Ideas on lifting a garage

Getting ready to retire I bought a small house in Nebraska last year, close to Lake McConaughy so I also bought a used pontoon boat. The house was built in 1920 and I like my little house, the first house I have owned.

It has two garages, one that appears to have been built in 1920's. the other was built in the last 7 years. Two problems with both garages is how deep they are and how high the doors are. The boat is a 2013 Bass Buggy 18 DLX (18'), so over all it is about 22 or 23 feet long on the trailer and about 8.5 to 9 feet tall. The garages are about 19' deep and the doors are right at 7' tall. For now the boat is in storage close to the lake at $150.00 a month.

So the plan after I retire in mid-July it to raise the metal garage 4 feet. Planning on using cement block for 4 rows and then put a solid block on top. Planning to unbolting it from the foundation and bracing it in the corners and across the doors and then lifting it from side to side with hydraulic jacks to build the new base. Figure that will give me about 11' door openings. The boat then can be put in sideways for the winter.

I've never built a block wall but figure it should be straight forward since I'm not building a high wall to support a house or hold back soil like a retaining wall. A friend has offered to help but he also doesn't have any experience. He also will be storing his boat in the garage.

Something else I want to check is moving the divider between the doors to the left in the photo and making the opening 18'. Each door is 7' high by 9' wide and since I will need to buy new doors it is about the same to buy one big door as it is to buy two. And I figure it will be easier getting the boats in through one 18' door. There is a side walk through door and I figure to drop it down and fill the space above. I do have some of the siding left to use.

Any pointers I should know? I know to do a "running bond" on the wall and will tie the side walls in the corners. Will put new anchors in the wall to bolt the building back down. How long should I let the wall set up before lowering the building back down? I plan on leaving the cavities empty on the block except where I put the new anchor bolts. What kind of material should I use for a seal between the steel frame and the block wall? Thinking of putting a flashing under the lower edge of the steel wall and the edge of the block wall to divert water down the side.

Then next comes rewiring both garages and getting rid of the old glass fuses and changing the cloth wrapped wire in the wooden garage.

Not sure how cost effective it would be, but it might be easier to raise the roof.

I say , use block on the bottom of the metal building fill every third or forth cell in the block and add rebar to that cell. The bottom plate on the structure needs to be secured to the block also, you can use a lintel block to accomplish that. Those electric wires above look kind of close or look like they would be once you raise the building, also check that out.

I think your right on the little shed building Mike. pull the roof off and stick it up to the desired height then put the roof back on it. The tin building I think will sit nice on a block knee wall.

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Originally Posted by mgrist

I say , use block on the bottom of the metal building fill every third or forth cell in the block and add rebar to that cell. The top plate on the structure needs to be secured to the block also, you can use a lintel block to accomplish that. Those electric wires above look kind of close or look like they would be once you raise the building, also check that out.

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What I plan on doing is to place long bolts/threaded rods into the blocks, using the same holes in the building to bolt it back down. The electrical wires run from the corner of the house to the wooden garage and are going underground. I parked the pontoon boat on the concrete pad and when I got up on the deck I had to duck to go under the wires. Not a good feeling. In a different site they suggested to use "split face" block for the wall, looks nicer and you can get it in colors.

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Originally Posted by mgrist

I think your right on the little shed building Mike. pull the roof off and stick it up to the desired height then put the roof back on it. The tin building I think will sit nice on a block knee wall.

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The wooden garage is going to wait until next year. I need to get inside and explore more. There is a wall running down the center and I saw what looked like 2x4's running up to the center beam of the roof. I don't think it is supporting it but keeping the wall from moving. I found a place on the alley side that the roof is sagging. Need to get light inside and see the condition of the sheathing.

The long term plan is to remove the divider wall inside and check the concrete floor to see what condition it is in and turn it into a wood shop. If the roof needs replacing along with the sheathing then i plan on going with a steel roof. Neither building is insulated or heated. So if in the future I spend winters there it need to change.

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Originally Posted by mgrist

I think your right on the little shed building Mike. pull the roof off and stick it up to the desired height then put the roof back on it. The tin building I think will sit nice on a block knee wall.

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I don't plan on making the wooden building taller, it's too short for either the boat or truck to fit into.

