The wet garage raise

[Sparkynutz]

I have a few threads posted here and there on specific topics but will document and post pics here of the process and challenges along the way.
Next week I will be attempting to raise my 26x26 garage 3ft up then form up and pour a 9 inch wide wall 24 inches high then set garage back down. It floods everytime it rains. I have explored all my options and raising 2ft is happening one way or another the next few weeks. Please do not waste your time trying to convince me of options besides raising that I've already explored. I will be using mainly concrete blocks as cribbing topped with some 2x10's. I have 3 harbor freight 20 ton low profile bottle jacks. I will raise each side a few inches at a time and have 3rd one as a spare if needed.
I will be fastening11-3/4" x 24' LVL beams on each wall including across garage door then fasten11-3/4" x 26' LVL beams underneath the side wall beams with steel brackets I welded up to keep them from twisting and spread the weight over larger area of the beams. I am a little hesitant the 2 LVLs will be strong enough to support the garage after doing the math on every 2x4, rafter, siding, shingles, windows etc. I came up with 12,120lb much higher than the estimate I ran across of a 24x24 garage weighing 4700lb. By the time I have my bracing and LVLs installed I bet it will be closer to 7 tons. I plan on jacking up only a few inches and let it sit over night just incase something crashes or breaks I don't want it to fall too far.
Tomorrow all the lumber is being delivered. Stay tuned for pics of progress.

Ryan

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[Hot Rod Grampa]

You will have no problems. Raised an old 2 story farmhouse wall to replace rotted sills. 2 2x12's stacked lagged to studs and up she went. Only issue will be having it high enough to be able to pour into the forms. Be sure to add diagonal braces to prevent racking. Pain in the Astoria to work around but at least it will stay square. Hope this helps.

 

[James-W]

Sounds like an interesting project, I wish you all the best.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Next week I will be attempting to raise my 26x26 garage 3ft up then form up and pour a 9 inch wide wall 24 inches high then set garage back down. It floods everytime it rains.

I would not guarantee that your wall will stop your flooding. Slow it down, yes.

 

[lakeroadster]

I've heard of a barn raising... looking forward to documentation of your adventure.

If it's anything like Platonic Solids adventure... it'll be fun.

 

[ford33]

I raised a garage to the height of 2 additional cement blocks or about 16 inches. It worked but I have a few suggestions for lifting the garage framework.

I would recommend bracing the inside of the garage well. You need to keep it square to the foundation. Put bracing on all four of the corners at the top sill and bottom sill plates so they remain 90 degrees to each other.

Also consider that the garage may twist or drop more at the back end and not the front due to the weight of the additional wood at the back.

Finally keep the garage fairly level as you raise it off the foundation. Move an inch up at a time on all four corners and sides. The walls will move out as you lift so watch closely to keep everything aligned as you lift.

Take your time. Lifting will take more than a day.

 

[kaiser715]

I like it, and would probably do it myself, except the concrete block cribbing part. Get some 6x6's and cut them to cribbing length. I'd trust that more than a block.

And x2 on plenty of diagonal bracing, in all directions.

 

[The Cobbler]

interested in following along on this too.
as mentioned, lots of bracing, cross bracing and more bracing.
lift evenly and it should go smoothly. a friend raised and moved about 30' back ,his 500ish sqft garage .it was remarkably easy with the tons of bracing he had. (probably he had more than necessary but better too much than not enough)

 

[holdover]

Best of luck, have done many projects like this in my life time, including raising my own 24 X 50 barn, but I would substitute something else for this " I will be using mainly cement blocks as cribbing topped with some 2x10's." I as almost any house mover that doesn't use steel beams use 6 X 6 timber, or you could use rail road ties to the same effect. Concrete blocks are strong for a stable load but you will have dynamic stress as you are jacking, why not use something that will not crack and crumble and are relatively inexpensive. 12120 lb seems high for the weight of the lift for a structure of that size. Best of luck, wish I was closer to come and help

 

[finn]

My cousin used rough cut oak cribbing (4"x4"x4') that he picked up cheap direct from the sawmill.

Concrete blocks sound scary for cribbing.

 

[TractorJeff]

If a concrete block is stood in the position it is designed for, you will push it into the ground.
4x4 or 6x6 or 4x6 about 3 feet long work well!
"Git Ur Dun!"
I live in Wisconsin but have a few too many Fall projects or I would offer to come help!

 

[JohnnieMo]

I lifted my 24x22 with no serious issues. You can review my thread or watch my YouTube video.

How I lifted my double garage for $500

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...om/forum/showthread.php?t=308011&share_type=t

To answer your question, the LVLs are crazy strong. I estimated my garage at 8000lbs however I stripped a lot of weight before starting.

For lifting I used four small bottle jacks. Lift each side 2” at a time and see-saw it up. If you go 4” at a time it is too much. Ask me how I know.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Don't forget to disconnect any utilities prior to lifting and take plenty of pictures.

 

[MikeF2316]

I'd use 4 jacks, just so you don't spend so much time moving and positioning them. And I'd also only use steel or wood as cribbing, probably just 6x6s as they're easier to position, and make a better base.

