Lifting the Garage??

[pimpgauer74]

I live in an older (1920's) house. My garage was likely built in the 50's. It's a 2 car. The foundation is within 2ft of my neighbor's property.

It's 7ft from the floor to the ceiling joists. Obviously this is a bit short to pull a rig into to work on. Has anyone here ever "lifted/popped" their garage up and built a 1 or 2 cinder-block wall to raise it up 12" to 24"'s ?

Were there issues with max height? neighbors?

I can't see the current building dept. in town letting me build a whole new garage so close to the property line. That, and I'm perfectly happy with what I've got...I just need it taller.

[randii]

Dunno about your rules, but here in Kalifonia, that level of change would likely bust you out of the grandfather situation that allows you to have your outbuilding two feet from the property line. It won't hurt to ask, but do so as anonymously as you can.

Most rental yards have the bottle jacks you need to boost a building -- you'll need some beams to bolt to the baseplate and some cribbing blocks (stack of 2x4s would be handy) to slip in and stabilize. Invite your buddies over for a Saturday and you could boost the building in one day from the inside. Lean a few sheets of plywood up against the sides of the shop and park in front of it, I'd bet you could pull it off camoflaged on the sly. Who pays attention to how tall their neighbor's shop is?

Well,*my* neghbors might, but that's a special situation. :rolleyes:

Randii

[PTSchram]

I didn't lift the garage, but I did jack the roof and a coupla walls up when replacing the other walls. And, I've raised the roof of a house to add a second floor. Both of these jobs were done on the sly and I got away with both of them (the house was not on a busy street and the neighbors loved the guy who owned it as he did alot to improve homes in the neighborhood-he was not a slumlord). The garage job was done with vehicle bottle jacks and 4x4s. The house was done with bottle jacks and railroad ties.

In both cases, I think the neighbors were appreciative as it improved the appearance of both.

Max height, etc. are gonna be local. In my town, I cannot exceed the height of the primary structure. In my case, I should be so lucky to go that high-the house has a very steep roof! Just be aware that if you get caught, what you are doing almost certainly qualifies as a major project-you might lose everything, but it's a calculated risk.

[ChiScouter]

Another option depending on what materials you may have access to is using scaffolds with leveling screws. I used scaffolds to support, lift, and level a entire house while replacing much structure. Scaffolding will give you a very stable base and if you use screws on the top and bottom you can easily get a few feet of lift with great stability.

[saf-t scissors]

As far as the grandfathering goes, you might look into what repairs can be done to the existing structure. If your garage has (cough) significant foundation problems and needs repairs, you can pull permits, jack the building up, commence work, and not see an inspector until it's time to have the masonry approved.

In situations like this, it really helps to have a friend that's a contractor that does regular work in your area. He'll be able to tell you what they'll let you do without too much hassle. Generally speaking, you get a lot more leeway to repair an existing structure than you would if you went in wanting to modify or renovate it.

Jacking up the building is the easy part. A bunch of bottle jacks, some cribbing, and maybe a few long 2x4s nailed diagonally to the framing to decrease racking.

[TLCObsession]

I have done it - It is far easier than you think. I am planning on doing it to my boathouse year after next.

Get some 2 x 6 and diagonally brace the walls. Do the same between the front corners up to the header to stabilize the front side. You can do it one wall at a time, but a garage is small enough to just jack it all up at once. Jack up the walls, and install bracing 2ft inside to hold it all up.

I like the idea of investigating what repairs you can make and pulling a permit to do it.

BTW - for my boathouse, I am going to use split face block - much nicer looking, and since you have a potential neighbor issue, it would make it nicer.

Jim

[Jess James]

As far as the grandfathering goes, you might look into what repairs can be done to the existing structure. If your garage has (cough) significant foundation problems and needs repairs, you can pull permits, jack the building up, commence work, and not see an inspector until it's time to have the masonry approved.

In situations like this, it really helps to have a friend that's a contractor that does regular work in your area. He'll be able to tell you what they'll let you do without too much hassle. Generally speaking, you get a lot more leeway to repair an existing structure than you would if you went in wanting to modify or renovate it.

Jacking up the building is the easy part. A bunch of bottle jacks, some cribbing, and maybe a few long 2x4s nailed diagonally to the framing to decrease racking.


This looks like a good strategy.