Raising a garage

[SgtHawkUSMC]

This is a "what would you do" thread I guess you could say. I have a 38x28x8 garage that I want to raise 4'. I was thinking I could raise it somehow and just add a 4' wall under the existing one. Another option would be add blocks to the foundation, but I'd rather not.
My first thing is figuring out how I would raise it. I want to be able to get a 2 post lift in there comfortably and being able to back my car trailer in once in a while would be a big bonus. 8' ceilings just don't cut it... It's not insulated or finished inside so I'd rather lift it before I do that.

When it's empty...

 

[D45]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371545

 

[captain14]

And your in luck!!

A member just did that and has been active writer on his thread about it and has taken lots of pictures and shared his thoughts.



I have to find the thread and post a link.

And D45 posted it while I was typing. 4 minutes for your answer.

 

[GMCGarage]

The best way would be a concrete wall, that way you dont have the issue of a hinge at the joint with the wood.

 

[lakeroadster]

And 2 foot on Sparky's garage was scary... imagine 4 ft Holy Schnikeys.

You'd want to get structural engineer involved... or at least I would.

At some point it's not cost effective... a rebuild is cheaper.

 

[ford33]

Have you considered extending on another bay for the lift making it a four car garage? You have the room.

If you read sparky's thread, referenced earlier, on raising a two car garage you will have great information to help you make a decision. It costs him a fair amount of money to get the garage elevated and a concrete wall in place. It may cost as much to add a new bay as it will to elevate the entire structure.

 

[D45]

Great idea, attach a taller single bay to the side

 

[Stuart in MN]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371545

Also, check out Platonic Solid's thread about raising the Rat Shack. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367287&highlight=platonic+solid+rat+shack

 

[theoldwizard1]

As mentioned, adding a simple "pony", stud wall will give you a "hinge" point where a good wind will cause it to buckle.

There is a simple way to minimize the hinge effect. After installing the pony stud wall, at every other stud, notch the old bottom plate and the new pony wall top plate and install a 2x6 stud sistered to the old stud and new stud below it with construction adhesive and nails. The new 2x6 stud should run from the new bottom plate all the way up to the old top plate.

 

[RVDan]

The hinge point is not that bad as long as you change the sheeting on the outside to span the joint.

 

[brownbagg]

get a housing moving company come in and jack it, putting it on 4 foot temporary blocks, and then cmu under the wall

 

[Toolfool]

Add a bay with scissor trusses. Or, have a professional raise it. Sparky got lucky.

 

[Falcon67]

Id go a bit more than oldwizard - crib it up 4', knock out the plates, sister evety stud with a 2x6 and new plate

 

[Thumper68]

Add a bay with scissor trusses. Or, have a professional raise it. Sparky got lucky.

I mentioned in another thread that every time I see a post like this I am going to call out the poster.

Sparky did not get Lucky, he did some research and got on with the task at hand. The only issue he had in the whole process was with the supposed Professionals he tried to hire to do the concrete for him.

Now why don't you get back under your bridge and keep telling the kids to get off your lawn and let the rest of us get back to actually doing stuff

 

[rburke65]

Wooooh......cha ching!

 

[firebirdparts]

I think what sparky learned, no surprise, is that professionals are not going to do this kind of work.

 

[James-W]

That is a rather large garage. While raising a garage that size to be four feet taller is certainly possible to do, it won't be real simple, it will take some doing. It would help immensely if someone familiar with doing this type of work were to help you.

 

[ambenz]

Man, that a BIG garage to raise!
maybe deconstruct the roof and trusses might be the way to go with this job.
Just my 2 cents.....

 

[firebirdparts]

Id go a bit more than oldwizard - crib it up 4', knock out the plates, sister evety stud with a 2x6 and new plate

Genius. This is going to be cheap and it's a good solution. Might require extra creativity but the low price/high strength is worth it.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Funny how this doesn't look like that big a deal. Given the option, if you can find a local company to lift it in the $3,000 range, I'd jump on it. Price assumes you are providing materials and labor to extend the walls.

 

[jmarkwolf]

Have you considered extending on another bay for the lift making it a four car garage? You have the room.

