Hey Matthias, I believe you are going to have to dig up those two supports and go deeper below the frost line in your area to get the right support for that cottage, which will seem extreme , but will be necessary.
I enjoyed watching your video, I also have a cottage and built it on piers of railway ties well into the ground, 4 ft. and nothing moved since I built . I am told that they should last 100 years but who really knows so I have to think about that . I love your location and the collection of family cottage. Nice story of your family history a bit. Thanks from a subscriber.
Looks familiar, we have similar frost heaving problems in Finland... My parents have an old barn that's used for storage nowadays. It was built right after WW2, so the foundation is made from concrete only, no steel reinforcements at all. Additionally, the soil is mostly clay, so the ground lives a lot during wintertime. The heating has been off for about thirty years or so, but only the last ten years have really started ravaging the poor building. Dad used the same technique you did to fix it.
Although this is NOT the proper way to fix the issue, like he said, given ONE DAYS time, this was a good quick fix. Obviously the reason the concrete piers shifted was due to frost heaving the piers. I know in PA, I had to jack my cabin up, dig down a MINIMUM of 4 feet (to get under the frost line of 3 ft), pour a 3ft by 3ft 6" pad, and lay concrete block (or you could re-pour piers). Im sure up in Ontario, your frost line is deeper than 3 ft.
Well your in a region that freezes in winter , so what you did is NOT the way to go about it !. you have to dig below the frost line, 4 to 5 feet deep. put a ''sono ' tube in it and pour concrete ( with rebat). Trying to support a house wiht a 2 x 4 is none sense . you have to to that with all your post.
A skirt would help with winter heave issues, but it would also tend to increase problems with rodents. They don't much like nesting under structures that are built on post foundations.
I'm surprised that you didn't reposition the concrete supports after lifting the cottatge. When the extreme tilt of those two concrete blocks continues until all the weight is on your little bits of wood, you'll have a real shutter problem then!
@Matthiaswandel Actually people who do that, build cottages that have sound foundations. Even a talk with local builders who know the area could have had you heading down the right track. Cutting corners always teaches great lessons. I know as I have cut too many corners myself.
we built our cottage on 11 steel pillars ~ 5m deep (to reach bedrock?). on them welded steal beam frame (like in skyscrapers) on which everything was built. no movement at all. amazing seeing how it is built on a steep slope ~20%
In finland we have same conditions. First we dig a couple of meters, then fill it up with gravel. Then concrete casting the foundations, we put good insulation inside and then above that more gravel, then we cat the floor. Rock solid in every conditions.
I wouldn't have thought one board would be an acceptable substitute for the huge concrete block... maybe a treated 6x6 post or something heavier would have been my first choice. or cement blocks with wood shims? looks like a great spot.
As always,I am impress by your capacity to actualy DO things. its really inspiring. To answer to your question at 4:40 about what other method can resist to frosting, have you ever considered Helical piles?
Same question as person below. When you jacked up the whole place with that jack why didn't you winch that pillar back into its original spot then dig under it to pour more cement? That thin piece of wood slip and your beam will snap at that point.
We have thousands of abandoned house in B.C. Canada too its post construction abandoning mainly here.They never sit for long here before there tore down and a tone more new places are built were the once was only one!
I know very little... But why wouldn't one just fix/straighten the foundation block while on the jack? Maybe it's my OCD kicking in but the sight of that would drive me nuts!
Lift the house, then lift the support then back fill with reinforced concrete. Let it set up for about 2 weeks. Reset the support, shim if necessary. Then lower the house onto the support.
Great job, Matthias. You make it look so easy :D I love your channel btw, you make and fix lots of great stuff and it's very interresting to see what you're up to next :D
there are building codes, where you can look up how deep you have to go with your foundation. And that depends on the weather conditions. Here it is 0,8m. That is what I uses for my garages circular strip foundation. I thougt you would be lifting the cottage and the pull the old foundation back in place, after that pour some concrete behind it to keep it from tilting again.
You're quite correct, the insulated slab/knee-wall foundation would fix his winter heave issues. And you are also correct in that it would cost more in time and effort, not to mention cash, than most people are willing to spend. Being that this is only a three season cabin, I suspect Mr Wandel is looking for a cost effective solution to repair his existing foundation. If he stays with the existing post foundation, he can repair each pillar as the need arises.
