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Started By
Message
Anybody here ever level their own house?
Posted on 8/14/21 at 11:52 pm
Posted on 8/14/21 at 11:52 pm
I have a foundation. My house is about 70 years old. I can set a marble on the floor and it will roll to the back of the house.
I think all I need to do is dig holes about ten feet apart, put a plate or something in there to widen the surface area,and Jack it up with a bottle Jack till it’s level. Fill holes, Jack and all, with concrete. I’d considered digging a trench between holes and sliding a W beam in there. That may do nothing. I don’t know.
I have no idea what I’m doing. I know I got an estimate a year ago and it was 5k. That seems like a lot for some holes and concrete. The whole neighborhood is built on clay but I don’t think it’s that deep. The house leveler guy said he would dig through it. He may be a better digger than me.
I have a similar issue in the garage. May practice there.
If anybody has done this I’d be interested. Brief YouTube search shows mostly pier and beam projects.
I think all I need to do is dig holes about ten feet apart, put a plate or something in there to widen the surface area,and Jack it up with a bottle Jack till it’s level. Fill holes, Jack and all, with concrete. I’d considered digging a trench between holes and sliding a W beam in there. That may do nothing. I don’t know.
I have no idea what I’m doing. I know I got an estimate a year ago and it was 5k. That seems like a lot for some holes and concrete. The whole neighborhood is built on clay but I don’t think it’s that deep. The house leveler guy said he would dig through it. He may be a better digger than me.
I have a similar issue in the garage. May practice there.
If anybody has done this I’d be interested. Brief YouTube search shows mostly pier and beam projects.
17
Posted on 8/15/21 at 5:37 am to Slevin7
Sounds like you have it figured out
Posted on 8/15/21 at 6:35 am to Slevin7
Sounds like you are about to turn a $5k repair project into a $40k replacement project if you aren’t careful.
Posted on 8/15/21 at 6:48 am to Slevin7
quote:
I have no idea what I'm doing.
Please just call someone for another quote if you think the 5k was too much. Then you'll have an idea if it actually was too much or not. Do not attempt this yourself
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:03 am to Slevin7
It’s not to bad depending on the size 5k is not a bad price
Posted on 8/15/21 at 8:41 am to Slevin7
My dad used WCK and they were great. Professional and got the job done quickly
Posted on 8/15/21 at 9:54 am to Slevin7
It's a simple process, but it's a simple process you don't want to try, especially since your plan included leaving the jack. The basic method is to dig first, pour a footing, jack to level then support with large pipe, and then cement fill.
We've used WCK as well. Call them!
We've used WCK as well. Call them!
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:16 pm to SERVON225LLT
Same here—WCK dis a great job at our house. The crew worked hard and fast. We paid around $6,000 for 6 piers if I recall correctly.
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:19 pm to Slevin7
(no message)
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:23 pm to Slevin7
What could possibly go wrong?
Be sure to do a video diary, starting with your plan, and materials.
Surgery is too expensive as well. That's why so many people opt to do it themselves after extensive YouTube research. They're successful 60% of the time, every time.
Be sure to do a video diary, starting with your plan, and materials.
Surgery is too expensive as well. That's why so many people opt to do it themselves after extensive YouTube research. They're successful 60% of the time, every time.
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:29 pm to Slevin7
quote:
I have no idea what I’m doing
What could go wrong??
Posted on 8/15/21 at 7:49 pm to Slevin7
quote:
I think all I need to do is dig holes about ten feet apart, put a plate or something in there to widen the surface area,and Jack it up with a bottle Jack till it’s level. Fill holes, Jack and all, with concrete.
I used this method to level my sidewalk, I wouldn’t try it on my house though
Posted on 8/15/21 at 9:21 pm to bee Rye
Get professional help with this or you will be sorry...and end up costing yourself more money..
Posted on 8/15/21 at 9:51 pm to Slevin7
I’m fairly handy and do a lot of projects around the house, both inside and out.
Leveling a foundation is something I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. Call somebody who is an expert at doing that... it is definitely a specialized craft.
Leveling a foundation is something I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. Call somebody who is an expert at doing that... it is definitely a specialized craft.
Posted on 8/15/21 at 10:15 pm to Slevin7
Curious as to the implications of not leveling a house and leaving it as is?
Posted on 8/16/21 at 8:45 am to Slevin7
5K seems awful cheap.
Did you get that quote from Craigslist?
Did you get that quote from Craigslist?
Posted on 8/16/21 at 8:52 am to meeple
quote:
Curious as to the implications of not leveling a house and leaving it as is?
Well for starters, every time you drop a marble it rolls to the back of the house
Posted on 8/16/21 at 9:12 am to Slevin7
My 3600 sqft house (on a slab) was built in 1961 and on crappy soil. They planted 18 live oaks all within 60 feet of the house so that is adding to the crappyness of said soil. In 2005 a foundation company came in and dug 45 holes to an average of 12 feet deep, put in 12" sonotube filled them with concrete and let it cure for 2 weeks. Then they leveled each of those using laser levels. In the years since, we've added 4 more piles and adjusted for level 4 times. The initial cost was $48k, I've spent an additional $12k since.
All this to say, $5k sounds super cheap.
All this to say, $5k sounds super cheap.
Posted on 8/16/21 at 9:26 am to Slevin7
It can be done by the DIY type but it's best to have several jacks on hand, especially if a large area needs to be leveled.
It would also help if you had some sort of leveling gauge be it the plugged clear tubing with water in it or even better, a laser level set up under the house to get your starting point of the highest spot and go from there.
My brother-in-law and I did it for a friend over in Robert about 10 years ago and it took a couple days since the house was over 5 inches out across almost the entire backside of it.
Of course, with the house being that far out of level, sheetrock cracked, door and window frames were compromised and some doors had to be replaced because as the house sunk, the guy kept trimming doors to fit the jambs and looked like trapezoids.
It would also help if you had some sort of leveling gauge be it the plugged clear tubing with water in it or even better, a laser level set up under the house to get your starting point of the highest spot and go from there.
My brother-in-law and I did it for a friend over in Robert about 10 years ago and it took a couple days since the house was over 5 inches out across almost the entire backside of it.
Of course, with the house being that far out of level, sheetrock cracked, door and window frames were compromised and some doors had to be replaced because as the house sunk, the guy kept trimming doors to fit the jambs and looked like trapezoids.
Posted on 8/16/21 at 11:03 am to Slevin7
5k is cheap as frick.
if you want to go another route, looking at using lifting foam and having a company drill and inject.
gonna cost more than 5k though.
if you want to go another route, looking at using lifting foam and having a company drill and inject.
gonna cost more than 5k though.
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