And I'll second taking lots of pictures (and making lots of posts to GJ).

 

[Platonic Solid]

Cool! If it wasn't raining today, I'd be out there lifting mine. At the risk of stating the obvious, I assume you'll be pouring a new floor too.

 

[Chaz]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Garages lift easily. They're actually pretty light.

 

[rmmiller]

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I can see why you want to raise it! Are you aiming to have the floor at the same height as the concrete next to the house? That seems like it would be perfect, raise the floor, approach and drive straight in.

 

[rburke65]

I can imagine how scary this project seems, but you can do this. Stop n think.....be safe. Lots of YouTube videos I'm betting, to help. Good luck.

 

[JohnnieMo]

Do some thinking about floor drains. If you are pouring a new floor there are lots of cool options to ensure water can escape once it’s all done.

You can do things like a trench, a pail, a trough, or go all out with sewer. I wish mine had a proper water and sewer system.

Oh and I recommend against the 6x6 blocking. It’s plenty strong but they aren’t perfectly square. As you stack higher and higher they start to wobble. Cement blocks on a strong base would be better. I cheaped out....

 

[C_F]

I'm in for the ride! Looking forward to your progress posts, I hope all goes well.

 

[Sparkynutz]

Supplies delivered today. Back breaking work begins tomorrow. The beams sure are heavy but flimsy as all heck. I will definitely need to brace the heck out of them

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[Sparkynutz]

Here are a couple more pics I took. Unloading was a pain and I was late for work but only 15 minutes. Thankfully my wife helped get the beams down there. The bum leg deliver driver was no help. He dropped everything in driveway and left.
Hopefully my wife manages to get the rest of lumber down to garage while I'm at work.


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[Sparkynutz]

Couple quick responses and thanks for the input and words of encouragement.

I will be putting a drain in the floor for melting snow etc but will be piped out the side to daylight. May freeze in winter but better than no drain like every garage I've ever had.

The cement on side of attatched house garage is higher than detatched garage slab by 22" at house and 21" towards yard.
I would like to eventually connect cement to detatched but will remain gravel for a few years while I save funds, let gravel settle, and see how garage raise pans out.

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[Firstram]

You won't have any problem lifting that garage with your plan, having it stay up there is what would worry me.

Please reconsider using cinder blocks as cribbing unless you plan on using mortar and building piers. Dry stacking those blocks will subject them to concentrated point loads and potential failure. If just one of those blocks fractures it can cascade into something very ugly. Its not worth cheaping out on something so critical to someones safety.

Pros do it like this for a reason, IT'S SAFE!


You can build (4) 2x4 cribbing towers 2'x2' 3' high with 3 2x's per layer for $400.00. This way you're cribbing the load after every 1 1/2" lift and could use those CMU's to block up the jacks.

When you're finished you'll have 288 pcs of firewood to enjoy out by your dry garage.

 

[Sparkynutz]

I am hesitant of the cement blocks as well. I have 12 4x6x12' treated I bought with intention of putting additional cribbing underneath the sill from cement block cribbing outside to inside on each corner in addition to my 4 stacks of wood cribbing inside the garage under the beams supporting the brunt of the load if the beams were to break hopefully the cinderblock will take over or at minimum spread the load from beams and keep things more square when raised.
I have a bunch of 4x4s, 2x6's and about 12 or so 3ft long railroad ties that are in decent shape I found in the weeds at my hunting land that the previous owner used to set a small house on temporarily. I pulled 3 out so far and look to be in better shape than 99% of the ones I saw at menards when I was looking at what to buy. I know atleast 2 were rotted somehow but the ones I grabbed so far are solid without much in them for cracks even. Those will definitely be used for the base of the crib and work my way up with smaller lumber. If thst doesn't seem sturdy another trip to buy some more 4x6's won't cost to awful much.

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[Firstram]

Someone near you might rent a truckload of cribbing for cheap. If you do end up buying treated 4x6 to do the job you can always landscape.



Happy wife, happy life!

 

[ford33]

One other word of caution before you begin. Consider the possibility of the garage shifting while lifting. If it decides to move in a direction you do not want it to, unlikely I realize with your cribbing, then you should have a quick way to exit out of the garage. So make sure you can move quickly to exit the structure while lifting. Keep a clear easy path to daylight and a short distance to run.

Good luck tomorrow.

 

[D45]

Really cool project, hopefully you get the results you are looking for

Too bad all this work is needed.......poor location? Poor Design? Not enough thought went into the location?

 

[SweetD]

I'm in for the ride!

Yep, good luck~~!

It'll be fine!

 

[Sparkynutz]

Really cool project, hopefully you get the results you are looking for

Too bad all this work is needed.......poor location? Poor Design? Not enough thought went into the location?