Shallow frost protected slab on grade would work, my house has it in PEI and hasn't moved a fraction of an inch. You basically insulate the underside and edges of the slab and put a 24" skirt of 2" XPS foam on a slight angle away from the slab around the perimeter.
this is why we pour footings that extend below the frost line. do not place footings on top of footings above the frost line. The footing sits below that frost line, the ground around the footing rises and falls throughout the seasons. www.familyhandyman.com/decks/building-a-deck/how-to-build-a-solid-frostproof-deck-footing/view-all
The frost line for sub-permafrost areas of Canada is 122 cm (48"). Dig a pier hole down to that depth, then "cone" or bell shape the bottom to roughly 3X the diameter of the pier. Once dug, fill the hole with poured concrete that is reinforced with steel re-bar. That should alleviate your winter heave issues.
For all you DIYers out there. Whether you use a frost-wall or piers, if you don't get under the frost line in your area this is what's going to happen. Matthias its too bad you only had one day to fix that. The family history there is worth saving. Maybe some precast one piece piers/footings to get down to four feet and a Kubota rental would work for you and then shims on top of plastic to finish. As for that center pier, I agree. No fun there. An engineered beam across would be better.
Bloody amazing......I thought some time ago, may be the way to go would be to build a compromise between concrete slab & pilars, ie a cement chassis, or may be add a water sprinkler system to the underside of the cabin & run it a little before the frost sets in to even up the tension.....or just know that nature will win. And regard it as a happy oppertunity to change the building.
I'm busy watching all your videos. I have one question: this is the second time you've mentioned abandon farms/houses in your videos (that I've seen so far.) Are there a lot of the abandoned up that way?
You've just illustrated one of those two-kinds-of people truthisms: One that would shave the shutters even at the bottom, and one who would jack the bloody house up. I'm the latter, for sure, the only difference being that I'd likely never get around to it. Good work, Matthias.
The foundations are dug about 50 cm deep and filled with concrete. Not a good way, it turns out. A cement pad on gravel would have worked better, no doubt.
I love your videos, i also think youre a very smart fellow. But this had to be one of the most un-safe, and dare i say half-assed foundation fix's i have ever seen. Keep up the videos!
presumably the proper fix would be to jack it up, support it temporarily with some stacked wood, drag out the footing, dig a new hole that goes below the frost line, pour a new cement pad and footing as close to the necessary height, let it fully cure and harden, then jack it back up, remove the wood and lower onto the new pad. So probably 6-8 weeks from start to finish?
I'm a contractor in Northern Ontario and I see this every day! Many cabins are built this way here mainly due to cost. The lakes are difficult to access here and putting in proper foundations is not economical for someone who simply wants a rustic shelter to sleep in while on a hunting or fishing trip. Adjusting the beams this way is just what you do at the beginning of the summer, no big deal. Do you mind me asking what lake your cabins are on Matthias?
It's a shame that it is such a common issue since one man could have dug those piers below the frost line within a few days. I don't know if the issue is cost so much as laziness and ignorance.
1960 machinery wasn't very portable, and frost under bare ground is 9 feet in this area (-25 F most of the winter) so the idea that a person would bother displacing ten feet of glacial till and rock to secure a fishing shack is simply over kill. And the lack of snow cover under the cottage would still produce latteral frost forces that would push a piling system out of alignment. The "answer" is insulating the ground to raise the frost line, but this comes with a price tag much higher than shimming the beams every few years.
@Colin Martens Where are you in Northern Ontario? I have a place near Sioux Lookout and I need work like this done. (I also need a new roof and a new dock.)The cabin was built in 1986 on flat concrete slabs (not sure how thick they are). It has sunk approx 5" over time. The whole cabin needs to be jacked up. Approx 36' x 24'. Any suggestions?
This is excellent idea way to level. I would remove this cement block out and renew gravel on ground then put cement block back in with level and then release pump to down. I done it on my old chicken house in years ago. It take about an hour to work on it but yes, hard work.