If you read sparky's thread, referenced earlier, on raising a two car garage you will have great information to help you make a decision. It costs him a fair amount of money to get the garage elevated and a concrete wall in place. It may cost as much to add a new bay as it will to elevate the entire structure.

I think I'd seriously consider going this route.

The added space would certainly be a bonus, and might be a wash economically by the time you're done pharting around raising it.

 

[wssix99]

Add a bay with scissor trusses. Or, have a professional raise it. Sparky got lucky.

Right. For the added ceiling height - Rip off the roof and replace with scissor trusses. This should work a lot better in terms of risk and effort vs. raising the building.

 

[GMCGarage]

The hinge point is not that bad as long as you change the sheeting on the outside to span the joint.

What if the load comes from the opposite direction, sheet on the inside too?

 

[Orionrising]

I would go with the added bay, its literally like 3k in lumber excluding the concrete, or spend a couple k rip off the roof for scissor trusses.


around here what you have now is a 10k lumber package.

 

[ynned]

Is there a full foundation (i.e. footer and block, integral floor and footer)? Are you bound by codes and inspection? If there's a good foundation, and if you don't need it inspected, I'd lift the entire garage and put 5 courses of 12" block under the walls, then just frame in for the openings. That way you're certain of the wall integrity. I sure wouldn't consider a 4' wood frame wall either on top or below the existing walls without ties (joist), which defeat your purpose. You could lift it one course at a time so it wouldn't be swaying dangerously every time the wind came up, and do most of the work by yourself at your own pace.

 

[SgtHawkUSMC]

Some great responses gents. Thank you. First thing I'll say is I'm a control freak and do things myself. The added bay isn't a bad idea and you're right, I do have plenty of room. ~12 acres. I was actually thinking about moving the current three car about 50' to the right at a 90 deg angle and building a new attached garage. I'm trying to also keep aesthetics looking good. I don't think the 4th bay would work with that. It's tricky with a Victorian.
I hear what everyone is saying on the cripple wall, but I've seen that done plenty of times in general construction. With a piece of plywood spanning the joint, I really don't think the hinge effect would ever come in to play no matter the wind as long as it's built well and bolted together. The 2x6s I think would be a waste because the top plate will still be a 2x4. That's unless I'm missing what you're saying. Blocks are a good option, but I just don't like the look or function.
There is a footer and block foundation. It was built to code brand new just before I bought this house in 2014. I'll attach a pic from a little further away so you can see the big picture of what I'm working with.
Thanks for all the links. I'm going to take some time and go through them.

 

[ratdoggy]

How about adding a bay like this?
Sorry for my very quickly done rendering. At least it wouldn't look odd from the front

 

[01-7700]

Please keep us updated on this project. Thanks

 

[rattle_snake]

thread with lots of detail on a stud wall extention
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283853

 

[Falcon67]

Very nice layout. I only threw in the 2x6 because of the wall height. I suppose if they are 16" OC that 12' 2x4s would do as well. I would be inclined to add let in braces on the inside. Covering the hinge area with interior and/or exterior siding would stiffen it for sure. I just think that after all the work to get it up 48" that knocking out the plates, throwing down a fresh plate and standing up new studs would get the building free standing again real quick. Simpler than cutting the roof free and raising that - although that is another way to do it and to leave the doors/windows/etc in place.

Mark off new lower top plates to place the 12' studs next to the existing, cut the trusses free of the top plates, jack the roof as a unit, nail up a new top plate, stand up the 12' studs and 2nd plate, toe nail new studs to bottom plate and nail to old studs. I think you get the general idea. Bonus would be that you're not lifting as much total weight and there is less rework around the lower part of the building. Probably spend more in jacks, temp studs and cribbing than finishing the 4' gap in the siding. Talking about it and remembering that you have a bare canvas without interior walls and such, I like this better personally.

 

[kbs2244]

First, is that red barn off limits?

I have seen 1950's two bedroom homes raised to put a new first floor under them.
While the are lived in.

With planning what you want is very doable.
Lots of 'x' bracing, temp blocking under he wall as it goes up, new wall in panels to go between blocking when height is reached, etc.

Do your research and just sit out in it one evening and go through the process in your mind while taking notes.

That said, I like the lean-to bay behind what you have idea.
Make it full width and you get a lot of room without disturbing anything.

