New Garage Planning-Moving Old

[gdf_77]

What I would like to do is move the present garage, which is about 20x24 to be used as a shop. And build a new 30x30 attached with a 2nd floor that will have the master bed and bath, a laundry room and maybe an office for me.

The reason for keeping the present and moving it is because; the garage itself is solid, the foundation is not and because the current garage as you can see just isn't large enough.
In regards to the foundation, when we bought the house, there wasn't any gutters on the garage, and the downspout for the house ran down the hill behind the garage and washed away alot of the dirt. You can actually see where the ground has been washed out from the bottom of the footing. Up until this summer you couldn't see this due to the tree that was planted at the corner. It also appears that the whole garage is "sliding" away from the house. The space between the concrete and the house is growing each year.

The present garage will be going in this area


So any help on how to brace the present up to move it ( a guy in town has a large forklift and an extending boom truck (kinda a cross between a crane and forklift, it has extending pallet forks) that I can use). I will pour footings, the floor, than 2'6" stub walls to set the garage on giving me 10'6" ceilings. I may extend out the back to give it a little more depth.
I am in the initial planning stages of all of this so I have some time as this build won't happen until 2011. But I would like to pick the brains of the Garage journal Members on any questions that pop up between now and when this is done. Thanks for the input.
Gabe

 

[gdf_77]

Or if anyone has some horror stories about doing this. I would like to hear them.
Thanks
Gabe

 

[Bib Overalls]

It can certainly be moved. But I am wondering if it is really worth it. Particularly with your plans to raise the ceiling and extend out the back. You may be money ahead by dismantling the building and salvaging the materials. If you raise the ceiling you will have to reframe the front if you want to use the original door.

If your roof is truss framed it may be possible to move it intact with the crane and set it on new walls.

 

[gdf_77]

The garage has to move about 150'. It will be sat down on new concrete walls. That will give me the new ceiling height, since now it is set down on a slab. Since the garage door was new this summer, I can just add another section of door to make up for the change in height. My thinking is extending out the back because that would be the easiest with the trusses running against that direction. And since the moving of the garage would only cost me gas for the equipment and beer (plus the new concrete work), It would give me more time for the new garage to be built.

 

[Kevin54]

Bracing it will be your biggest issue. You will need to brace the garage real well at the door opening. It will also need to be solid at the lifting points on the sill plate. This can be accomplished by nailing something as simple as a 2x8 on the outside and inside of the garage and long enough to span about 2/3s the length of the area lifted.

Then there is the old tried and true method of moving it using pipe or poles of some type and some good old fashioned muscle.

There are various ways that you can do it along with dismantling it. If the roof system is old rafters and has any sag to them, you may want to consider removing the roof and then seperate the walls into 4 seperate walls and move it that way. Then reassemble it using trusses instead of rafters. I am imagining though that you are wanting the simplest way and move it in one piece. Another thing to consider is house movers. They may possibly take on a job that small but may not be cost efficient to have it done.

Also without seeing the actual construction of the structure it would be hard to tell. Are the interior walls finished or bare studs? 2x4 or 2x6's? OSB underlayment on the walls, Celotex (punkboard), planks? What kind of siding is on the outside? Reason being is that weight will be a large factor in moving it. Also look as to how the sill plates are fastened to the studs. Are they nailed really secure or just toenailed with small nails? You want the structure to be as secure as possible.

Here is a guy moving a garage roughly the same size as yours using a haywagon and a truck http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moving+a+garage&aq=2

Be sure to check out the other clips as it shows a variety of ways to do it. Including the pipe and plank method.





I moved a large shed using skidsteers and forks. Another guy down the road from me moved a garage about your size using two skidsteers and forks. The biggest thing is getting two guys that can work in conjunction with one another because one is going backwards and the other forwards.

 

[gdf_77]

The garage is built with rough cut 2x6. They actually measure about 2x5.75". they seem to be nailed to the base plate through the bottom. And if any of the other nails I have seen are an indicator, they will more than likely be like barn spikes.
What I was thinking is diagonally bracing from the bottom of the opening to the middle at the top. And using a 10' 2x6 along the bottom of the back wall.