House lift

jmen24 · 01-25-2010, 02:43 PM

Phantom,
Yes if you do not want to lose the storage than a rat slab is the way to go, just make sure that the vapor barrier still gets sealed to the outer foundation walls or you will get water seeping at the cold joint between the two.
Not realizing that the issue has changed (new house above), I would do first what the others stated, and put in perimeter drain, but much deeper than just below the surface. We install our perimeter drains at the level of the top of the footing, any excavation contractor will be able to help you with this. Make sure that they use filter fabric between any stone and dirt contact, basically above and below, to keep the sand from filtering into the drain pipe.
Good luck with your repair.

Tummyman, I know of two different people that have performed this task themselves or hired help. The guy that did it himself, said after that he was glad he did it, but would not do it again, lots of Ben Gay. The guy that hired someone, started out this way. He hired the labor union to supply workers, but out of work college kids work just as well. He actually performed the task himself first, he timed himself for 1 hour to see how many five gallon buckets he could fill and remove from the space. Then he used that to determine the performance of the workers hired, you will know after the first day whether you are getting a deal or not. Both of these spaces did not have a lot of height, so the buckets were needed until the space was large enough to turn a wheelbarrow around, then he repeated the process with the wheelbarrow to get a gauge on work output. Not a fun project, but it can be done.

SIKSUKR · 01-26-2010, 02:01 PM

I spent many a summer day helping my father dig out our crawl space in out camp to make it a full height ground floor. Not fun work but the labor was cheap.

Happy Gourmand · 01-28-2010, 09:23 AM

After a lot of consideration and advice....some really good from this site, I have decided to go with a rat slab. There is no standing water in the space, just too much moisture coming up from the ground especially at the lower end which probably will require some fill to make it more level. I'm confident that a layer of poly covered with even just 2 to 3 inches of concrete will be adequate and suitable. So now to the nitty gritty....does anybody have a recommendation for who could do the job? There will be some leveling and some fill required...and it will probably have to be stepped as one end is higher than the other (or lower depending on how you look at it). Has anybody had this done? Anybody have an idea as to how much money this will or should cost? The space is 24x34' ...I can walk in a crouched position on one end, and crawl on hands and knees on the other. There is no "belly crawl" required anywhere. Any more help or advice is appreciated.

01-26-2010, 02:01 PM	#2
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	I spent many a summer day helping my father dig out our crawl space in out camp to make it a full height ground floor. Not fun work but the labor was cheap. __________________ SIKSUKR

01-28-2010, 09:23 AM	#3
Happy Gourmand Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ruskin FL Posts: 1,027 Thanks: 188 Thanked 322 Times in 179 Posts	rat slab... After a lot of consideration and advice....some really good from this site, I have decided to go with a rat slab. There is no standing water in the space, just too much moisture coming up from the ground especially at the lower end which probably will require some fill to make it more level. I'm confident that a layer of poly covered with even just 2 to 3 inches of concrete will be adequate and suitable. So now to the nitty gritty....does anybody have a recommendation for who could do the job? There will be some leveling and some fill required...and it will probably have to be stepped as one end is higher than the other (or lower depending on how you look at it). Has anybody had this done? Anybody have an idea as to how much money this will or should cost? The space is 24x34' ...I can walk in a crouched position on one end, and crawl on hands and knees on the other. There is no "belly crawl" required anywhere. Any more help or advice is appreciated.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

01-25-2010, 02:43 PM	#1
jmen24 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1,139 Thanks: 223 Thanked 319 Times in 181 Posts	Phantom, Yes if you do not want to lose the storage than a rat slab is the way to go, just make sure that the vapor barrier still gets sealed to the outer foundation walls or you will get water seeping at the cold joint between the two. Not realizing that the issue has changed (new house above), I would do first what the others stated, and put in perimeter drain, but much deeper than just below the surface. We install our perimeter drains at the level of the top of the footing, any excavation contractor will be able to help you with this. Make sure that they use filter fabric between any stone and dirt contact, basically above and below, to keep the sand from filtering into the drain pipe. Good luck with your repair. Tummyman, I know of two different people that have performed this task themselves or hired help. The guy that did it himself, said after that he was glad he did it, but would not do it again, lots of Ben Gay. The guy that hired someone, started out this way. He hired the labor union to supply workers, but out of work college kids work just as well. He actually performed the task himself first, he timed himself for 1 hour to see how many five gallon buckets he could fill and remove from the space. Then he used that to determine the performance of the workers hired, you will know after the first day whether you are getting a deal or not. Both of these spaces did not have a lot of height, so the buckets were needed until the space was large enough to turn a wheelbarrow around, then he repeated the process with the wheelbarrow to get a gauge on work output. Not a fun project, but it can be done.