Press Release Blurb

I figure a house up in the air is pretty coo - so, I'm going to send a press release to a bunch of the local and regional papers. Here's a cross section for you home skillets to check out....

But having the best in the business meant waiting in line over nine months. Even when the contractor was finally ready, building permits and conservation committee approval had to be obtained. Not to mention demolition of the old chimney and concrete front steps, and all necessary plumbing disconnections. "And we had to move out," adds Jess.

Though some choose to live in their homes during lift and construction, Mike and Jess did not want to live two months without heat and running water.

Within days of moving out, the house was airborne, supported by steel beams and crossbeams on towers of wood called cribbings. "I'm still amazed at the whole process," reflects Jess. First, a backhoe digs several access holes around the house to the depth of the basement. The cribbings are then built within the holes and the steel beams are inserted across the entire length and width of the house. Smaller blocks of wood are placed on top of the beams to keep the house level. Then, slowly, a series of jacks placed inside the cribbings lift the beams. Once the house is high enough for the escavation and foundation companies to work under, the cribbings are built up to support the lifted structure and the jacks are lowered.

"There's always that little bit of doubt and you think, what if it falls, what if all the walls crack, what if all my stuff is ruined..." Jess says, smiling. "But the structure is so strong. I don't think any of that would ever happen."

As soon as their house was in the air, Mike started digging. "This area is all sand and rocks," he explains. "No clay. So it's easy to dig even without a big machine." But to finish the dig-out, the couple called on their friend Nick Mitchell of Nick Mitchell Landscape and Construction, who completed the job in a single day.

And just a week after that, Allcape Foundations began work on the basement.