House Raising Question?

[RustyNav09]

Hey all

I have a question for anyone who knows or is i the house raising and restumping gangs.

The wife and i are in the process of buying a house and have found the house we want but it needs tlc. Which is fine to me as i am a carpenter but dont work on new housing or exterior renos. I base myself on interior renovation and home maintenance.

The house we have found is sitting on stumps at non legal living height of 2.1m ish. We wish to raise it to legal living of 2.4m. The house is hardwood timber frame sitting on brick piers already. Is it as simple as raising and added more bricks to the existing piers and extending all the necessary power, water, etc to suit? Or is it a complete removal and new piers installed?

Also what rough $$$$$ is invloved?

 

[Gonzo]

I think you will.find that you will need to submit plans to council with engineers reports . To do it legally to get a certificate of occupancy. As for the $ it depends greatly what council your under

 

[rastik86]

I'm no expert in any sense. But...

Permits from councils and inspectors are getting more and more expensive. Hence why some people choose to risk renovating and adding verandahs and the like and try to get away with it.

Engineers are rarely cheap and if they are they are it's probably not to best to hire them on that basis.

Plumbing and electrical are fairly competitive trades in domestic area but be wary of the lower prices as you get what you pay for. Being licensed trades though the cheap guys still have to follow standards and regulations as it's our licenses on the line.

Being a chippy and at some point having built or renovated something you know fixed structures move with their foundations. You are adding 300mm to the piers and the house can't be magically lifted in one piece level and square and gently set back down again so you can expect some movement internally which may lead to internal patch ups.

You are looking at buying this house, if I read correctly, is it really worth buying and going through all this or with a little more searching may you find another home you will be equally if not more happier with?

Restumping for better foundation and internal renovations to make the joint more homely are one thing many people consider as part and parcel of buying their existing home. But raising engineering etc. seems like a major undertaking when looking at buying.

Just my opinion, like I said I'm no expert. Take it or leave it.

Best of luck with it all mate and hope you and the mrs end up happy and healthy in the home that's right for you whether it's this one or one undiscovered as yet!

 

[Old.Tony]

We saw a house raised like this, here's how they did it. Remember that the average home weighs something in the order of 40 to 60T, less if it has a tin roof. Construction industry seems to think houses weigh something like a tonne per square metre, but that might include foundations as well - it certainly seems a little high as an estimate IMO.

Anyway, this house had large steel I-beams placed across the underside of the house close to the location of the current piers and jacked into contact, but not allowing the weight of the house to be borne by the steel beams. It then had a couple of really large steel beams placed lengthways under the house and jacks placed under these. They then moved the house to the back of the block (I didn't see how this was done) and then jacked the house up by 2 metres to allow them to build a whole new floor underneath (they've now subdivided the block and built another two-story structure in front so you can no longer see the original house from the street).

It can be done. Engineer was needed for that, but if you're talking 300mm on a house already 2m+ above ground, there's a chance that the change might go unnoticed. Remember there's water, sewer, storm water, electricals and phone to worry about.

Not sure I'd want to do that myself, but if I was in the position that you're in I'd just grab that bull by his horns and get it over with. Doing the staircase here next weekend on my own because I can't afford a carpenter (I'm not a carpenter and sometimes find that hammers have too many moving parts) but I'll be the first bunny to climb the stairs and see how many bones I can break before I subject anyone else to the climb.

Good luck with it!

 

[RustyNav09]

It would all be getting done by a raising and stumping gang. I was just trying to see if it was possible to just lift the house and and more brick layers and extend necessary lines etc or it was more to it. It would be completelyengineered etc.

 

[jjohn]

I'm thinking it'd be put more bricks on. I mean, it's only 3 or 4 more. Same weight.

 

[jonney]

you don,t rasie a home by jacking up and adding more bricks as mentioned, strong winds and house goes over if you get my drift.
not like the old days with the concrete pillers with the home sitting on top , you now go for steel posts that must be both concreted in the ground by 800mm and bolt fixed the the house beams for a secure fixing.
you can hire a lot of AcroProps for the raise of 300mm. must be done evenly unless you want alot more carpentry work afterwards.
don,t bother with the rip off council stuff if your only going up this amount.