We’ve been making great headway on the jacking progress. And by we, I mean Teague. I love to get my hands dirty and be involved in our house projects, but I’ll be the first to admit – this one is way out of my league.
We’re probably 3/4 of the way there. It’s a slow process with a big learning curve. Each beam needed special attention, and there was much to repair. I’ve kept Teague company by parging the walls while he works, and I did pour one of the footings, but other than that I can’t say I’ve been much of a help. It’s been frustrating – I feel useless because I can’t contribute, and guilty when I’m not down in the basement with him doing something. I’ll be glad when it’s over and we move on to something I can take a more active role in.
I thought those of you planning to jack would be interested to hear about the fallout from all this shifting of house parts. Surprisingly, even though we jacked the beams up fairly quickly, there hasn’t been much damage. Things we’ve noticed so far are:
– two hairline cracks in the plaster around the dining room doorway
– a funky tear in the corner of the dining room – this area has some type of patching paper on it, and the patch tore at the seam when one of the walls came up
– doors that shut differently (some better, some worse)
That’s it! After hearing horror stories about broken windows etc, I was prepared for the worst, but it seems we got lucky. (Knock on wood.) Everything looks and feel more level, and now it’s sturdy enough to last another 100 years.
I’m forever indebted to Teague for all his hard work. Maybe I’ll be make it up to him by mowing the lawn all summer….
Comments, Thoughts, and Feedback
How about some pictures of you mowing:0)LOL We’ve see pictures of Teague sweating away in the basement, now its your turn:0)
I’m glad to hear it is coming along well. I have two interior walls that need to be picked up and have been dreading starting it. I have read everything about doing this but it’s just starting the project that gets in my way.
It doesn’t seem like you’d have much trouble with the windows unless you were to jack up an exterior wall. I don’t know if you’ve done that.
Either way, you guys are an inspiration.
I am living in a house that has has various parts of it underpinned and supported due to subsidence. I have saved many thousands of pounds using relatively simple techniques to solve these problems myself. Builders often make out that these repairs are expensive and difficult – when the case is often the opposite.
We love to hear from you, dear readers.