How to Jack up a House

Short of a complete tear-down and rebuild, jacking up a house is the most extreme measure you can take to alter a house. Jacking up a house is the first step before fixing the foundation or moving the house to another location.

Reasons For Jacking up a House

• Foundation repair: Repair or rebuild the foundation wall
• Moving: Relocate or rotate the house
• Repairing: Jacking up part of the house to repair sloping floors
• Floodplain elevation: Lift the house to build or extend the foundation when the house is in a floodplain.

How to Jack up a House

1. Obtain Permits

   Apply for permits to lift the house from your local permitting agency. Permits can run between $1,000 and $5,000.

2. Detach Utilities

   Detach the house from all utilities and mechanicals such as electricity, sewer, water, and gas. Within the house, secure all loose items.

3. Dig Holes

   Holes are created in the foundation for the steel lifting beams. For masonry foundations, concrete blocks or bricks are removed to create holes.
   

4. Insert Lower Beams

   Steel beams are inserted through the holes. The beams run perpendicular to the house's own beams or joists.

5. Add Perpendicular Beams

   The second set of steel beams is inserted perpendicular to and underneath the first set.

6. Insert the Jacks

   Screw jacks are placed under the steel beams. Supports are placed under the screw jacks to prevent them from sinking into soft ground. Because hydraulic jacks lose pressure, screw jacks are used for house jacking.
   

   Tip

   Houses must be lifted along key structural points such as carrying beams and load-bearing walls. Knowing where to place jacks, how many to use, and how to distribute the pressure of each jack is critical to a safe and successful house raising.

7. Raise the Jacks

   The jacks are raised about 1/8- to 1/4-inch. As a general rule, a house—including any portion of a house—should be lifted no more than 1/8 inch per day. If you have to raise the house to a total of 1 inch, it will be done in eight or more increments. This slow pace gives all the interconnected materials a chance to settle into the new position without falling apart.

8. Insert the Cribs

   Cribs, or wooden supports, are placed under the beams. The cribs are built up in perpendicular stacks.
   

9. Raise the Jacks on a Continuing Basis

   The jacks are slowly screwed upward over a period that usually takes three to four months.
   

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10. Repair the House or Foundation

    Make the repairs to the house or its foundation. If a new foundation wall needs to be built, for example, this is built after the house has finally reached its desired height. Proper clearance must be achieved to allow the wall to be built.
    

11. Lower the House

    After the repairs have been made or the foundation has been built, jacking and cribbing are slowly done again, but this time in reverse.
    

    Tip

    Presumably, the house started out square, plumb, and level, and it gradually settled over time so that it's gotten used to the new position. Lowering the house goes nearly as slow as raising the house.

12. Remove the Jacks and Cribbing

    After the jacks are free, they are removed, along with all of the cribbing materials.

13. Attach Utilities and Mechanicals

    Reattach electricity, plumbing, gas and other utilities and mechanicals. The service drop or buried electrical cables are reattached to the home.