The sill at the northwest corner of my garage has rotted in about a 3 ft. long area. I can see the edge of the concrete slab (garage floor) and the ground outside through the opening where the sill is gone. My carpenter wants to jack it up and replace the sill in that spot. Question is, will jacking it up in this one spot compromise the rest of the structure? The sill in the southwest corner (diagonal from the other one) is also in bad shape. The garage at some point has had an additional brace made of wooden beams placed diagonally from corner to corner, shaped in an "x" and where they meet in the middle, braced at the peak of the ceiling with a thinner board. The bracing obstructs my ability to install a garage door opener which is now low priority until the sill/foundation issue is resolved. Any thoughts on the jacking up and replacing sill and taking down the "x" bracing? Additionally, I get water draining from the alley way which is higher than the garage. What is a good drainage system to divert this?
Jacking up garage to replace sill
- Thread starter Robilynn
- Start date
Stuart in MN
Well-known member
You should only have to jack it up enough to take the weight off the sill, so it can be cut out and a new section slid in place. It shouldn't be enough to cause any problems with the rest of the structure.
steve in nj
Well-known member
I wouldn't worry. I jacked up my one car detached with bottle jacks, propped it with 4x4's under the cross rafters, ripped out the rotted sill and **** foundation and replaced it. The structure was about 75 years old and held stiff with all the exterior clapboards. The structure did not bend or warp when it was lifted and was much stiffer than you might think.
dreamingmuscle
Well-known member
It's easy peasy lemon squezzy with the sill replacement. The other two problems might require some pictures to help answer your questions.
Glen
budss396
Well-known member
I have done this before, what I do is screw a beam to the face of the studs (2x12). Then I block down from the beam to the floor. after blocking it up I cut the sill out and slide a new pressure treated sill underneath. you will need a sawsall. the final operation is to reinforce the connection from the new sill to the old sill.
I personally would not jack it up unless there is a noticable sag.
the problem is that if your sill gets wet it will rot out again, you didn't mention whether the garage sits directly on the slab or not. if it sits directly on the slab I would consider cutting off the bottom of the wall and having concrete blocks layed under the wall and put a new sill and anchor bolts. That is why most building codes recommend the floor to a minimum of 8" above the ground.
Hope this helps.
Bud
I personally would not jack it up unless there is a noticable sag.
the problem is that if your sill gets wet it will rot out again, you didn't mention whether the garage sits directly on the slab or not. if it sits directly on the slab I would consider cutting off the bottom of the wall and having concrete blocks layed under the wall and put a new sill and anchor bolts. That is why most building codes recommend the floor to a minimum of 8" above the ground.
Hope this helps.
Bud
It appears to sit directly on the garage floor. I'm thinking it must have been jacked up in the past and the garage floor poured under it with no consideration for the ground underneath. The ground has shifted and the garage floor cracked and lowered in the corner where the sill rot is more severe.
Apparently I didn't reply properly earlier as I don't see my post. It appears to sit on the concrete floor as though the floor was poured and garage built on top or garage was previously jacked up when a garage floor was poured. I'm thinking it was built in 1929.
budss396
Well-known member
I would look into having concrete blocks layed down, it will keep the rot from coming back.
Shawn S
Well-known member
A regular piece of wood rotted after 84 years. I wouldn't be overly concerned about that. I certainly agree that adding a row of blocks could be better, but in this case I think that is overkill.
Use a treated board this time, and if that still rots I guess you can replace it 84 years from now.
Use a treated board this time, and if that still rots I guess you can replace it 84 years from now.
IMCA38
Well-known member
Like the others, I'm not sure I comprehend what all you need to do, but the easy answer is yes, you can jack it up sufficiently to do that kind of work.
My shop is an old barn that used to have sheep in it. The first picture shows what it looked like when we started. The overall size of the building is 24 X 48. The front 32' had a normal concrete floor, and then the back 16' was about 24" lower with a dirt floor. We rented 4 basement screw jacks from United Rental and supported the rear area. We lifted just enough to where the sill was loose. Then, in a real test of faith
, We sawed 24" off of the dangling walls to make them even with the front part.
A mason then came in and laid three courses of block to make the foundation even.
We then had to go back and attach the walls back to the new foundation. We cheated on the new sills and cut slots to the outside of the sill for the anchor bolts, so we could just slide them in under the studs. Then, the studs were secured by using galvanized joist hangers so we could get good strength without fancy toe-nailing. We also nailed the exterior sheathing to the outside of the new sills, and sealed everything up. The walls were ultimately insulated and sheathed on the interior with 7/16 OSB.
The second picture is an after picture. You can see the splice in the sill between the drill press and the parts washer.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
My shop is an old barn that used to have sheep in it. The first picture shows what it looked like when we started. The overall size of the building is 24 X 48. The front 32' had a normal concrete floor, and then the back 16' was about 24" lower with a dirt floor. We rented 4 basement screw jacks from United Rental and supported the rear area. We lifted just enough to where the sill was loose. Then, in a real test of faith
, We sawed 24" off of the dangling walls to make them even with the front part.A mason then came in and laid three courses of block to make the foundation even.
We then had to go back and attach the walls back to the new foundation. We cheated on the new sills and cut slots to the outside of the sill for the anchor bolts, so we could just slide them in under the studs. Then, the studs were secured by using galvanized joist hangers so we could get good strength without fancy toe-nailing. We also nailed the exterior sheathing to the outside of the new sills, and sealed everything up. The walls were ultimately insulated and sheathed on the interior with 7/16 OSB.
The second picture is an after picture. You can see the splice in the sill between the drill press and the parts washer.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
Attachments
OK, I'm going to tackle this just by jacking it up and replacing the sill. This all started with attempting to install a passage door prior to installing a garage door opener. I had the garge rewired for lighting and garage door opener. The opener might clear rafters running side to side but about 2" below the rafters the previous owner installed the additional bracing with 4 by ? that run corner to corner forming an "X". Any thoughts on taking that bracing down once the sill is replaced?
MScott
Well-known member
Those "X" braces add torsional stability to the wall and prevent "racking." If you sheet the interior walls with plywood, particle board or drywall it will perform the same function. (Assuming it is properly nailed or screwed.)
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Imagine a square [_]
If it "racks" it becomes a parallogram /_/
(I couldn't figure out howto complete the squares using keyboard)
