Software engineer S. Ravi Shankar is a relieved man these days, not for successfully completing the project assigned to him in Sydney, but for having got his house in Hyderabad raised by three feet and that too without a single crack.
The month-long task was completed with ease and the entire ‘Sri Nilayam’ building was raised by three feet and brought on par with the road level in Venkataramana Colony near Nagole on the city suburbs.
The staircase and main gate of the double-bedroom independent house was also raised by three feet height. The entire exercise of lifting the home was carried out in such a way that not a single crack developed and the wall tiles, window grills and doors remained unaffected, say the family members of Ravi Shankar.
Mamchand and Sons Company, which executed the house lifting work, certified that the building’s structural stability as ‘absolutely safe’.
The company pressed into service a group of 20 persons who came equipped with jacks that are similar to the ones used in lifting the heavy vehicles.
The basement was dug, pillars sliced with gas cutters and at the same, around 200 cone shaped jacks and wooden pieces were positioned to take the load of the building. And once the jacks took the burden of the structure, these were slowly raised to lift the actual structure.
Proprietor of Mamchand and Sons, Harkesh Kumar Chauhan says the house was raised using building lifting method that is patented by the Central Government.
Ravi Shankar’s family considered it inauspicious to live in the house which went lower than the street level following re-carpeting of the road. The road surface rose almost by one and half feet above the floor level of the house after the municipal authorities laid the road using concrete material. Same is the situation of eight other houses in Venkataramana Colony.
Initially, the family thought of demolishing the home and reconstruct it with appropriate level. During discussions with relatives, a suggestion came their way to contact Haryana-based Mamchand and Sons Company, which had expertise to “lift” or “shift” the house.
The company representatives then came to the site and collected more details. “We agreed to pay Rs.2.50 lakh for raising the building height and accordingly entered into an agreement with the company two months ago,” explains S.B. Narayana, brother of Ravi Shankar.
The company has completed the work within a record period of 30 days.
“We have to lay new sewerage lines and flooring besides taking up white-washing work,” Mr. Narayana says, adding that their house was the first one in the State to raise its height without any damage to the structure. The entire cost worked out to Rs.5.50 lakh.
According to Mr. Narayana, after raising the building, brick walls with a width of 12 inch were set up to take the load of the structure. A sump to fill drinking water was also provided on the premises.
The company (www.mamchand.net), which began its operations in 1991, says it would take responsibility for any cracks developed while executing works.
It had so far worked on 5,000 buildings all over the country, either ‘shifting’ them or ‘lifting’ them.
