Rebuilding structures has gotten off the ground in recent years.
When roads are re-laid in a specific locality, it is common to find them higher than the ground level for a period of time. This can lead to several problems such as water flowing into the house. For many, the solution remains increasing the floor level, or rebuilding the structure. Haryana-based Mamchand and Sons has been in the business of lifting and shifting buildings for nearly two decades now.
According to Harkesh Kumar Chauhan, who runs the company with his family, the company has provided solutions to 10 houses in Chennai, and one each in Dindigul and Coimbatore. It uses a technology that was patented in 2005. The ground around the house is dug up up to a width two-and-a-half feet and a depth of two feet. Screw jacks are fitted in the foundation and the building is raised to the required height. The height of the foundation is increased.
Specially trained
For a 1500 sq.ft house, about 25 persons are employed. They are specially trained for this kind of work. Only the floor at the ground level and the sewage need reworking. The plumbing and electricity lines are not affected, and there is no necessity to remove the doors and the windows. This work can be taken up, irrespective of the type of foundation already laid, he says.
Raising the foundation
The company has lifted a four-storey building in Haryana for a similar purpose and raised the foundation by nearly 11 feet in another building in Gurgaon.
K. Diwakar, a resident of Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore, whose house was raised by nearly four feet by the company, says during the last four years the road was re-laid and its height went up. Problems such as water stagnation worsened last November. His 1,400 sq.ft. house was lifted and the work was completed in a month. The residents had to vacate the house during while the work was being executed, and it cost just one-third when compared to rebuilding the house, he says.
