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Options-Opinions for Jacking Garage

BearsFan315

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
689
Location
Portsmouth, VA
ok, been reading posts on here and elsewhere on the web about jacking garages and lifting them up. I have a 20x30 garage poured on a slab. 8x7 garage door on short side gable end, then man door on the front corner long side, along with 2 windows on the side, and 2 on the back short wall, PTAC on other side long wall.

Thing to NOTE, I can NOT tear it down and rebuild it, can not enlarge it, etc... due ot the city code my lot has 15 foot setbacks on two sides now. my garage was erected in the 1970's and is 6 foot of side lot line, and 1 foot off back lot line. it is grandfathered in and fine as it sits. IF i tear it down or it falls down i can NOT rebuild it, as it would have to comply with new codes. i do not have any room on my property to build a garage, small city lot. other two sides of yard are 25-30 foot offsets due to corner lot. I have fought with the city for years, been to planning commission, etc... a losing battle and such. i can practically do anything i want to it as long as i do NOT tear it down or remove the roof structure. the garage was originally built as a 20x20 cube, then somewhere a 20x10 extension was added on the rear, matched roofline, etc. then cut a hole in the wall and put in a doorway. also tore out half of old rear wall for access. slabs but against each other no gap.

Here is my issue, bought the house 15 years ago, always had a issues with garage flooding/ taking on water with heavy downpours. seems the slab is about grade level. Years back i graded land around garage and put in a french drain system to assist with controlling water. that has helped a TON. however if we get a torrential downpour water still comes in. it has 8 foot stick walls and the sill plates sit directly on the concrete slab, and due to moisture have rotted out and been replaced at least once in their life. attached is a picture of the wall section where i put in my PTAC.

i am NOT sure of the thickness of the slab, would have to measure. also slab is 2 pieces. one for front section 20x20 rear section 20x10.

Here is what i am thinking:
jack up garage from inside, support walls, doors, etc, jack and crib as i go. lift it high enough to put in 2 block. Put in a new 2x6 or 2x8 sill plate with thru bolts into block and secured in. then drop garage back down on block and bolt in place. then strip and clean floor and pour a 2" or 3" over old floor and slope it towards garage door. the pour would be inside the block and then add in a ramp from the garage door to meet this floor height increase. This would technically give me about 14" additional ceiling height as well as raise floor above grade and keep out water intrusion. i would also seal the block from the outside !! or add in another layer of block and get 22" additional height. main concern is raising floor up and keeping out the water and having a level floor !!

I am open to options, and attached a few pictures and sketches below.
 

Attachments

  • Garage Angle Front Left.jpg
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  • garage front.jpg
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  • Garage Angle Front Right.jpg
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  • garage Wall PTAC.jpg
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  • garage wall old rear-addition left.jpg
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  • garage wall old rear-addition right.JPG
    garage wall old rear-addition right.JPG
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  • garage Wall Increase Sketch.jpg
    garage Wall Increase Sketch.jpg
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Bretny

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Jul 31, 2017
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3,918
Location
Dutchess county NY
Your plan seams prety good. Do you need extra head room or just to raise up the floor level?
If just the floor level you could add a sump pump to remove water bu i can see how this could also be a pain in an outage.
 
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BearsFan315

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Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
689
Location
Portsmouth, VA
forgot to mention that the existing floor is in no way level, plenty of low spots and places to puddle. it is NOT graded or flat by any means. also a pretty rough surface like a driveway. rear section even more so !!

looking at the garage when i moved in the sill plates have been replaced once, and from neighbors it was due to ROT. funny thing when i moved in there were a dozen or so bags of play sand inside the garage door. and i learned quickly why, they used them to sandbag the door and try to keep out the water !! even put in a concrete sill at the man door about 3" thick. they cut out the wood sill and pours in concrete due to rot
 
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BearsFan315

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Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
689
Location
Portsmouth, VA
yeah one of the ones i read, he has more grade issues than me. most of mine i have fixed ;) once i fix the garage will tear up driveway and pour a new one down the road.

just need time, money, and man power :)
 
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joey1320

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Jun 14, 2015
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1,813
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NE Ohio
Seems like you have a simple but effective way to fix the issue. Now comes the fun part ;)
 

Spencer Was Here

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Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
327
Location
Western Michigan
Do yourself a favor and get a quote to do this from a house moving company.

Tell them you will be extremely flexible, so they can come with very little notice to do this job at their convenience.

You'll likely be surprised how affordable it may be. On the other hand, if it turns out to cost quite a bit, you can show your wife how much money you are saving by doing it yourself.

Also, the house movers do things like this for a living. Just remember that you said in part "...or it falls down i can NOT rebuild it, ..."
 
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BearsFan315

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
689
Location
Portsmouth, VA
i actually got a few quotes to jack and crib the garage, around $4-5k

that is just to jack and crib, regardless of height
 

swamplife

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Joined
Mar 4, 2019
Messages
159
Location
Cicero Swamp CNY
I have a similar situation with my garage; sill plate is gone and studs are sitting on what used to be the sill plate. and the foundation is also cracking underneath. The whole thing is below grade thanks to a combination of sinking and the neighboring properties being built up.

Someone has already gone through and raised the foundation on the one gable end, and the wall opposite the bad wall has the neighbor's yard drainage next to it, so no standing water.

Ultimately, I can't start on too much until I have yard drainage.
 
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