wall jack mounting pex slab

[Kaizen]

Continuing addressing issues in my planned garage build.....
I will be lifting 30 and 36x12 foot walls most likely alone so I've been thinking of ways.
It looks like a wall jack is the cheapest at 100 bucks each. Thinking I can get away with 2? Looking at ones that use a 2x4. My 6 inch slab will have pex in it so how do I secure the 2x or anything else that i'm going to use to lift the wall?
also if I am using anchor bolts in the slab at the sill whats the best way to lift the wall and get them onto the bolts? someone told me to use a double sill plate and put the pt sill onto them then I could strap the wall I was lifting to that or something along those lines.

 

[matt_i]

The best way is to simply build the walls in 8 or 12 foot sections. Then tilt that up by hand and assemble them vertically.

First, mark the location of the anchor bolts on the treated bottom plate and drill it. Then fit the bottom plate to make sure you like the way it fits, if not, elongate the holes with a round "plane" sort of like a cheese grater or coarse rat tail file/rasp.

Now frame the wall, paying attention to which way is out. Get some helpers (1-2 peeps), set the wall up over the studs, and connect it to the one next to it. You can clamp and nail it, I like to use the GRK-RSS cap head screws which pull everything tightly together.

Building a wall that long in 1 piece is going to have some huge problems. Unless you have 50 friends to come and raise your barn (Id plan for 2 every 8 feet of wall, more if sheathed), even having a forklift would not help. While forklift can certainly lift the weight, the span of this all would pull down into a banana while setting it.

You could theoretically tilt it up and have no anchor bolts pre-installed. Drill and epoxy studs into place. But, this has a cost also. Each J-bolt preset in the wet concrete is between $1 and 2 each. Each epoxied stud is going to run around $10 each by the time the materials are factored in.

In planning the framing you can build a stronger building by having the plywood or osb sheathing span across the 2x gaps. For example, if you build as above, a wall section with a total width of 94-1/2", then a 96" piece of plywood will span that gap. Place an extra king stud in the next wall to start nailing off the next sheet. Or, you can make it so the plywood starts and ends in the center of a stud. I always hated trying to nail two edges into a single 1-1/2" wide space.

 

[914wilhelm]

Just my opinion but one person attempting to lift a 36' long 12' tall wall is a recipe for getting hurt. On my shop the biggest wall we attempted to set with 2 guys were 20' long by 16' tall. I have a pex floor and didn't want to drill holes in my fresh concrete so I drove the walls up with my man-lift. Yeah I know you are not supposed to use them as cranes but it worked slick. I operated the lift and my helper used a bar to get the bottom plate over the j-bolts. Put up 260 linear foot of wall like this.

 

[Throbbin Rods]

When I was a lot younger and stronger, I lifted my 28' x 10' high walls alone. I parked my truck on the slap beyond the wall right on top of a 28' long laminated 4x4. Used 2x4 's of appropriate length for jacks, running from to the next to pull nail, oomph to gain 5 or 6 inches, then new nail. Took a while but I got it done. Wall was not sheathed when I did this.

 

[Kaizen]

Thanks for the input. I agree trying to use brute strength is not going to work. I watched about 20 you tube videos last night and they all had two guys using two or three jacks lifting what looked like 20 plus foot walls x 10 plus. they were real time videos so it definitely looked doable to me. just jack each up 6 inches then go to the next etc etc. the only difference was they had a wood subfloor they were screwing it to and i'll have concrete with pex.
the man lift or something similar was my first thought but its going to be a long term and budget build so I don't want to rent something for an extended time.

 

[cut twice measure once]

Have you poured the slab yet? I have Pex in my floor and I could give you some advise on that. In general, you don't need to cover every square inch to have it work well. You can easily leave areas with no pex if you think you might want to drill into it later for mounting something.

 

[kbs2244]

30 feet is too much to lift at once, even for two guys.
Break it down to two pieces.
At the least, you will need another guy to get them over the tie down bolts.

Do you have PICs showing where your PEX tubes are?
You should be able to screw down your push blocks and miss them.

I would look into renting the jacks if you cannot get help.
There is not that much of a resell market for them.
Most walls are just man lifted by a 2 or 3 man crew.

