likely they are to slip out or fall apart.
The direction of movement – clockwise or counterclockwise – does not matter. It is important to bypass all points sequentially. The amount of lift is the same everywhere. You can navigate relative to the whole part of the foundation – measure the distance to the lower crown. After each climb, the house is inspected. It should not crack or have a visible slope.
After passing one circle, they move on to the second, then the third, and so on until the required height is reached. Usually they raise it by 30-35 cm on their own, but professionals can also raise it by 80 cm. Further, the required work is carried out – the foundation and / or log house is repaired or replaced.
What’s next
If after lifting the foundation will be dismantled, the house is transferred to new supports – hung out. To do this, take a beam of large cross-section (usually a pair), bring it under the frame, fix it on both sides. Under each corner, two such stops are installed – on both sides. The total is at least eight. If the wall is long, install the same support in the middle.
The supporting beam can be laid on folded brick or concrete pillars. It is better not to use an earthen support for this – it can “float”. After all the supports are installed, you can disassemble the old foundation and carry out further work.
This is classic technology. But, as you understand, it is not very reliable – these stops can fall, settle, etc. Repair or replacement of the foundation is a long process, anything can happen. A more reliable way is to weld supporting pedestals from a thick-walled metal corner, a small I-beam.
What else are cubes good for? They do not interfere with the reinforcement of the foundation. Pass the reinforcement through them, then pour everything into concrete. You teach a monolith with super-reinforcement. A very good option: both reliable from the point of view of safety, and does not interfere with the work (it interferes less, for sure), and increases the reliability of the foundation.
The difference of lifting a small wooden house
If the house is small, without cuts, with light walls and without outbuildings (or they can be dismantled), you can raise a wooden house by installing two ten-ton jacks in opposite corners. Raise them alternately to a small height, after each ascent along the perimeter, laying out the lining wherever possible. These gaskets should be of different thicknesses – so that even a centimeter gap can be filled.
With this technique, it is especially worth paying attention to the corners where the jacks are not installed. Their emphasis must be reliable.