{see the week 1 update here}
this week was a HUGE week for the house project as this was house lifting week. yep, last thursday the house was lifted 6 feet off of its foundation. & it remains that way until tomorrow. crazy town I tell you.
there are apparently just a few sub-contractors that perform house {or building} lifts in seattle though it is done quite often on old homes like ours. there are big, long beams running the length of the house {front to back} that run under the floor joists. then there are eight groups of cribbage boards {they look like huge jenga games!} that are stacked under the house to hold it up while work is completed below. according to our neighbors, the entire lifting process took just four hours – pretty incredible!
once the pony walls are built up on the existing foundation walls, the house will be lowered back down to its permanent height {or so we are told}. the foundation has also been completely torn up in preparation for a new slab to be poured. the foundation wasn’t in great shape anyways {remember the house is over 100 years old!} & since we are putting in radiant heat anyways, it made sense to pour a completely new slab.
{our family of three-&-a-half in front of the house & the cribbage boards}
{sadie enjoying the backyard with the old water heater & materials & more cribbage boards}
{the front of the house}
everyone who drives by slows down or stops to stare – have you ever seen a house or building mid-lift?
M
So exciting!
Holy cow!! This is so cool, slash I have a little bit of anxiety because I feel like your house is going to fall off of the jenga pieces. I love the updates! So fun to watch it week by week.
I feel the same way! I thought at first I wouldn’t be able to see it at all while it was up, and it wasn’t too bad at the time. And then later that night I had major anxiety about it blowing over… I will be glad when it comes back down onto the walls and foundation!