Hello all and let me start by saying thanks for letting me join your community. I am contemplating an ambitious project and would like all the input I can get. I own a 2-story colonial on Long Island ,NY built on a concrete slab on grade that I would like to have raised(should be RAZED, but can’t afford that !) and install a full basement. I have a single car garage on the left side of the house that I will knock down and replace it with a three car garage and utility room. First I would like to know if I could lift the house, remove the slab and excavate inside the foundation and pour a new floor? I dont know how deep the footings or foundation walls are but if they are about 4′ deep then I will build up the perimeter walls with block to raise the house 4′-5′ above grade.I would also dig the garage half underground and keep it level with the basement floor and build a living room above that and a bedroom above the living room. Is this possible? My alternate plan is to move the house, demolish the foundation and install an ICF foundation with the same garage and room additions. Does anyone have any idea on the costs for each stage of construction ; excavation, ICF system, floor/deck framing, house lifting, foundation demolition? Are there any concerns or pitfalls I should be aware of regarding this type of project that I am not aware of? By the way the house dimensions are 32wide x 28deep with a 10 x 20 garage. The garage/room addition is 22wide x 45deep. Thank you much in advance for the advice. Ron.
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Replies
I know almost nothing about this, but was thinking that moving the house would make it easier to rip out the old slab, dig the hole, and place the new foundation. But I don't know how much more it would cost.
it'll be cheaper. I did this two years ago. Cost me fifteen grand to move the house off to the side and reset it after the foundation was dug and walls and slab finished. The biggest benefit was in being able to work faster and more safely instead of trying to dig and work in under the existing house.OTOH, somebody like Junkhound could concievable lift the house, dig the hole, pour a foundation and lay up cmus and get the whole thing done for fifteen grand. But it would take awhile. I had a schedule to keep
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I watched crews in FL do this after a big storm... if you tore the house down you could'n rebuild in the same place if at all... but... if you fixed it it had to be to new codes for storm protection...
They lifted the house and slab... now this was on sand... but they knocked a few holes in the walls at floor level slid in some big I-beams... hammer drilled thru the slab and used a toggle type bolt (lots of em) to "hang the house" from the beams... lifted the whole thing out of & off the ground...used 4 computer controlled jacks... while in the air some 10-12ft they poured/placed footings and built/cast posts to set the house back down on... most used the new ground floor space as carports if you closed it in you had to have breakaway walls that the tide could wash thru... the crew i saw was do'n one about every 3 days at about 40k a lift...
p
If you're contemplating doing this (or part of it) yourselves, I can help you with techniques and so forth, but I can't give you any guidance on prices in Long Island.
It is not that complicated to slide a house off to one side while you excavate; assuming you have the 'parking space' for it, of course. It's done with a second set of I-beams which are used like railroad tracks. The house is jacked up first on one set of beams, then another set of cribbing is built up and the 'tracks' laid on them (below the first set of I-beams). Caged rollers are inserted at the four intersections, the house is lowered so the upper beams sit on the rollers, and the house is then pushed gently to where you want to park it. Steering is done with a sledgehammer, by cocking the roller sets right or left as needed to keep them on the tracks.
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When you're done demolishing the slab, doing the excavating, and once the footings are poured, the process is reversed and the house is rolled back into place. Then it's jacked up high enough so the forms can be set underneath it. The forms are spotted by hanging plumb bobs from each corner of the house. This avoids unpleasant surprises such as pouring a foundation that's not exactly the same size and shape as the actual house (which is surprisingly easy to do)....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
There are a few old threads here that discuss part of what you want to do. The only difference is you have a slab to demo and remove. Use the advanced search to find them. One of them is 37632.1, even though many questioned how safe his method was.
I've seen it done in my area once. It was a 2 story that had only a crawl space. They put a new foundation and full basement in and I was told it cost $40K to do. Long Island might be more.
If you want to raise it instead of moving it like Dinosaur's pics showed, this will give you an idea of what to expect
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Ron - Welcome. Now, fill out your profile.
I'm on Long Island too - south shore in Suffolk county. Where exactly are you? You will need permits for this and depending on the municipality, you might even have to upgrade certain parts of the house to current code.
