[kwhiston]

I have purchase an older home with te front porch that has no foundaiton, It is made of rock but needs to be leveled, it is sinking and that is throwing the columns off. I have thought I could jack up the front porch and repour a foundation under the columns.

[21boat]

I'm not sure what the question here is yet? I know you have one. What part of whatever do you want to know

Sorry I need more Info
Thank you

[kwhiston]

Sorry, I am wondering the best way to take care of this problem. The columns are off and it looks as thou someone has run into them and knocked them off center. But that is not the case. The ground is settling and there was never a foundation. The porch is actually shifting and I thought if I jacked up the columns and either poured a foundation or leveled the ground and then put in block it would fix the problem. The house was built in 1932. It is an old river rock home. It is lovely and in need of some light repair. The front porch is the only repair that I am not sure about. I am anxious to get this done. But, I do want to do it right.

[21boat]

How big is the porch and style of roof?

[kwhiston]

The porch goes across the front of the house. 24' long and 6' or 8' wide. The style of the roof is attached to the rest of the house. It is a shingle roof. I have looked into the rental of the jack and what I have found only jacks the columns up about 16" so I have a small area to work with. Of course I will need to dig it out and level before doing anything. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thx

[21boat]

Good so far Is it possible for you to post a picture of the porch front view side view and where it meets the stone. Haw much room is under the porch from floor to ground? The jack the columns 16" Why so high? Are you thinking to actually jack the columns and the actual floor of the porch? Does your porch have the columns from ceiling down and they sit on short stone piers and the floor is around that? I have jacked quite a few porches before and houses too. So If I can get a good mental picture I can help. I don't want you to get in trouble and get hurt. So post back

Thank You!

[kwhiston]

The porch is not exactly all connected. I figure its actually the columns that need jacking up. Then I will have to do some work on the porch itself. Like replace the floor, and possibly the banisters. It is the columns and the banister that look to be off. The columns have shifted so it looks as thou the ceiling or the roof is off, which only effects the columns on both ends of the porch. The columns at the front are not off at all. The columns on each end are concrete and the ones near the center are made of wood. The banisters have tilted a little and are cracked. The porch floor is falling apart too. There is a space of about 2' from the ground to the porch floor. The concrete has been broken and cracked. It looks like the previous owners tried to patch it with some concrete. I thought that this is what made the columns off but a friend told me he did not think that was the problem and showed me the banisters tilting and figured that the columns shifted and that is what changed things. At one time they had floor board for tile down. You can see this in the concrete. I think that I might have to repour the concrete floor. (is that a word?)I have done quite a bit of work on this house the front porch seems to have me baffled. I have had some friends in construction look at it and I get really mixed reviews as to what to do. I will get some pictures of the porch tomorrow. Thanks so much for your help :)

[21boat]

Pictures would be great. I'm also a mason by trade and concrete contractor constantly do rehab. I will look for pics tomorrow. Sounds like the concrete piers with wood Columns on top