Split face block are nice. Keep in mind that they are two to three dollars a piece more, and harder to work with. You can always come back and stucco it up, any color you like. As far as laying block keep them level and staggered. I would suggest you get some dowel rods drilled into the pad especially at the doors, all the way around every four block would be better and fill those cells with concrete.
You might want to go up to the Home Depot and see if there are any block layers around, tell them you'll mix and tote and see who you can find cheap.

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Originally Posted by mgrist

Split face block are nice. Keep in mind that they are two to three dollars a piece more, and harder to work with. You can always come back and stucco it up, any color you like. As far as laying block keep them level and staggered. I would suggest you get some dowel rods drilled into the pad especially at the doors, all the way around every four block would be better and fill those cells with concrete.
You might want to go up to the Home Depot and see if there are any block layers around, tell them you'll mix and tote and see who you can find cheap.

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Good ideas, thanks.

mgrist how long should I wait before I set the building back down on the wall? I know it will be several weeks before I want to crank down on the anchor bolts.

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Originally Posted by Blue74

mgrist how long should I wait before I set the building back down on the wall? I know it will be several weeks before I want to crank down on the anchor bolts.

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You really don't have a lot of weight to worry about. You'll be able to tell when it's dry by looking at the filled cells. Give it three or four days just for grins. Hose your block down every day it will cure harder, use "s" grade mortar too. Oops, As for the bolts, you don't need to wait that long. Though I'm not sure what way your going. I'd run a 2 by 8 treated board all the way around the top of the block and use the bolts to lock it down. Then when you set the building down you can just lag it into the 2 by 8. You'll have to make a hole in the metal on the bottom of your building to go over the bolts but I wouldn't worry about trying to lock the building down on to them. By then you can get you a good crank on the bolts. Use some eight inch ell bolts and leave them out enough to go through the board and get a nut and washer on it of course.
Ideally youll want to run wire between the runs of block but it's far from nessacary. The biggest thing is to make sure you have some dowells into the pad and the cell filled. Use those cells for the tie down bolts and you won't have to pour a lintel block, or pour a lintel block and forget the board or.... before you start let me know and I'll send you my phone number. There is OK and there is sufficent and there is make sure it's right in all respects.

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Originally Posted by mgrist

You really don't have a lot of weight to worry about. You'll be able to tell when it's dry by looking at the filled cells. Give it three or four days just for grins. Hose your block down every day it will cure harder, use "s" grade mortar too. Oops, As for the bolts, you don't need to wait that long. Though I'm not sure what way your going. I'd run a 2 by 8 treated board all the way around the top of the block and use the bolts to lock it down. Then when you set the building down you can just lag it into the 2 by 8. You'll have to make a hole in the metal on the bottom of your building to go over the bolts but I wouldn't worry about trying to lock the building down on to them. By then you can get you a good crank on the bolts. Use some eight inch ell bolts and leave them out enough to go through the board and get a nut and washer on it of course.
Ideally youll want to run wire between the runs of block but it's far from nessacary. The biggest thing is to make sure you have some dowells into the pad and the cell filled. Use those cells for the tie down bolts and you won't have to pour a lintel block, or pour a lintel block and forget the board or.... before you start let me know and I'll send you my phone number. There is OK and there is sufficent and there is make sure it's right in all respects.

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WOW! I planed to make four courses of block and then finish it off with a flat/patio type block on top. I planned to drill and put pieces of rod into the pad and up through the block every few feet and fill those holes. I plan on using some kind of rubber strip between the top block and the base of the garage for a seal. Thinking of something like ice seal with the adhesive on one side. Don't want to use wood because of rot or termites between the block. Planning to use the same holes to anchor it down and coupling the new longer threaded rod to the old. Will be using 8x8x16 split face block, it's a little over double the price for plain block but I won't have to do anything once it's built. It will leave a shelf inside the building but figure that's better than trying to get it to fit on a narrow block. Think to help with waterproof I will add a flashing under the edge of the sheet steel wall and then over the outside of the block to keep water from setting on top of the block and leaking in. Just over the top to channel the water away.

I like your idea of having somebody do it but think besides the help from a friends husband I might find a local or two to help with it and make it go faster. It is also storage for their boat and motorcycle. :)