Lotsa questions about the new older home we recently purchased.?

Question

Purchased an older home (1930's era) that was brought in, in 3 pieces and put together like a puzzle over the years. The floors in some areas are slightly slanted where the home was put together. Rock foundation looks decent though we had to have the basement/garage professionally waterproofed due to water seepage. I want the worst part of the floor fixed, which is the kitchen. I have had many suggestions from people from removing the floor and redoing it to buying floor leveler in a can and using that to building a new floor on top of the existing floor, so it would be a step up floor to jacking the floor up. Now jacking the floor up was my first thought but then I was told we can't do it because the walls would crack, but that's not an issue since we are actually redoing the plaster walls with sheetrock anyway. It was an Amish contractor that said he could do the floor by jacking. Any suggestions? The slant is maybe 3-5 inches from one side to the other.

Mary in Camden, MI. USA

Answer 1

I agree, jacking up the floor is probably the best solution, but

I wouldn't swear to the "cheapest" part. Access to where you

will be lifting from is important. If there are already pylons

underneath you'll be O.K. If not, you'll have to add some. You

must have a solid base beneath the floor you're raising in or-

der to place shims under the existing joists. I don't know that

I would trust the rock foundation; unless you have it inspected

and approved. Good luck!

Answer 2

Yeah, let the Amish contractor do the  floor jacking.  It should work ok, through 5" would be quite a slant!  We jacked the floor in our old house over a decade ago, and it is still fine.

Answer 3

Jack it up and do it rite

Answer 4

A few things to think about here.

First, you make a point of noting that you have talked to an Amish contractor.  Do not fall into to trap of thinking that just because the contractor is Amish he is competent and/or reputable.  There are some very good Amish contractors, but there are bad ones as well.  Sometimes the bad ones seem to get by because they are able to flash the "Amish card".  Ask for references, ideally from a similar project, from any contractor you consider.  You will also want to make sure that your contractor is properly insured, especially for this type of project.  Check both workers compensation and liability.

From your description I'm not sure if you are saying this house was built on another location and moved or if you are saying it was added on to over the years (maybe both?).  Either way, you have some of the same problems.  

The slant that you have is probably due to settling of the foundation, structural failure of the joists or carrying beams, or a combination.  In any case, this probably happed within ten years or so after the original part of the house was built.  Both of these conditions are due to construction methods of the time and were accepted as normal settling.  As a result, there was probably not any effort to correct the situation before adding to a house in this condition.

Now comes problem #1 -- the newer parts of the house are likely tied to the older part with some compensation for the settling of the older part.  The result is that as you raise the older parts, the newer parts will raise as well.  This may cause reasonably level floors in the newer parts to become a problem.

Problem #2 is the plaster.  This one is probably already a problem -- it should have cracked considerably years ago as the house settled.  It may have been repaired or maybe you have paneling.  Either way, the walls will have to be fixed.  It sounds like you are planning this anyway -- just be prepared as there will be no turning back.  Ideally you should strip the walls before you start to jack the floors as this will reduce the resistance to the movement, reduce the weight you are lifting, and most important allow you to see the framing to make sure nothing is pulling apart.

#3 is the framing connections.  Everyone talks about plaster cracking, but as I alluded to in #2, the framing connections can pull apart or become loose as you move the stucture, especially if you have 3 - 5" to go.  Going very slow (1/4" every two weeks or so) would help reduce these problems, but it is best to have the walls and ceiling open so you can spot any potential problems.

#4 -- wiring and plumbing.  If you have original wiring in the house, it is most certainly k**b and tube (another problem of its own).  This type of wiring does not tolerate sudden movement of the structure well.  If you have it, it should be replaced anyway, but it is a particular hazard with this type of project.  Plumbing in the walls can be a similar problem -- pipes just don't stretch.  Again, open the walls first to monitor the situation.  Electric and water off, if possible.

You may not have any of these problems, or you may have all.  The most important thing is to make sure that your contractor is ready for any of them and that you have a sufficient budget to deal with them as they come along.

Finally, regardless of the problems I think you will be better of long term to raise the existing floor rather than band aid it.  Do make certain that the cause (foundation or framing) is corrected as well so you don't have to do it all again in a few years.

Answer 5

they can put air bags under house instead of jacking  just another way to go