The good news is that this is done with some frequency. The other guys laid out the method(s). If you check into professional companies, they have the experience, supplies and INSURANCE; there's one in Islip who I worked with a few months ago on a job that got squashed. He was about the most cooperative fellow around. The other companies may or may not return calls. I talked to Dawn about one three years ago, but heard mixed things about them since.
Prices really vary. First one was 10K to move a 2 bedroom about 3/4 mile and put it on a foundation. The one last year was 80K to pick up a big brand new 2 story Victorian and slide it over on the lot for a new foundation, then put it back.
Don
Hey Don. I live on the north shore in Miller Place. I too have heard of a few companies that do house moves and one of them was Dawn. I haven't spoken to anyone yet regarding price or methods but I was told by someone that Dawn was one of the most experienced.If I'm not mistaken ,I think they were the ones who moved the Montauk Lighthouse twice that I saw in an old documentary. Recently I saw that they moved a one room school house to Coram and they were rewarded the contract to lift and install a new foundation to the historic Brookhaven Meeting house.It is being done exactly how you guys have described. If you have the name of someone you can recommend I would appreciate it or if you wouldnt mind I can email you my number and we can talk. Thanks again to all for the great advice.
Send me an e-mail anytime you want. The mover in Islip is Emmett Drake 277-3841. Like I said, nice fellow.
Don
I haven't used these folks, but have noticed them mentioned on a few TV programs:
http://www.experthousemovers.com/
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jt8
"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing." --Harriet Braiker
Edited 9/20/2005 10:05 am ET by JohnT8
Lots of good replies regarding 'how' but I have to ask 'why'? What problem are you trying to solve? Basement space isn't all that desireable, and you'll be paying a premium to add it now (vs when the house was originally built). Do you have land area to build a bigger garage to get the same space?
Hello BillW. I guess the main reason I want to do this type of project is the added space without the increase in real estate taxes.My lot is 100x225.My house is a modest 7 room 2 story colonial,3 bedroom,1.5 bath,1 car garage.I am paying over $9,000 in taxes for this smallish house and every year it goes up a few hundred bucks.Any little job to increase its square footage,marketable value or improve its appearance in any way and the taxman commeth.But I won't get hit if I add below grade.Besides,the wife needs more living space,I need more storage space,the kids need more destructive space.Doing the addition will alleviate most problems and adding the basement will only help.And with the advances in construction and drainage concerns for foundations, I think the finished basement space will be comfortable and not have any of the moisture problems of old basements. And I know it would have been logical to put in the basement when new but this house is 20+ years old so I didnt have much say in the matter.
Edited 9/3/2005 4:53 pm ET by rlna1993
I f U think U can add more sq ft underground withoutr incurrijng added real estate taxees, you are liviungf in a very unique locality
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
If he could do the whole job without anybody noticing anything...? ;o)
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
With some men, a home is his castlewith others, it is a fantasy
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Well, I just received a reply from the building department after 4.5 weeks of leaving messages. (Are they all this slow?) I spoke with the local assessor and she informed me that my taxes would increase by less than $100 for the full basement addition. This to me is a negligible amount in relation to what the tax rate would be for the same amount of square footage added above grade. As for the 990 sq./ft garage addition, the taxes are $700 and for each of the two floors of living space above it are $2400. So even with all the work that is involved, I think adding the basement will provide more bang for the buck. BTW, if I'm gonna dream, I'm gonna dream BIG! Thanks and take care.
The first const. site I ever steped foot on had a huge two story house jacked up 4' off the slab. We built 3'6" walls under every wall and they came to lower the house back down. The guy wanted taller ceilings.
I was completly hooked on construction at that point in '78.
Jack
house move with new foundation, no less than $60,000
you'll have issues with electric and plumbing, and maybe HVAC
as far as the garage addition, where you are is at least $100 per sf, probably more.
have you gone to your township and asked them, point blank, "will my taxes stay the same if I install a basement in my existing home which will add over 800 sf of space ?"
if you haven't done this, it is the only way to find out whether your taxes will increase.
carpenter in transition
Edited 9/4/2005 12:01 am ET by timkline