All of the above with much suggestion by neighbors and even cement guy to build in a different location or higher but previous owner cheaped out to save a buck then sold it and moved. Doing it right the first time with fill would have cost less than a grand more that has now turned into almost 10 grand for me to fix by time new slab, walls, fill and labor. Very frustrating but it was my dream house. I looked at and liked it before previous owner bought it that I now bought it from. He removed fence, cut down trees I wish were still there and built garage at a $30k profit for him from what he bought it for. I would have saved a lot of headache had I bought it then before he messed up everything he touched but I didn't think I could afford it 3 years ago. It's still above my budget now but you only live once and I knew I had to have it flaws, cost and all. The house layout and location was exactly what I've always wanted. A lot of people were interested in the house and I wasn't going to miss out on it again with it being the house I liked most out of everything I'd looked at in over 4 years looking for a new house. My truck didn't fit in my old garage and now it fits in both garages so if I can get the detatched one mostly dry I'll be set for the next 20-30 years

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[Sparkynutz]

One other word of caution before you begin. Consider the possibility of the garage shifting while lifting. If it decides to move in a direction you do not want it to, unlikely I realize with your cribbing, then you should have a quick way to exit out of the garage. So make sure you can move quickly to exit the structure while lifting. Keep a clear easy path to daylight and a short distance to run.

Good luck tomorrow.

Unlikely I'll have a quick exit. Beams will be in my way. Best bet would be try to get to center of garage. It will definitely be a trial and error learning experience. I'm curious to see how stable and how much sag walls have once I get it up a few inches. I plan on shaking it and doing my best to see how stable it is then let it sit over night an inch or two up so if it does fall it should do it a short distance. If it survives the night or needs more bracing I'll do that accordingly then go for 3ft after. I have 9 plumb bobs I'm hanging a foot from corners and center of each walls that I will be making an x on old concrete so that I can try and get it back exactly where it was originally.
The floor is already marked for inside of my forms and measures 1/4 inch out of square. Hopefully it goes down straight. I'm most worried about trying to get it shifted without falling if it isn't straight.

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[AZ Pete]

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[ADSR]

I lifted houses for many years, I would not be using concrete blocks. Go talk to your local house moving company and ask to rent their 6x8 blocks for the lift.

 

[Dirtydan69]

As others have said concrete blocks are not good cribbing. 4x4 or 6x6. Anything but concrete block. I used to set mobile homes, doubles, and we used block for the final support but wood for lifting. Ask any house mover and they will tell. But hey it's your life.

 

[Sparkynutz]

I got two quotes on lifting the garage. One was on crack with insane price and wanted to cut holes through my siding to put 3 steel beams through. The next wanted to use a giant crane and cut a hole in front and back to insert a steel beam into ridge of trusses then cut the roof open for cables and lift from the center and place garage to side onto cement bin blocks.
I have enough work to do and refuse to add siding and roofing to that list. The crane guy wanted $800 just to rent the bin blocks. The other place refused saying if I want anything from them I need to accept the whole job. The city dump is a block from my house and refused to let me use their bin blocks for liability reasons.
I should have enough wood to do 4 wood cribs and concrete blocks to do 8 more cribs as safely precaution if beams fail.
I understand the point loading issue and wonder if sheets of 1/2" plywood between each course of block would be enough cushion to load the blocks more evenly.

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[awdblazer]

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[rburke65]

Just be careful. Stop...get a coffee or ? And take a break.....think....then continue.

 

[jhelrey]

Where in WI?

 

[kbs2244]

Get some old bed frames cut into 2 foot long pieces to spread the very local load at the top of the jacks.
Think of them as big washers between the jack an the wood.
Otherwise you will crush the wood.

I would also stand out in your driveway during a heavy rain.
(Maybe before you start his project.)
It will show you where the water is coming from.

I think that with some good gutter/downspout/swathing work that a lot of your problem can be fixed.

 

[Sparkynutz]

Had a pretty good day. All beams mounted except back wall which was warped. I'm going to call and complain to see if thry bring me a new one. One word of advice. Make sure to mount boards on correct set of lines. I had one beam mounted to every single stud then realized it was 2 inches lower on one end. That's what happens when I have too many marker lines on the walls pre-planning. I got pissed off, threw my tape measure as hard as I could and lucky me it bounced back and messed up my damn right hand trigger finger. Screwing lags in was a pain after that with a black and blue swelled up finger. No time for that ****. Hope it gets better. I have a garage to lift. I fixed the lags. Hopefully the new holes don't rip out to old holes and strip. I want to put another anchor or two in each stud but unsure what to use. So far I have 2x 4" spax 1/4" lags per stud. I'd like to use nails but hesitant it's gonna be a pain in the **** come time to take the beams off the walls. I did a mini test lift on one corner in the middle of man door and garage came right up about 1/2" off cement no problem. I wonder how much the middle is going to sag after I get the whole thing up.
I bought a truck load of big barn beams off a guy for $20 and can get more of needed. They are kinda big and overkill tho. We'll see what works best after I start lifting and go from there.
I have nice metal brackets made to spread load and avoid crushing beams if you look close at pics. I also have a bunch of angle irons with holes to put on all cross bracing and 3ft steel 3/16" wall u channels that will wrap under lifting beam where it contacts the cribbing and jacks with a short 2 inch tube welded on to keep jack from sliding off side of beam if it happens to twist. I doubt it will tho after bracing is complete.

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