Raising the roof

[Dr Stan]

(05-24-2017, 05:09 AM)Pete O Wrote: Where would such things be if tradesmen didn't charge exorbitant prices?
Height is nice to have in the shed.

They're just trying to make a living like the rest of us.  Now if you want to start in on pharmaceutical executives I'll be right there with ya.

[Dr Stan]

(05-22-2017, 02:56 PM)TomG Wrote: An ambitious project Stan.

Can you raise one eve at a time the full amount? That would save disturbing the roof.

Tom

Today I finally understood what you mean.  If I use a pair of hi-lift jacks such as this:  


I should be able to raise 16ft of one side of the roof at a time.  I'm thinking of raising one side 12" switch to the opposite side and go to 24" rinse, repeat until both sides have been lifted 4ft.  I'm leery of doing the whole roof at once as it would be a very large object to control.

I would also strip the roofing & the sheeting off the portion being lifted and install 2 X 4's horizontally to keep the trusses at 24" centers and to reduce the wiggle factor.

Has anyone out there tried this method?  I'm sure open to ideas & comments.

Thanks,

Stan

[f350ca]

I'd use hydraulic jacks instead Stan. Jackall's are notorious for pinching fingers, arms legs, fenders, etc etc. They lift but are the most unstable thing ever invented. In todays society of lawsuits I honestly can't believe they're still made. Not to mention trying to lower them. Many a chin has been caught with the flying handle, There's no easing them down.

[Dr Stan]

(05-27-2017, 08:16 PM)f350ca Wrote: I'd use hydraulic jacks instead Stan. Jackall's are notorious for pinching fingers, arms legs, fenders, etc etc. They lift but are the most unstable thing ever invented. In todays society of lawsuits I honestly can't believe they're still made. Not to mention trying to lower them. Many a chin has been caught with the flying handle, There's no easing them down.

Very good point.

[TomG]

I would agree with Greg as well. I see Horror Fright sells bottle jacks that lift 19" for $65. A couple of those would easily lift one side. You might have to install a temporary header along the eaves to keep the structure from sagging in the middle when the ends are lifted. A 2 x 6 screwed flat to the underside of the rafters should be adequate, although it sounds like you might be doing something like that already.

As someone who spent the second part of their career "making a living" in the pharmaceutical industry, I would like to point out that there are a lot of factors that affect the cost of drugs, but the primary factor is the years of recurring engineering it takes to develop a new drug in an industry hampered by government regulation. Look how much the cost of a drug drops when a generic equivalent becomes available. It doesn't cost much to make them, but it costs a heck of a lot to develop them. Our niche in the industry was to build instruments to eliminate poor candidates for new drugs before a lot of development money was spent on them, doing our part to reduce the cost of drugs.

Tom

[wawoodman]

Might this be the sort of thing that a crane should handle? I have seen them pluck a roof off a building, set it on the ground, and put it back once the new walls are done.

In fact, with the wall sections prefabbed and ready to go, it could probably be done in a day, 2 at most.

[Dr Stan]

(05-29-2017, 12:45 PM)Ewawoodman Wrote: Might this be the sort of thing that a crane should handle? I have seen them pluck a roof off a building, set it on the ground, and put it back once the new walls are done.

In fact, with the wall sections prefabbed and ready to go, it could probably be done in a day, 2 at most.

I sat down & designed a scissor lift last night.  There will be a pair of X's made from structural grade 4 X 4's with a 1" grade 8 bolt serving as the pivot.  Each 4X4 will have a pair of 1000# capacity wheels at the bottom to reduce friction instead of just dragging the ends across the concrete floor.  The top of the 4X4's will also have a wheel (details not worked out) to go underneath the truss and means to capture the truss in such a way to keep it from slipping off.

I'll use 3/4-6 acme threaded rods & nuts at the bottom of both X's to pull the bottom together thus raising the top.  There will also be cross bracing to tie the two X's together every which way imaginable.  There will be pivot mounts for the screws to keep them from binding.

I'm currently removing the ceiling tiles under the roof along with the lights.  I'll add a total of eight more 8ft 2 bulb florescent fixtures as part of the mod.  I already have 24 8 footers plus some 4 foots in helpful locations.  As my florescent bulbs burn out I plan to replace them with LED's.  Needless to say I want my shop to have plenty of light.  Found an on-line source that offers a case (25) 8ft LED's for around $220.  IMHO that's a very good deal.

To decrease the weight I'll strip the shingles & paper off the roof before raising it and may also remove some of the sheeting as its being replaced with 3/4" T&G 4X8 sheets of OSB.  Did that on my garage addition and it sure makes a difference.

I too am hoping I can get this to the dried in stage in a couple of days, 3 at the most.  In any case I have very large tarps standing by.

Well no rest for the wicked.     Also need to take more pics.

[f350ca]

Two jacks with posts up to a beam would be the simplest Stan. Or even better cribbing off the floor to the jacks under the beam. I'd leave all the sheeting in place to hold it ridged.

[Mayhem]

(05-29-2017, 03:15 PM)Dr Stan Wrote: ...Needless to say I want my shop to have plenty of light...

Just take the roof off altogether - lots of light and no height limitations Not to mention much less work.

[Dr Stan]

(05-30-2017, 04:53 AM)Mayhem Wrote:

(05-29-2017, 03:15 PM)Dr Stan Wrote: ...Needless to say I want my shop to have plenty of light...

Just take the roof off altogether - lots of light and no height limitations  Not to mention much less work.

Also ditch the walls for overhead doors.