It's amazing what you can lift with jacks, levers and wedges. To build concrete foundations In the UK, building control would insist that you go really deep and go well below any frost potential, tree roots etc. Also here the foundations need to be below any drying out/drought potential, probably not a problem there. I like your cottage and I look forward to your next video.... How to build a holiday cottage using a home made bandsaw!
@2:13 do you really have to hammer it? One or two more pumps on the jack and the wood would go in without hammering. Also hammering stresses the wood why not lift gently with the jack, place the wood, and then lower the jack gently. Looks like all the woodwork was done and in the end, the cottage was no longer resting on the concrete foundation. It was on a wood post, beam, what-do-you-call-that? Well, good video anyways.
This is kind of like putting a band aid on an appendix that is ready to burst. Wondering why not just complete the job for good? What area is the cottage in?
Call your local building inspector's office and ask them what the frostline is for your area? If you are seeing that much heave on some of those piers, I'm guessing the footer pad they are standing on is not deep enough. That's an insane amount of heave/lean on some of those piers.
wow . . true home owner fix. 4x4 would have worked for a temp to get a new footing poured. you need to be below the frost line with any concrete. then frost doesn't affect it. 24" minim for us in the northwest. and by that i mean the top of the footing needs to be below the 24" line. if you have a gutter to get the water away from the edge of the house this will also help. i appreciate the video good luck with your next projects.
what if u had a concrete slab like 5 feet under ground then had round support beams as the the foundations blocks then cover it back up cuz i think the dirt on top of the slab will protect it but i dont live where u live and im just a simple highschooler
+Matthias Wandel hi, i am looking at a cottage to buy that has this bent piling issue and has got a lot of sag in roof/floor..is this 2x4 method still holding house/cottage level..nice lil place on caroga lake ny(adirondack park new york)and the frost is the same as your dealing with..
+gary singer The wood will last for a very long time if rain or runoff doesn't come in contact with it. If water is an issue treated (wolmanized) lumber is better, and cedar is way better. Unfortunately you will likely have to shim it up to level again over the years as the frost heaves it around.
That pressure treated 2x6 is not strong enough to hold that part of the cottage - you need to dig down below the frost line and pour a footing with rebar in the footing - at least a 2 foot wide footing that is 12" thick. It can be done but it's going to cost you
Sachi WI-I've set much larger houses up here in Maine on 16' diameter pads and used 16' cinder blocks to support it with absolutely no problems of having to come back to fix them ever.
Building a 16x20 cabin in northern vermont with pretty much the same setup. I had a bit of subsidence on one corner this winter but that's easily fixd with a jack and some lumber.
They used to build houses here with leather foundations, so they would more or less float on the peat underground. Otherwise, a foundation of poles might do the trick. Poles probably don't suffer from this frost heaving too much...
Why is the crawlspace left open like that? Wouldn't it keep frost out if it were covered? I assume you have a reason< and i know nothing about this, I'm genuinely curious. :)
There is a way to do a cement slab without it failing., It may be of interest. It involves digging a 3 foot deep hole filling it with rammed/ compacted sand. Dig the footings in the sand along with a couple of piers to stop slippage. lay the footings and stab as a unit. It is going no where. It works in earth quake areas and gives a lot of protection to the slab and house.. Maybe an option for future projects
I would have jury rigged a support on both sides of that support, removed it, filled that with concrete and replaced that block. He did day that pad would crack though, could you use wood, or dirt?
He mentioned in the video he didn't know what other type of foundation would work, that is what I was addressing, what could have been used instead, not how to fix the current foundation. It COULD work as a fix if he wanted to go through the expense and effort of pouring a slab under it and lowering it back down on top of it but I suspect that would be more trouble than the cottage is worth.
I imagine you're going to put a skirt around the bottom of the cottage? It may not keep the floor too warm, but I imagine there would be some improvement.
perhaps a wider based pilon would fix the "runaway" issue. and since a jack capable of lifting the cottage is awailable replacing them*at least the ones that have tilted* such a feat could be easy to accomplish.
bolting the beam to the footing would have prevented this by not allowing it to tip in and away from the beam .frost is huge issue thats why u bolt em together so they move as one unit n dont slide out of place. not bad temp fix with limited supplies . i put bolts in wet cement n bolt to it with a bracket n bolt bracket to beam it works for me in maine n have same frost issues
+bigmikeyc83 Yep, you said it, bolt footings into beams!!! How about insulate under footings, make footings deeper??? More expensive, but would fix that problem!