The only down side will be increased taxs due to more SF under roof.

 

[SgtHawkUSMC]

Very nice layout. I only threw in the 2x6 because of the wall height. I suppose if they are 16" OC that 12' 2x4s would do as well. I would be inclined to add let in braces on the inside. Covering the hinge area with interior and/or exterior siding would stiffen it for sure. I just think that after all the work to get it up 48" that knocking out the plates, throwing down a fresh plate and standing up new studs would get the building free standing again real quick. Simpler than cutting the roof free and raising that - although that is another way to do it and to leave the doors/windows/etc in place.

Mark off new lower top plates to place the 12' studs next to the existing, cut the trusses free of the top plates, jack the roof as a unit, nail up a new top plate, stand up the 12' studs and 2nd plate, toe nail new studs to bottom plate and nail to old studs. I think you get the general idea. Bonus would be that you're not lifting as much total weight and there is less rework around the lower part of the building. Probably spend more in jacks, temp studs and cribbing than finishing the 4' gap in the siding. Talking about it and remembering that you have a bare canvas without interior walls and such, I like this better personally.

Nice. I see what you're talking about now. I do like that idea better too. Cross bracing etc wouldn't be near as much an issue and it would be a lot more stable not having to lift the garage door wall. I think just lifting the roof would be pretty easy. Now that I'm picturing what you're talking about, 2"x6"x12's would probably be the way to go.

First, is that red barn off limits?

I have seen 1950's two bedroom homes raised to put a new first floor under them.
While the are lived in.

With planning what you want is very doable.
Lots of 'x' bracing, temp blocking under he wall as it goes up, new wall in panels to go between blocking when height is reached, etc.

Do your research and just sit out in it one evening and go through the process in your mind while taking notes.

That said, I like the lean-to bay behind what you have idea.
Make it full width and you get a lot of room without disturbing anything.

The only down side will be increased taxs due to more SF under roof.

Those evenings sitting out looking at it have been many. The barn is far from off limits, but it's a dirt floor horse barn and too far away from the house for my liking. I use it for other things.
I was looking at everything last night and took a few measurements. It's 8'3" from floor to the bottom of the truss. I could notch out enough of the ceiling to get a good 10' out of it easily. I'm going to have to decide if the juice is worth the squeeze for the other two feet. Lower ceilings where I don't need the height means less to heat or cool.
Just in case anyone is wondering, this is very much a working garage for me. I've always got some sort of project going. Here are a couple that I have going right now:

69 SS396



79 Z28 LS6 454

 

[Pathfinders]

Nice rides.

 

[MJD1]

I raised a 26x30' garage 2'. Put 3 courses of block under the walls. I had finished ceiling and walls, so that was the best option for me. In your case, adding rafter along side the truss, then cutting out the old truss may be an option. I would think that raising the roof section would be more work than raising the building. Soffit and siding would need to be redone, plus keeping it square would be more difficult.

 

[Platonic Solid]

I would think that raising the roof section would be more work than raising the building. Soffit and siding would need to be redone, plus keeping it square would be more difficult.

I Agree. Raising the whole building just isn't that big a deal.

 

[barks]

Sure, take the roof and supporting structure off the middle bay. Add 4' walls from existing roof line. Reinstall roof and supporting structure (trusses). Paint new walls. Install lift.

 

[T_R]

Sure, take the roof and supporting structure off the middle bay. Add 4' walls from existing roof line. Reinstall roof and supporting structure (trusses). Paint new walls. Install lift.

Even better yet, install the lift and use it raise the roof on the middle bay. Install bracing sitting on the lift. Cut at the top plate and cut the roof decking. Raise it 4 feet and fill in, patch the roofing up.

I could complete a job like this in a few days, it's not hard.

 

[The Cobbler]

It's certainly do-able . lots of bracing and webbing, good jacks and lots of help.
a good friend raised his 2' (& moved back about 30' ). he set it on a new slab with 3 courses of block which raised him about 2'.

 

[DougWil]

The hinge point is not that bad as long as you change the sheeting on the outside to span the joint.

Bad idea, the IBC does not allow using sheeting for tension.

 

[highflier]

Raise the roof.
That would be the most efficient method.