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See the News Register article "Period house gets new lease on life."
Mark Pederson came to Cellar Ridge a few months ago because his house foundation was failing.
The house was slowly sinking into the ground, and it was doing so at an unequal rate, his dining
room floor was sloping towards the street while his kitchen floor was sloping to the back yard,
the front door could only be opened half way. Working with an engineer we developed a plan safely
raise and save this historic home.To owners John Mead and Carson Benner this project was
a perfect fit. Not all green projects involve new homes,
in this case we are saving a historic home and preserving the carbon footprint of building a new home.
A green home in this case is one that was built 136 years ago.
It has been an exciting project. During the course of the project the homeowner found 1890 newspapers pasted to the wall boards.
The first step was to insert two 24’ Parallam 8’ x 18” beams under the existing joists, this was followed by a 24’ 7” x 12” Parallam. This was necessary because the house was too unstable to lift without this additional structural support. Temporary steel “I” beams have been inserted under these permanent beams. Six wooden cribs have been constructed in the basement under the house that will hold hydraulic jacks. These jacks will operate in conjunction to lift the house. We will be lifting the house five to seven feet off the ground. This allow us to excavate the failing foundation and make room for a new foundation.