aptruncata Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 i have a wooden carport 17 feet wide, 20 feet deep, supported by 6- 4x4 lumber, one side being 7ft tall the other side 8 1/2ft tall on a concrete slab. i want to raise the entire structure by about 2 feet for my toy and don't know how i would go about it. i can purchase longer posts and replace them but don't know how i can hold the structure up in the meantime. any ideas? i've attached a pic of similar one to give you an idea what it looks like. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Can you jack it up and build a kneewall on the sides out of concrete blocks? I have helped jack up several buildings in the past and the only eal trick is to brace the heck out of everything before you start lifting. I even helped replace all 4 walls on a garage (one at a time) to get around city restrictions on new structures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ25ecodZbwo5o/Ntk-Extended/Ntt-house%2Bjacks/h_d2/Navigation?sortByAjax=P_IS_NEW%7C1 or http://www.hi-lift.com/ bet you could rent them some where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 It might be easier in the long run, and certainly safer, to remove the roofing panels, decking and rafters, build up from there on the existing girders, then replace the rafters and reroof. Depending on what kind of decking and roofing is up there, you may or may not be able to reuse those materials, but I would think the rafters could be reused if properly removed. Weigh that effort and those costs against the costs and energy required to jack the whole thing up two feet in the air. Think also of what would happen if the thing comes crashing down while you are trying to replace those posts. Scary. Safety first. Don't get hurt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 unbolt from concrete footings; get two feet of footing cardboard tube; pour concrete into raised footing tube molds, lift tructure into place with army of beered up friend and rebolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skydancer2992 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Use hydraulic jacks to raise the short side (7' side) up by two feet. Your former high side will now be the short side. Use hurricane ties, such as Simpson Strong Ties to keep rafters in place during the transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptruncata Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 hmm these are ideas i've already considered but the problem came down to being able to tie the structure down to something that can hold it from tipping and unless i raise each sides by 6 inches each....the pitch will be too great for any kind of stability while i work on replacing the posts. It made complete sense and appeared feasible at first thought, but the weight of the structure and the lack of places to tie things down is issue that i can't avoid. option1; dismantle the current structure and build from ground up with longer posts; most sure and safest way but the amount of wood required will easily end up costing me $2,000 from my estimates including brackets, paint and roofing material, not to mention a decent framing nailer and compressor. Then i would also have to discard all that wood or use it to fire my outdoor chiminea for the next 5 years. option2; i got a quote from local handy man (unlicensed) who's willing to raise it for $800 with new posts. i don't know about this option as he is not only not licensed and not bonded but if he falls or his workers are crushed under the structure leading to injury or death....they whole thing is on me. option 3: dismantle the whole thing and park the toy on the slab for now and build a structure over it slowly. I've been thinking about it for a while but it struck me when i got a ticket for my toy on block and it was $68.00 dollars. thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 how much can it possibly weigh>?1.) 4 jacks, bunch of cinderblocks and a pry bar and some buds, cast footings right next to the temporay ones then slide over when set or 2.) rent a small crane come through roof with strap in center raise it up set footings then loweror extend the posts by sandwiching each post between two additional and a cut riser in the center and lag bolt them together; which would accentuate the look a bit but you could reuse existing footings that way New Bitmap Image.bmp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 . option2; i got a quote from local handy man (unlicensed) who's willing to raise it for $800 with new posts. i don't know about this option as he is not only not licensed and not bonded but if he falls or his workers are crushed under the structure leading to injury or death....they whole thing is on me. I'm not sure what being licensed or not has to do with any of it. I've met some useless baboons with licenses and some very skilled people without. I've jacked up entire houses to add a course or two of blocks or to dig a cellar. That car-port looks like a fairly easy job to me. Four to six bottle jacks, or railroad jacks with lift it up easily and hold it. I'd stick some cables and turnbuckles from four directoins in case it gets windy while on the jacks. Then do what Totem suggested. Stick in some carboard form-tube, pour some concrete and you're all set. I'd stick some re-rod in them for strength. In today's world, the guy's $800 quote sounds reasonable as long as he has proof of insurance. Sounds like he's working for $75 per hour or something close. 1/2 the price of a bad lawyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 i have a wooden carport 17 feet wide, 20 feet deep, supported by 6- 4x4 lumber, one side being 7ft tall the other side 8 1/2ft tall on a concrete slab. i want to raise the entire structure by about 2 feet for my toy and don't know how i would go about it. i can purchase longer posts and replace them but don't know how i can hold the structure up in the meantime. any ideas? i've attached a pic of similar one to give you an idea what it looks like. thanks.carport.jpgcarport.jpg Build the 2 foot high wall on top of the beams up by the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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