More likely the bolted footings would pull the beams out of the floor as they moved inwards. It's a lake cottage. Built in the 1960's. On a budget. Before polystyrene foam or Home Depot outlets. Have some perspective... shimming the floor every few years is fit for purpose engineering.
I was a little disappointed when I watched the video, just didn't seem like the normally meticulous Matthias.... I'm in the NE as well, and understand the frost heaving issue well. I think there is more to the story, though I haven't read his website. I believe he/family have like 8 of these cottages, which are used in fair weather. I also gather he only had a limited amount of time, so a quick fix was fine. Obviously there are a number of ways to resolve the issue, almost all of which require money or serious time commitment. And thats just for the one pier of several on the one cottage, or 8. If this were a more recent video, maybe he could have jacked up the cottage, moved the pier with his tractor, re-leveled the pier located and moved the pier back. Probably doable in a day, with some help. Either way, real money or some real work is required for just the one pier. My only nitpick now is that he didn't use a 4x4 or something, although in reality a 2x4 has immense compression load in the vertical. Little disappointed Matthias seemed to let this one drop below his standard for excellence. But, the vid is title jacking up a cottage, not how to fix a foundation issue right?
It's a bit late now, unless you don't mind craning your whole house, over here in the UK we use pile foundations on land with chance of surface movement. These things need a massive drill to bore a deep hole and are hammered even deeper with a giant hammer crane type thing. Expensive stuff and might be limited by the machinery's ability to reach the site where you are though.
I appreciate your video, and I am absolutely amazed at the vehement criticism. I have to agree with the sentiments, these need to be rebuilt, and down 1 foot below the frost line.
![[TH] VCT Masters Shanghai Playoffs - Grand Finals // GEN vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HL-hhLrtctw/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey Matthias, I believe you are going to have to dig up those two supports and go deeper below the frost line in your area to get the right support for that cottage, which will seem extreme , but will be necessary.
It is very satisfying to be lifting up a building, yes!
I enjoyed watching your video, I also have a cottage and built it on piers of railway ties well into the ground, 4 ft. and nothing moved since I built . I am told that they should last 100 years but who really knows so I have to think about that . I love your location and the collection of family cottage. Nice story of your family history a bit. Thanks from a subscriber.
"I need to slightly move a window shutter" - moves half the cottage
I guess that window shutter was the keystone to half of the cottage.
Its not just how cold, it's how cold for how long. And with the wind blowing through underneath the cottage, that makes it worse.
Matthias: Always very educational, practical and entertaining,
Thanks
Looks familiar, we have similar frost heaving problems in Finland... My parents have an old barn that's used for storage nowadays. It was built right after WW2, so the foundation is made from concrete only, no steel reinforcements at all. Additionally, the soil is mostly clay, so the ground lives a lot during wintertime. The heating has been off for about thirty years or so, but only the last ten years have really started ravaging the poor building. Dad used the same technique you did to fix it.
Wow. I want to live there in that cabin. It looks beautiful.
Although this is NOT the proper way to fix the issue, like he said, given ONE DAYS time, this was a good quick fix. Obviously the reason the concrete piers shifted was due to frost heaving the piers. I know in PA, I had to jack my cabin up, dig down a MINIMUM of 4 feet (to get under the frost line of 3 ft), pour a 3ft by 3ft 6" pad, and lay concrete block (or you could re-pour piers). Im sure up in Ontario, your frost line is deeper than 3 ft.
Dig it out, reset it on the ground and set it back on the now level block.
Well your in a region that freezes in winter , so what you did is NOT the way to go about it !. you have to dig below the frost line, 4 to 5 feet deep. put a ''sono ' tube in it and pour concrete ( with rebat). Trying to support a house wiht a 2 x 4 is none sense . you have to to that with all your post.
Wow, what a beautiful place!
