Posted by adam on January 09, 2008 at 12:12:16:
lol i figured that much 
jacking up a houseā¦ - Posted by adam
Posted by adam on January 09, 2008 at 09:44:05:
he guys, i purchased a home which has some soft joists under the floor. my partner and i are planning on jacking up the house with porta-powers and replacing them one section at a timeā¦any of you have any experience in this? any tips, tricks, or advice is appreciated! thanks
FYI ā¦ - Posted by Rob Ricker
Posted by Rob Ricker on January 11, 2008 at 23:12:57:
Once you jack the house up and replace the boards, donāt be surprised if some of the doors inside the house wonāt open/shut or a few walls or even windows crack. The new boards will set the house back where it should be, but the walls, doorways, etc. have probably settled into where they currently are with the soft wood.
Re: jacking up a houseā¦ - Posted by Richard
Posted by Richard on January 09, 2008 at 20:15:02:
Port-a-powers usually have pretty small pads. You should try to find/rent larger ājugā jacks, and donāt just place the jack on one joist. Use a heavy wood or a steel beam across several joists on either side to lift. Give each jack just a few pumps each time, and work your way around all the jacks. Lifting āinchesā as one poster suggests will pop drywall or plaster and possibly create new cracks unless you slowly lift the whole area. Be cognizant of the location of bearing walls, vs. non-bearing on the floor above. Most of all, WORK SAFE. A crooked lift or a weak timber suddenly giving way will send the jack flying!
Hard, Dirty Workā¦ - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on January 09, 2008 at 17:55:51:
Which you likely already know. The best advice is to take it slowly, jacking up inches at a time. If you get impatient and attempt to move things too quickly, you can do more damage.
Beyond that, you have it; go slow and replace them one at a time, or a section at a time. Make certain that what the new wood will sit on is rock solid and integrity of any footing has not been diminished due to rot or water.
JT
Re: jacking up a houseā¦ - Posted by Joe Kaiser
Posted by Joe Kaiser on January 09, 2008 at 11:42:53:
Itās a lot like car jacking, only much harder to drive away.
Re: jacking up a houseā¦ - Posted by adam
Posted by adam on January 11, 2008 at 11:19:57:
the real problem is that all the wood is really soft. you can poke through it with the claw side of a hammer. using a board and jacking up a few joists at a time wont really work.