 

[Kaizen]

Have you poured the slab yet? I have Pex in my floor and I could give you some advise on that. In general, you don't need to cover every square inch to have it work well. You can easily leave areas with no pex if you think you might want to drill into it later for mounting something.

I'm already going to be leaving some area open for a potential lift install in the future. Its not quite 12 feet apart but I think I can stretch it so the big walls can fall in that area and now that i'm thinking about it the side walls if about twelve high would also fall into that. I could attach some lumber to those voids and then attach the wall jacks to those secured to the floor.

now anyone actually say I can use 3 wall jacks to lift a 36 foot wall?
i'm calculating 2x6 and 1/2 zip plywood at about 1500 pounds. each of the jacks handle 1000 pounds. setting them at 1/3 in and the middle would be each lifting about 12 feet with some overlap.

 

[Kaizen]

30 feet is too much to lift at once, even for two guys.
Break it down to two pieces.
At the least, you will need another guy to get them over the tie down bolts.

Do you have PICs showing where your PEX tubes are?
You should be able to screw down your push blocks and miss them.

I would look into renting the jacks if you cannot get help.
There is not that much of a resell market for them.
Most walls are just man lifted by a 2 or 3 man crew.

I'm still in the drawing and figuring phase. I think I can leave space to put in some anchors or something of that sort. guess now what i'm hearing is break it down even if the numbers say I can lift it. won't I just be able to lift till the bolts start contact and then sledge them if needed? sorry I've never use bolts in concrete like this.

 

[kbs2244]

You are right.
It is not just a case of lifting the weight.
It is all about shifting a big clumsy wall back and forth 1/3 an inch for alignment of holes that may need to be re-drilled for a fit.
An extra pair of eyes and hands, or two, makes it a whole lot easier.

And there is big change in the scenery that can be shared as an accomplishment.

With walls that big, I would build them all "flat and stacked," and then plane a wall raising party.
(No beer until they are up and well braced.)

 

[Kaizen]

You are right.
It is not just a case of lifting the weight.
It is all about shifting a big clumsy wall back and forth 1/3 an inch for alignment of holes that may need to be re-drilled for a fit.
An extra pair of eyes and hands, or two, makes it a whole lot easier.

And there is big change in the scenery that can be shared as an accomplishment.

With walls that big, I would build them all "flat and stacked," and then plane a wall raising party.
(No beer until they are up and well braced.)

damn I wish I found this site 20 years ago so I didn't make all the mistakes I've made through my life! sincerely appreciate all of you guys pitching in to make my garage a reality.

 

[bczygan]

Take a look:

 

[matt_i]

Building in 12' wall sections add around 6pcs of extra 2x6 studs (2 per section). Let say around $5 each. Throw in a generous $10 for more nails. Around $40 per long wall or $80 for the complete building to...

a) not have to rent the jacks, using extra wood to assemble them

b) get the wall up with a couple of guys

c) remove and adjust holes if necessary

I would add, if you make a "jig" that helps you to set the J-bolt in the wet concrete from the outside of the formwork, you can avoid having to custom-measure each hole. The spacing, of course has to be measured, but the distance relative to the surface of the wall can be a lot more repeatable.

 

[Kaizen]

Take a look:

[/QUOTE
yup one of the many I saw. those jacks are nice as it keeps you out of a falling wall's way and they have hooks at the top that stop it from going over.

 

[Dirtydan69]

The best part about wall jacks is you're able to not only build your wall but sheath it and wrap it. No ladders and struggling in the dirt. It would be that way I would do it. Although I will admit when I was framing houses in my younger days we had more guys in a crew and we would muscle it up. Sheathed, wrapped and ready. 6-7 guys on a 40' wall.

 

[mygarageone]

I don't understand the why you can't hire a bunch of young teens to help you ? Once the walls are up and secure , your done with them.
It might cost you a couple bucks but so what.

 

[Kaizen]

I don't understand the why you can't hire a bunch of young teens to help you ? Once the walls are up and secure , your done with them.
It might cost you a couple bucks but so what.

I typically work alone for starters and I have only had a few things in my life that I needed help with so I usually go the self sufficient route. the few things I have needed help with I get screwed as everyone is busy or what not. so I try to avoid it. I just tapped out my neighbors a few months ago to move my countertop into the house.
My official plan is to get two jacks and lift 12-15 foot framed and sheathed walls. if it goes badly i'll modify the plan or equipment.