Very nice. I enjoy watching this when school is gonna start in a couple of hours and i cant sleep.
A skirt would help with winter heave issues, but it would also tend to increase problems with rodents. They don't much like nesting under structures that are built on post foundations.
I'm surprised that you didn't reposition the concrete supports after lifting the cottatge. When the extreme tilt of those two concrete blocks continues until all the weight is on your little bits of wood, you'll have a real shutter problem then!
What a lovely view you have.
@Matthiaswandel Actually people who do that, build cottages that have sound foundations. Even a talk with local builders who know the area could have had you heading down the right track. Cutting corners always teaches great lessons. I know as I have cut too many corners myself.
Because the center of the pier has shifted too far to do that. Plus, there's no termites in northern Ontario.
we built our cottage on 11 steel pillars ~ 5m deep (to reach bedrock?). on them welded steal beam frame (like in skyscrapers) on which everything was built. no movement at all. amazing seeing how it is built on a steep slope ~20%
In finland we have same conditions. First we dig a couple of meters, then fill it up with gravel. Then concrete casting the foundations, we put good insulation inside and then above that more gravel, then we cat the floor. Rock solid in every conditions.
I wouldn't have thought one board would be an acceptable substitute for the huge concrete block... maybe a treated 6x6 post or something heavier would have been my first choice. or cement blocks with wood shims? looks like a great spot.
As always,I am impress by your capacity to actualy DO things. its really inspiring. To answer to your question at 4:40 about what other method can resist to frosting, have you ever considered Helical piles?
Same question as person below. When you jacked up the whole place with that jack why didn't you winch that pillar back into its original spot then dig under it to pour more cement? That thin piece of wood slip and your beam will snap at that point.
because if I wanted to do that, I wouldn't even have started because there would not have been enough time to do it in that trip.
We have thousands of abandoned house in B.C. Canada too its post construction abandoning mainly here.They never sit for long here before there tore down and a tone more new places are built were the once was only one!
This is true!
Yes, a fair number. The area was much more populated 50 years ago.
nice cottage, great view.
I know very little... But why wouldn't one just fix/straighten the foundation block while on the jack? Maybe it's my OCD kicking in but the sight of that would drive me nuts!
I agree with you, but that block probably weighs about 400 lbs, if not more.
+WhiteKnight Leo drag it out with a truck or something. Not an elegant solution though.
I could not have said it better myself.
Had me wondering that too.
Lift the house, then lift the support then back fill with reinforced concrete. Let it set up for about 2 weeks. Reset the support, shim if necessary. Then lower the house onto the support.
Hey Matthias - could you have used the jack to push the foundation block back to the correct position?
Beautiful area.
Great job, Matthias. You make it look so easy :D I love your channel btw, you make and fix lots of great stuff and it's very interresting to see what you're up to next :D
What a beautiful lake.
@Matthiaswandel is that what you do? Build cottages? I always wondered what you did for a living.
there are building codes, where you can look up how deep you have to go with your foundation. And that depends on the weather conditions. Here it is 0,8m. That is what I uses for my garages circular strip foundation.
I thougt you would be lifting the cottage and the pull the old foundation back in place, after that pour some concrete behind it to keep it from tilting again.
You're quite correct, the insulated slab/knee-wall foundation would fix his winter heave issues. And you are also correct in that it would cost more in time and effort, not to mention cash, than most people are willing to spend. Being that this is only a three season cabin, I suspect Mr Wandel is looking for a cost effective solution to repair his existing foundation. If he stays with the existing post foundation, he can repair each pillar as the need arises.
Shallow frost protected slab on grade would work, my house has it in PEI and hasn't moved a fraction of an inch. You basically insulate the underside and edges of the slab and put a 24" skirt of 2" XPS foam on a slight angle away from the slab around the perimeter.
this is why we pour footings that extend below the frost line. do not place footings on top of footings above the frost line. The footing sits below that frost line, the ground around the footing rises and falls throughout the seasons.
www.familyhandyman.com/decks/building-a-deck/how-to-build-a-solid-frostproof-deck-footing/view-all
Thanks god someone knows somethin eh.
