# Leveling my house



## CitySlickerDad (Jun 10, 2011)

Hi all , I just moved into a house that's stick built up on block piers. On one end looks like they added on but didn't put enough pier blocks the space between piers is like 12'. and it sags in between. My question is How do I jack it up and put in the blocks, or do I put jacks in three or four spots and jack up all at ounce? any advise would help .


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## homstdr74 (Jul 4, 2011)

Hopefully your soil is such that you can dig down some to put in some gravel or at least a flat block or stone before you put in your blocks. Nothing should be on top of the ground unless you are on permafrost or bedrock. 

But as for placement, seems to me that, since you said the run is 12', put a jack about 4' from one side of the run, and another about 4' from the other side, level the floor, then place your blocks in the middle of the two jacks. At least that's what I'd do.


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## CitySlickerDad (Jun 10, 2011)

Yeah thats what I was thinking, but wasnt sure thanks


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

I'd put a girder under the floor and place screw jacks under it on top of blocks (porperly set like H74 pointed out). Then you can raise and level the floor all at once. Just leave it all in place incase you ever need to do it again.

WWW


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## CitySlickerDad (Jun 10, 2011)

wy_white_wolf said:


> I'd put a girder
> 
> What is a girder? A beam?


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

CitySlickerDad said:


> wy_white_wolf said:
> 
> 
> > I'd put a girder
> ...


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## Hank006 (Sep 21, 2011)

Be sure to use wood and not concrete blocks to support your jacks when you jack the beam to level. Wood will not break all at once if the load is too great for them, it will give you plenty of warning if the load is too great for them, a little cracking and deflection may happen but you can tell if it becoming too great and then back off on the jacking. Unlike using concrete blocking that may crack and break apart all at once if the wieght is too much or unbalanced, not a great situation. Bottle jacks are great for this if you have em or can borrow em then put a permanent pier, blocking, or sonotube in between them where you need it....


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## CitySlickerDad (Jun 10, 2011)

thanks guys I appreciate all the responses I am sure I will have more questions for other stuff . New home in country Loving it, got out of the dammm city. Thanks again.


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## mitchell3006 (Apr 1, 2010)

Our first house had to be leveled and the pillars fixed. The house was set on concrete blocks, unfortunately straight on the ground. :hair I used 4 10k hydraulic jacks and 2 6x6x12' to pick it up and level it. I set pads under the blocks and put a 2x8 around the perimeter for the blocks to contact. This spread the load around like it needed and 20+ years later it is still right. I picked the entire house up 1 block so I would have room to plumb and work. BE PATIENT! 
We sold the house a few years ago and now we are on a slab. At times I miss the simplicity of a raised foundation for being able to change stuff. With a slab you are stuck unless you want to use a jack hammer. NO!

Mark


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## gobug (Dec 10, 2003)

just a thought
get an engineer to inspect your house
maybe a "mudjacker" in your area could assist (if the engineer concurs)

I used a mudjacker to repair a prior home of mine. Although I did not have the whole house jacked up and leveled, it is one of the services they offered. The price was reasonable, the job was done quickly, and it solved my foundation support issues.

In my problem, I had a ranch house surrounded by cement. The cement included walkways, driveway, and two medium sized patios with roofs attached to the house. They sloped toward the house and were the cause of the house settling and the cracks in a basement wall and drywall walls on the ground level.

They drilled holes around the base of the house, then used a cement pump. It took the crew about 5 hours to complete the job.

Good luck
Gary


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## farminghandyman (Mar 4, 2005)

I would most likely get two 20 ton jacks and use them in pairs, and leave a space between them to set the new pier, 

it may be such that one will only want to jack it up 1/4 to 1/2" max in a days time, if there is a deep sag in the beams going from prier to pier, do it to fast and you crack the beam, some times doing this type of thing can take days to UN do what years took to do, 

in some places one will be lifting walls and roofs even depending on the floor lay out,

get your concrete pier set in the soil or pour a slab to set the pier on, ( a little rebar will not hurt you any) and keep the wood off the earth, but by working with two jacks, one will have more control and can work between the jacks and not have to over raise things to insert the shims, on the pier to the beams,

It may be good to use a protector on the jacks top as not to crush or damage the beam when jacking, 

one other thing I use and have found helpful, is to make a wood pad for the jack to set on, I made a few, by taking a 2 x 12
a few feet long, and then putting 3/4" ply wood on each side, (glue and screw it) and then nailing a old V belt cut in half to the ends for a handle, rope would work as well,
the ply wood will keep the 2 x 12 from splitting when the soil is softer, 
one can do the same by welding up some steel tubing if one wants a steel pad, but I have found the wood works in most instances, 

by having the pier in place one can move the jacks to other locations and do a number of areas at once, shimming each pier as you go, and then come back a few days later to raise it more if (like I said the sag is significant), re shimming it as it is raised, and leveled,

have fun,


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## SNRote (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks for this post. The information was helpful. We are having similar problems with my parents' 100 year old farm house. I am trying to locate an Indianapolis foundation repair company to avoid getting myself into a mess I can't complete. Anyone from the area with any suggestions? Have most of you worked with engineers before starting any work?


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