How would you...

BigBody79

BigBody79

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Location
Lumberton
We are getting our little girls a small play house for Christmas. It is a used deal but it is in decent shape. Couldn't build it for what we will pay for it. It is on 4x4 skids is is 10ft long and 8ft wide. Pretty basic with 2x4 construction with plywood siding.

I would like to make this much more complicated than it should be.

I would like to raise it up 4-5ft and make it look like a short 'tree' house. With a small porch and a slide and some sort of ladder for getting up into it.

The idea is 6x6 corner posts and then 2x10(12?) floor joists. The 6x6 area would be closer to 12x10 leaving 2' of porch on the front and side.

Is this possible? How would you do it?
 
Build the post and joist structure, and a long ramp. Push/drag up the ramp and onto the joist structure.

Or, use a crane. Or a big forklift. Or some accurately placed explosives. Or some really strong friends who are also tall. Or temporarily flood the yard and float it in place.
 
I would jack and block the skids up near each end/corner a little at a time, w the blocks in from the corners enough to have room for footers, until it is high enough. Then dig holes @ the corners, pour concrete, let it set, Cut 6x6s at each corner to all be level/same elevation at the tops, set them under the skids and stake them on two sides to hold them in place temporary and jack/ lower repeat until the skids sit down on them. Then remove the blocks and frame the 6x6s at the top w 2x8 or 10s and frame the bottom or just frame the top and put 2 45* braces on each 6x6 to the top frame.
 
Id make the platform equal to the height of a rollback wrecker. Id hire the roll back to move it to its new location.
 
This isn't fun enough yet. 6 high lift jacks. Must be Chinese in origin. One at each corner. Two in the middle for safety sake. Now stabilize with tripod cable arrangment per jack, like the old canvas canopy corners. Use slap straps from eno hammocks, really adjustable. Run around one click at a time til raised. Counter clock wise only to fight the natural rotation of the earth in this hemisphere. Once in place weld the counter pins solid in jacks and call it a day.

Seriously I'd use my industrial front end loader. My custom forks and extensions. My father in-laws skid steer and forks on other side. Lift, lock out cylinders with some manual braces for safety against leak down and build subframe and concrete post or what have you.
 
Well those are all thoughts that I've had.

Really long ramp and push it up with slave labor. IE. Egyptian Pyramids.

Fork Lift. My FIL has a Ford 555 Back hoe. No Forks but I don't think it has the ass to lift it.

Slide it off the Roll-Back. Typically they are 42" high. Don't know if that would be too much stress on the new platform. Could lift and slide with the back hoe. Might be hard to find a roll-back operator down for such shenanigans.

Of course I would like to be as cost effective as possible.
I could hire a crane to come set it down on the new platform.
Cribbing material is going to be $$.
Rollback isn't going to be cheap either.
 
Ron said:
Id make the platform equal to the height of a rollback wrecker. Id hire the roll back to move it to its new location.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought too, but i didn't think it would be tall enough. Couldn't find any standard measurement on that, oddly.
 
I would build the platform however you like and build a ramp on one side. Winch it up the ramp.
 
I'd sure up the inside, just like you do a home before adding the siding. Then tilt it to the side, slow as youcanwith some winches and straps. Once on it's side With blocks of wood so roof isn't actually touching the ground, jack up the botton so it's sitting level. Build the botom in, again suring it up as best as possible, then reverse the winches so pulling it back upright, except taller.
 
Something to consider when deciding on the platform height. Most playground slides etc are designed to work with certain height platforms, otherwise the slide will be too steep or too shallow of an angle. You may want to research that first.
 
Current slide we have is right at 4' off the ground. Would either have a small lower platform for the slide or just build it to that height.

I've seen slides for 4', 5' and 7' deck height.

But, thanks. I did consider that in the plan.
 
I would go for 5' or 5.5' of distance between the ground and the underside/bottom of the platform so they can walk around under there for years to come. My boy is 5 yrs old and 48" tall. I'm figuring on another few years of use out of his current playhouse/swing set until he no longer wants to use it.
 
BigBody79 said:
Cribbing material is going to be $$.
Click to expand...

Is there an easier way for a "homeowner" to raise a 12x12' structure other than piling a ton of cribbing at each corner and picking it up with four bottle jacks, 5" at a time?

I have a building that's 6ft up in the air that I really wish was 8ft up in the air. But it seems like I'd have to spend a fortune in 4x4" Jenga blocks to raise it up the only way I know how.

@rockcity
 
If it's only 1200 lbs, then really 8 reasonable size guys can just pick it up. The trick is coordination, having hand-holds and getting it up past a certain height.

For 1/3 the cost of that boom truck you could throw a great party for your buddies.
 
RatLabGuy said:
If it's only 1200 lbs, then really 8 reasonable size guys can just pick it up. The trick is coordination, having hand-holds and getting it up past a certain height.

For 1/3 the cost of that boom truck you could throw a great party for your buddies.
Click to expand...


As I get older I'm learning to work smarter, not harder. That $200 saved would be nil once you or a buddy throws their back out or gets hurt and needs some surgery.
 
You need to get a Bagster (dumpster bag) and then bribe the guy when the boom truck comes to pick it up. Bagsters can hold 3300, so the truck is plenty capable of lifting the playhouse. Throw some slings under it and have it waiting......

4828659920_3160c30752.jpg
 
I don't really have access to it. Would be asking quite a bit. Was hoping to avoid it. I'm not a huge fan of borrowing or asking favors.
 
shawn said:
Is there an easier way for a "homeowner" to raise a 12x12' structure other than piling a ton of cribbing at each corner and picking it up with four bottle jacks, 5" at a time?

I have a building that's 6ft up in the air that I really wish was 8ft up in the air. But it seems like I'd have to spend a fortune in 4x4" Jenga blocks to raise it up the only way I know how.

@rockcity
Click to expand...


Thinking about this more... I did use my hilift jack to lift my girl's playhouse 4' in the air for loading/unloading on the trailer.
 
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