The frost line for sub-permafrost areas of Canada is 122 cm (48"). Dig a pier hole down to that depth, then "cone" or bell shape the bottom to roughly 3X the diameter of the pier. Once dug, fill the hole with poured concrete that is reinforced with steel re-bar. That should alleviate your winter heave issues.
Nice Cottage!
For all you DIYers out there. Whether you use a frost-wall or piers, if you don't get under the frost line in your area this is what's going to happen. Matthias its too bad you only had one day to fix that. The family history there is worth saving. Maybe some precast one piece piers/footings to get down to four feet and a Kubota rental would work for you and then shims on top of plastic to finish. As for that center pier, I agree. No fun there. An engineered beam across would be better.
some places u cant tear down old cabins like this and rebuild due to modern setback laws, so good video
You're lucky that thin little stick didn't shatter when you dropped the house on it
That's quite a beast of a bottle jack.
Bloody amazing......I thought some time ago, may be the way to go would be to build a compromise between concrete slab & pilars, ie a cement chassis, or may be add a water sprinkler system to the underside of the cabin & run it a little before the frost sets in to even up the tension.....or just know that nature will win. And regard it as a happy oppertunity to change the building.
20 ton jack.
The problem is spreading the weight enough so it won't sink into the ground
Nice job though! So theres no way to replace that foundation block while its jacked up??
I'm busy watching all your videos. I have one question: this is the second time you've mentioned abandon farms/houses in your videos (that I've seen so far.) Are there a lot of the abandoned up that way?
That's a trip. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.
Bottle jacks are awesome.
Would insulating the ground under the cottage with straw help with keeping the frost out?
So, ten years later, how well has your fix held up?
You've just illustrated one of those two-kinds-of people truthisms: One that would shave the shutters even at the bottom, and one who would jack the bloody house up. I'm the latter, for sure, the only difference being that I'd likely never get around to it.
Good work, Matthias.
Yes, it's ontario
did you use rebarb from the footings into the concrete piers?
The foundations are dug about 50 cm deep and filled with concrete. Not a good way, it turns out. A cement pad on gravel would have worked better, no doubt.
I love your videos, i also think youre a very smart fellow. But this had to be one of the most un-safe, and dare i say half-assed foundation fix's i have ever seen. Keep up the videos!
presumably the proper fix would be to jack it up, support it temporarily with some stacked wood, drag out the footing, dig a new hole that goes below the frost line, pour a new cement pad and footing as close to the necessary height, let it fully cure and harden, then jack it back up, remove the wood and lower onto the new pad. So probably 6-8 weeks from start to finish?
I'm a contractor in Northern Ontario and I see this every day! Many cabins are built this way here mainly due to cost. The lakes are difficult to access here and putting in proper foundations is not economical for someone who simply wants a rustic shelter to sleep in while on a hunting or fishing trip. Adjusting the beams this way is just what you do at the beginning of the summer, no big deal. Do you mind me asking what lake your cabins are on Matthias?
Colin Martens matt.wandel.ca/amogla/amogla.html
It's a shame that it is such a common issue since one man could have dug those piers below the frost line within a few days. I don't know if the issue is cost so much as laziness and ignorance.
1960 machinery wasn't very portable, and frost under bare ground is 9 feet in this area (-25 F most of the winter) so the idea that a person would bother displacing ten feet of glacial till and rock to secure a fishing shack is simply over kill.
And the lack of snow cover under the cottage would still produce latteral frost forces that would push a piling system out of alignment.
The "answer" is insulating the ground to raise the frost line, but this comes with a price tag much higher than shimming the beams every few years.
Shiller - Yeah sure buddy, his father who built that whole camp, and its furnishings, was lazy and ignorant. You appear the ignorant one.
@Colin Martens Where are you in Northern Ontario? I have a place near Sioux Lookout and I need work like this done. (I also need a new roof and a new dock.)The cabin was built in 1986 on flat concrete slabs (not sure how thick they are). It has sunk approx 5" over time. The whole cabin needs to be jacked up. Approx 36' x 24'. Any suggestions?
How long did it take to jack it up? Did you need to give it time to settle a bit and then go back and jack some more?
