Things are a bit up in the air right now

[begreen]

We've raised the house to solve a multitude of problems. The lift went well. They terrorized the house the day before yesterday, and then yesterday, up it went. Estimated weight about 65 tons all sitting on 3 - 40ft. x 12" ibeams. We're 4 feet in the air for the next 3 weeks. Plumbing is now reconnected and we built a bridge to get into the house. Today will be cleanup and assesment. Excavator comes tomorrow. We should be pouring footings by the middle of next week.

The timing was good, both for the weather and confirming the rot I suspected was happening due to the lack of any protective flashing before they put in the patio. We got to the decay just in time. The front sill will need a rebuild, but all in all the house is in good shape. Every 2x10 fir floor joist is one solid piece, 36 ft long! Driving a nail into one is like pounding on iron.

We expect to return to the new foundation in 3 weeks. When it comes down, the house will sit 2 3 ft. higher. Then we get into landscaping to make it all look right again. Insulation, window replacement and overall weather tightning will be happening too.

 

[DonCT]

I half expect to see the legs and feet of the Wicked Witch of the East under there

 

[wg_bent]

That's really wild. Going to put in support for a Tulikivi while yer at it? Good luck with it.

I feel a caption thread comin on here...


For the first picture: "Um... honey, were you playing the stereo above 6 again?"

or

"I hope I don't sneeze again, look what happened the last time"

 

[HarryBack]

glad to see things are "looking up" BeGreen! ;-P

 

[Eric Johnson]

Way cool.

Are you going with a block or poured foundation?

Are they going to tear out the old one or work around it? Is it stone, block or concrete?

Can you give us a ballpark on the anticipated cost--not including the landscaping, etc.?

 

[begreen]

Yes, it's a pretty awesome process to watch, but not too closely. The first day was setup and the second was for inserting the beams and lifting. When they start whipping out the chainsaws and chewing through the 6x6 sill it was a bit unnerving. I posted a side view picture. That's the end of the ibeam in the hole. The actual lift only took a bit more than an hour. For us it's a big deal, but these guys are pros. Here's one of their bigger projects. You might recognize it: http://www.robbinsandco.com/past_jobs_moving.htm

All old foundation is being removed, starting today. Half is only a stem wall and it's old, brittle concrete. The new foundation will be two pours, one for the footings and one for the wall. Ballpark is about $35k for this phase, including repair. The entryway is being rebuilt. Only the roof will be saved. This is where the Jotul was. It was originally an exterior sunporch, made into an interior entry, built right on the patio slab. The new foundation will extend the crawlspace underneath the entry. Once we get on the new foundation, the entry will be rebuilt with new floor, windows, door, insulation and the Jotul will move into the livingroom to a new hearth. We may replace it with a larger stove for longer burn times, not sure yet.

 

[begreen]

That's really wild. Going to put in support for a Tulikivi while yer at it? Good luck with it.

I feel a caption thread comin on here...


For the first picture: "Um... honey, were you playing the stereo above 6 again?"

or

"I hope I don't sneeze again, look what happened the last time"

LOL, we are looking for witch stockings and shoes.

I wish we could go for the Tulilivi, but it will be a regular stove I think that goes in the livingroom.

 

[elkimmeg]

And we have lift off there she goes. I guess you now have a raised ranch. I had a home moved about 4 miles amazing all the jacks lift at once and can be controled

Sounds like you have a superior base frame 36' lenght 2/10 fir, and yes I do know how hard they are to nail

 

[begreen]

Foundation walls poured today. Woohoo! Now we can begin cleaning up this mess and getting back to a normal home.

 

[saichele]

So all the rebuild, new foundation, and lift were 35K? That's not as bad as I thought (tho still substantial).

As I look around our mixture of basement materials and all the places for water/air/mice to penetrate, it becomes something worth thinking about.

So you said you reconnected the mechanicals - are you living in it up in the air?

Steve

 

[begreen]

Yes, we have a "bridge" over the moat below and are living in the house. It jiggles a bit when anyone moves around, but all systems are working except for the heat and downstairs toilet. 30-35k is an estimate for the foundation part. It will probably come in lower, but we'll see. We're doing a lot of other work, window replacement, insulating, rebuilding the entry, residing and the patio has to be rebuiilt so the final tally will be much higher.

 

[begreen]

We're back on terra firma now. Touchdown occured about 1pm last Friday. Today tons of fill dirt (72 cu yds.) we're brought in to establish the new grade for the patio and backfill against the foundation. We've gone from the moat to one step down. Tomorrow we tear off the old entry and rebuild the new. Windows arrived today, they look great. Patio pavers get installed next week. Progress is good.

 

[begreen]

Closing shots for joful.

porch with new steps 9it's 3 ft higher now) and the new windows
lots of fill, new landscaping and patio make it look like it's always been this way.