Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Info needed about house leveling systems.
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Perry50
05-13-06, 07:59 AM
I'm working in the New Orleans aea where every thing sinks, even the ground. Down here we use wood pilings about 30' to 35' and pour a slab over them, but the house settles sooner or later. They are using the Cable lock, Stable lock and just the plain old pump jack systems here but I need some info on how to Jack up houses on slabs. Even classes or something. Any info would help and a uniform hydrolic pump elevating system is really a must.
maxslomoff
05-21-06, 03:01 AM
i'm working on a house right now in california and it only cost 6k to get the 2 story house raised and leveled. it was about 2-3 feet off level!
first the team laid out 6 positions for pilings, two rows of three down the length of the house. at each position, a hole was dug below the new foundation line. pilings were built in each hole. each row was topped with a long Ibeam, foot thick that sat on all the pilings and they cut holes in the front and back to slid the ibeams under.
6 hydraulic lifts were placed on the pilings. 3-4 liftings and the house was raised and leveled. each time they'd build up the railroad tie pilings to meet the new height.
it must cost a lot less in new orleans. do hire the guy with the jacks. maybe, you could hire out the labor. you could also try it with a bunch of 20 ton screw jacks, but it would take so much longer.
first the team laid out 6 positions for pilings, two rows of three down the length of the house. at each position, a hole was dug below the new foundation line. pilings were built in each hole. each row was topped with a long Ibeam, foot thick that sat on all the pilings and they cut holes in the front and back to slid the ibeams under.
6 hydraulic lifts were placed on the pilings. 3-4 liftings and the house was raised and leveled. each time they'd build up the railroad tie pilings to meet the new height.
it must cost a lot less in new orleans. do hire the guy with the jacks. maybe, you could hire out the labor. you could also try it with a bunch of 20 ton screw jacks, but it would take so much longer.
maxslomoff
05-21-06, 03:07 AM
i'm working on a house right now in california and it only cost 6k to get the 2 story house raised and leveled. it was about 2-3 feet off level!
first the team laid out 6 positions for pilings, two rows of three down the length of the house. at each position, a hole was dug below the new foundation line. pilings were built in each hole. each row was topped with a long Ibeam, foot thick that sat on all the pilings and they cut holes in the front and back to slid the ibeams under.
6 hydraulic lifts were placed on the pilings. 3-4 liftings and the house was raised and leveled. each time they'd build up the railroad tie pilings to meet the new height.
it must cost a lot less in new orleans. do hire the guy with the jacks. maybe, you could hire out the labor. you could also try it with a bunch of 20 ton screw jacks, but it would take so much longer.
first the team laid out 6 positions for pilings, two rows of three down the length of the house. at each position, a hole was dug below the new foundation line. pilings were built in each hole. each row was topped with a long Ibeam, foot thick that sat on all the pilings and they cut holes in the front and back to slid the ibeams under.
6 hydraulic lifts were placed on the pilings. 3-4 liftings and the house was raised and leveled. each time they'd build up the railroad tie pilings to meet the new height.
it must cost a lot less in new orleans. do hire the guy with the jacks. maybe, you could hire out the labor. you could also try it with a bunch of 20 ton screw jacks, but it would take so much longer.
Concretemasonry
05-22-06, 08:36 AM
Wrong about it being cheaper in new Orleans - totally different problem.
No seismic details, but totally different construction and soil conditions. Only the labor is cheaper.
A slab home on piling is basically built on grade. Eventually, the soil under the house sinks and some of the piling do. I have been in many homes with the usual 6"drop from side to side or front to back with a "crawl-under" cavity created in a year or two.
Even in the higher, more "stable" NO areas like Harvey on the Westbank have the same problems, but to a lesser degree. If you are in Lakeside or Kenner, etc., I would want to be working closely with a good engineer.
There is no easy fix, especially if you want it to last long.
If you are going to jack and level, make sure you have a good knowledge of what the "soil" under you is like. I saw many homes with no flood damage or water nearby with severe settlement even though they were leveled several years earlier. Much was blamed on either the hurricane surge or the separate event, the flooding, but it gets down to with a good plan.
When you live in NO you have to go well beyong the minimum than just the minimum. Codes are a minimum, but often it is prudent to do what is necessary. Everyone found out the old way was not good enough.
How long are the nails in a (flooded - couple of feet) repaired home in NO going to last? Its even worse in Mississippi and Slidell where there was salt water and the wood really never dries out and the salt remains.
If you want it to last or are going to offer a guarantee, don't do all of it yourself and get some outside local outside assistance on more than just the a class and a pump system.
Dick
No seismic details, but totally different construction and soil conditions. Only the labor is cheaper.
A slab home on piling is basically built on grade. Eventually, the soil under the house sinks and some of the piling do. I have been in many homes with the usual 6"drop from side to side or front to back with a "crawl-under" cavity created in a year or two.
Even in the higher, more "stable" NO areas like Harvey on the Westbank have the same problems, but to a lesser degree. If you are in Lakeside or Kenner, etc., I would want to be working closely with a good engineer.
There is no easy fix, especially if you want it to last long.
If you are going to jack and level, make sure you have a good knowledge of what the "soil" under you is like. I saw many homes with no flood damage or water nearby with severe settlement even though they were leveled several years earlier. Much was blamed on either the hurricane surge or the separate event, the flooding, but it gets down to with a good plan.
When you live in NO you have to go well beyong the minimum than just the minimum. Codes are a minimum, but often it is prudent to do what is necessary. Everyone found out the old way was not good enough.
How long are the nails in a (flooded - couple of feet) repaired home in NO going to last? Its even worse in Mississippi and Slidell where there was salt water and the wood really never dries out and the salt remains.
If you want it to last or are going to offer a guarantee, don't do all of it yourself and get some outside local outside assistance on more than just the a class and a pump system.
Dick
Tscarborough
05-22-06, 01:34 PM
When we were doing the Aquarium (in New Orleans), they used composite pilings (60' concrete with a 40' wooden topper. When they stood them up to drive, they sank to midway up the wood piling under their weight alone. They use friction to determine when to stop driving them (180', if I remember right), since they will never hit bedrock (385' below sea-level).
Concretemasonry
05-22-06, 02:22 PM
Its a tough place to build properly and expensive if you want to maintain any sense of quality.
Dick
Dick