This is excellent idea way to level. I would remove this cement block out and renew gravel on ground then put cement block back in with level and then release pump to down. I done it on my old chicken house in years ago. It take about an hour to work on it but yes, hard work.
It's amazing what you can lift with jacks, levers and wedges.
To build concrete foundations In the UK, building control would insist that you go really deep and go well below any frost potential, tree roots etc. Also here the foundations need to be below any drying out/drought potential, probably not a problem there.
I like your cottage and I look forward to your next video.... How to build a holiday cottage using a home made bandsaw!
@2:13 do you really have to hammer it? One or two more pumps on the jack and the wood would go in without hammering. Also hammering stresses the wood why not lift gently with the jack, place the wood, and then lower the jack gently. Looks like all the woodwork was done and in the end, the cottage was no longer resting on the concrete foundation. It was on a wood post, beam, what-do-you-call-that?
Well, good video anyways.
This is kind of like putting a band aid on an appendix that is ready to burst. Wondering why not just complete the job for good? What area is the cottage in?
Call your local building inspector's office and ask them what the frostline is for your area? If you are seeing that much heave on some of those piers, I'm guessing the footer pad they are standing on is not deep enough. That's an insane amount of heave/lean on some of those piers.
wow . . true home owner fix. 4x4 would have worked for a temp to get a new footing poured. you need to be below the frost line with any concrete. then frost doesn't affect it. 24" minim for us in the northwest. and by that i mean the top of the footing needs to be below the 24" line. if you have a gutter to get the water away from the edge of the house this will also help.
i appreciate the video good luck with your next projects.
what if u had a concrete slab like 5 feet under ground then had round support beams as the the foundations blocks then cover it back up cuz i think the dirt on top of the slab will protect it but i dont live where u live and im just a simple highschooler
Years have passed. How has this fix held up?
***** haven't touched it.
+Matthias Wandel hi, i am looking at a cottage to buy that has this bent piling issue and has got a lot of sag in roof/floor..is this 2x4 method still holding house/cottage level..nice lil place on caroga lake ny(adirondack park new york)and the frost is the same as your dealing with..
+gary singer The wood will last for a very long time if rain or runoff doesn't come in contact with it. If water is an issue treated (wolmanized) lumber is better, and cedar is way better. Unfortunately you will likely have to shim it up to level again over the years as the frost heaves it around.
so how cold does it get there in winter -.- ?
(europe) some winters Temp goes as low as -40 C degrees here.
50 ton cottage on a wooden plank, hammers in two nails to keep it in place
''it will hold''
It's the circular saw spinning down
You just have to use proper frost insulation and gravel to stop the earth from moving.
thank you for sharing
Are those dek blocks just sitting on the ground?? Why wouldn't you install those on at least a 2ft wide x 2ft deep bed of crushed gravel?
That pressure treated 2x6 is not strong enough to hold that part of the cottage - you need to dig down below the frost line and pour a footing with rebar in the footing - at least a 2 foot wide footing that is 12" thick. It can be done but it's going to cost you
Sachi WI-I've set much larger houses up here in Maine on 16' diameter pads and used 16' cinder blocks to support it with absolutely no problems of having to come back to fix them ever.
Building a 16x20 cabin in northern vermont with pretty much the same setup. I had a bit of subsidence on one corner this winter but that's easily fixd with a jack and some lumber.
Also, if he put in insulated skirting with an insulated apron/skirt around that it would also probably help a lot.
They used to build houses here with leather foundations, so they would more or less float on the peat underground. Otherwise, a foundation of poles might do the trick. Poles probably don't suffer from this frost heaving too much...
Strange foundation style.
Why is the crawlspace left open like that? Wouldn't it keep frost out if it were covered? I assume you have a reason< and i know nothing about this, I'm genuinely curious. :)
This looks a little makeshift to me. Do you plan on a more permanent fix later or is this good enough for a summer cottage?
i love your life, i want to help out. do you have a job, or are you able to live the way you want and do the things you do all the time!?!?!
