The 2 stall, unattached garage on a house I recently purchased is to close to the ground. The foundation is cement blocks and I was wondering how difficult and how I would go about raising it up an additional block.
"JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Too close? It is supposed to touch the ground or it will float away.
If you do want to raise it though, Easy if you have the equipment and know how. House movers run a steel beam for support and lift them up. They jack the entire structure evenly also. You;d have to make some supports or lifting devices and get enough jacks to hold it all.
Is all that worth it for a garage, considering you'll still have an old garage on a cement block footing in the end? And you'll have to re-do all the doors for the new height. You can get a garage kit from Menards (a good one with 16 inch centers and truss roof), and have a contractor pour a superior concrete footing and slab. A couple of out- of-work framers can probably put it up in 2 days. Since it's unattached the permit is pretty straightforward.
This link below shows how to raise a garage to replace the sill plate. I don't think you would want to use this method lift the garage the full 8-9" it would take to lay the blocks due to the danger of it tipping over, however...
Perhaps you could use this method to raise the garage little by little (2"?), side to side, slipping in wooden supports at various intervals along the sides each time until it's high enough to add the new course of block. Then raise it a tad more, remove the temporary supports, lower it onto the new blocks and fit blocks into the gaps left by the supports. With proper space planning I think that would work.
- A couple of out-of-work framers can probably put it up in 2 days.
How come the framers are out-of-work? And do I really want out-of-work framers putting up my garage?
What happened to the theory that you want your contractors to be so busy (read: good) that you have to wait for them?
Have you seen the news about residential builders lately?
The reason I stumbled on this group recently is becuse I've decided to go ahead with a whole lot of changes at my place, that I would rather not spend the time doing myself. It started out with hiring an out of work union guy to do a bathroom in June, now I'm going for a whole home addition because the guy works hard and has friends in same position. There are some sub-divisions here where only one or two holes were dug this whole summer, and the other 200 lots will have to wait there for spring and more qualified buyers. No, there are many very "good guys" on the bench right now at union hall as far as residential work goes. But my nephew who does all commercial electrical work is working overtime. It's just the residential people working for production homebuilders that are out.
I dont suspect the situation will last once liquidity returns to the mortgage market, and the banks learn that people need prove more than simply having a pulse to get a jumbo mortgage. But you have to strike while the iron is hot, and for my home projects the timing of these layoffs is ok and I like to know I'm helping a guy tide over with my little projects.
I stand corrected...or at least more informed. Thanks!
"JimmyDahGeek@DON'T_SPAM_ME_gmail.com" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
I once looked into lifting my house and attached garage to add a basement underneath the house. The method the housemover was going to use for the garage involved lagging 4x4's to the studs all the way around the inside perimeter of the garage a couple of feet off the floor. He would then lift on the 4x4's. Maybe you could do something similar?
On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:23:09 -0700, DerbyDad03 wrote Re Re: Raise a garage:
Nice site. Thanks.
I have raised 2 garages for customers, although only enough to get a pressure treated 4x4 in there, 3 1/2". It's pretty easy to show you how, but kind of difficult to describe. The link someone else provided should work.
I bolted a 2x4 diagonally across the first studs down each wall at each corner, so that this 2x4 cuts across the corner and goes 16" down each wall (to the first stud in each wall). This diagonal 2x4 is just above the sill, enough to get a bottle jack under it. Then bolt in a vertical 2x4 that rested on the middle of the one angled across each corner. This 2x4 jammed into the upper corner where the two walls meet. Everything is bolted and nailed together. This method picks up the top plate and bottom plate at the same time (more or less).
X-brace the door opening with long 2x4's, bolt 2 together if necessary, and add another horizontal 2x4 across the very bottom of the door opening to keep it from spreading
Now, place a bottle jack under two of the diagonal 2x4's at the corner and jack one wall up. I used a 4 ton jack, bigger would be fine, just allow room when you are placing the 2x4's. I bought a bunch of them at Harbor Freight for only a few bucks, they work fine. Prop up that first wall, and move to another. If things feel unsteady, just jack each wall up until you can slide a 2x4 in there, 1 1/2" at a time. If the garage is old and the walls are not real rigid, you may need to help the middle of a wall along with a 6' pry bar.
I did the back wall first, then each side.
THANKS!!! This is a very good article and it actually makes it look like it won't be that difficult. I thought I would need a larger jack, but I guess that won't be necessary. I'll let you know when I'm ready to start on it. Probably in a couple of weeks.
Thanks, Jim
You're welcome, but keep in mind what other's have hinted at:
You're going to need to extend door casings, move/extend any electrical fixtures, obviously install a new garage door and, assuming your windows were installed at the standard height, they are now going to be ~8" too high.
Perhaps it would be better to rebuild, assuming current codes would allow you too.
OR. Maybe Just OR he's looking to get his truck in and it won't fit the way it is. And the windows don't make a ratts ass to him...
steve
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