I need to lift my big shed a little to slide damp proof sheet under 🙈forgot about the sheet when I built it
pumpin out the vids today i see
There is a way to do a cement slab without it failing., It may be of interest. It involves digging a 3 foot deep hole filling it with rammed/ compacted sand. Dig the footings in the sand along with a couple of piers to stop slippage. lay the footings and stab as a unit. It is going no where. It works in earth quake areas and gives a lot of protection to the slab and house.. Maybe an option for future projects
I would have jury rigged a support on both sides of that support, removed it, filled that with concrete and replaced that block. He did day that pad would crack though, could you use wood, or dirt?
Well, all that could have been done, but people who do that mostly talk and don't build 8 cottages in 10 years.
He mentioned in the video he didn't know what other type of foundation would work, that is what I was addressing, what could have been used instead, not how to fix the current foundation.
It COULD work as a fix if he wanted to go through the expense and effort of pouring a slab under it and lowering it back down on top of it but I suspect that would be more trouble than the cottage is worth.
I imagine you're going to put a skirt around the bottom of the cottage? It may not keep the floor too warm, but I imagine there would be some improvement.
perhaps a wider based pilon would fix the "runaway" issue. and since a jack capable of lifting the cottage is awailable replacing them*at least the ones that have tilted* such a feat could be easy to accomplish.
bolting the beam to the footing would have prevented this by not allowing it to tip in and away from the beam .frost is huge issue thats why u bolt em together so they move as one unit n dont slide out of place. not bad temp fix with limited supplies . i put bolts in wet cement n bolt to it with a bracket n bolt bracket to beam it works for me in maine n have same frost issues
+bigmikeyc83 Yep, you said it, bolt footings into beams!!! How about insulate under footings, make footings deeper??? More expensive, but would fix that problem!
More likely the bolted footings would pull the beams out of the floor as they moved inwards.
It's a lake cottage. Built in the 1960's. On a budget. Before polystyrene foam or Home Depot outlets. Have some perspective... shimming the floor every few years is fit for purpose engineering.
nautamaran + But the vertical 2 x is likely to soon split.
It was built in 1960 on a budget? But they haven't made any money since 1960 for proper repairs? haha
Why there is not used insulation on ground? When the foundations are properly insulated there will not be that kind of problems.
I was a little disappointed when I watched the video, just didn't seem like the normally meticulous Matthias.... I'm in the NE as well, and understand the frost heaving issue well.
I think there is more to the story, though I haven't read his website. I believe he/family have like 8 of these cottages, which are used in fair weather. I also gather he only had a limited amount of time, so a quick fix was fine.
Obviously there are a number of ways to resolve the issue, almost all of which require money or serious time commitment. And thats just for the one pier of several on the one cottage, or 8.
If this were a more recent video, maybe he could have jacked up the cottage, moved the pier with his tractor, re-leveled the pier located and moved the pier back.
Probably doable in a day, with some help. Either way, real money or some real work is required for just the one pier.
My only nitpick now is that he didn't use a 4x4 or something, although in reality a 2x4 has immense compression load in the vertical.
Little disappointed Matthias seemed to let this one drop below his standard for excellence. But, the vid is title jacking up a cottage, not how to fix a foundation issue right?
you should have taken the block out an straightened it up. if you dont it probably turn over an crack the whole joist.
Like an old man I work with always says to me when I shoot too many nails, "Where's it gonna go?" The only way it can fall is down. :-)
Footings that extend below the frost depth.
LOL, Pumping fast!
It's a bit late now, unless you don't mind craning your whole house, over here in the UK we use pile foundations on land with chance of surface movement. These things need a massive drill to bore a deep hole and are hammered even deeper with a giant hammer crane type thing. Expensive stuff and might be limited by the machinery's ability to reach the site where you are though.
***** yeah, it's more expensive than your standard trench poured concrete foundations, but it's not gunna move!
Or you could just build it on blocks and jack it up every few years. Probably not allowed though. Many old houses around here are done this cheap way.
Its called overcome adapt and improvise!!!
Did You Feel Like A Super Hero When Jacking Up The House
I appreciate your video, and I am absolutely amazed at the vehement criticism.
I have to agree with the sentiments, these need to be rebuilt, and down 1 foot below the frost line.
Wouldnt a Stone rock foundation be better?
deeper footings
This the footings need to go below frost depth.. probably 48 inches