Foundation raising in Redwood City CA - your house lifted onto a new, solid base
Is your house sitting low or its old foundation giving out? We lift it, build a new base underneath and set it down on solid concrete.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does it take to raise a house in Redwood City?
Foundation raising in Redwood City means separating your house from its foundation, lifting it on hydraulic jacks, holding it on temporary supports and building a new or extended foundation underneath, so the house ends up sitting higher on a new base.
Most people call because the house sits too low for comfort or the foundation under it has seen better days, and they want to know if their house is even a candidate. The price mostly comes from the shape of the house. A plain square or rectangular house lifts more easily than one with an attached garage, porch, wing or addition, because those parts often have to be detached and lifted on their own, especially when they sit on separate foundations. A chimney adds cost too, because it has to be braced or taken down for the lift, and I'll tell you up front if any of that makes yours a bigger job. The schedule depends on the engineer's look, which comes before any plan, and on getting the utilities shut off and back on. Your own figure comes from the estimate once I've seen the house.
How do you know your house needs raising?
Water collects against the house
You see puddles along the foundation or wet siding near the ground after a storm, which usually means the house sits low for its lot. Every wet winter gives that water another chance at the framing and the foundation, and neither gets cheaper to fix with time.
The crawlspace floods in storms
Standing water under the floor usually means the house is too low or the ground slopes toward it instead of away. Left alone, it soaks the joists and the wood above them, and wet wood under a house only goes one direction.
The foundation is cracked or crumbling
Wide cracks, broken corners or a short old foundation that's flaking apart usually point to a base that's near the end of its life. Since raising takes the house off the foundation anyway, it's the moment to put a sound one in before floors start to slope and doors start to stick.
How we handle foundation raising, from the engineer to the set-down
Before we plan a lift, we want an engineer to look the house over, because the frame takes the strain once the house comes off its foundation. With that settled, our crew separates the house from the old foundation, raises it on hydraulic jacks and sets it on temporary supports. While it's up, we dig out and pack the ground the new foundation will sit on, set the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when it cracks, and pour. Once the concrete has cured, which is the wait that lets it reach its strength, we lower the house onto it. A house is heavier than it looks, and the concrete under it is less forgiving than it looks, so we don't rush either part.
Raising a house usually touches the concrete around it. When an old slab, a footing or a walk is in the way, we use concrete cutting to take out only what has to go. Because the house ends up higher, the garage and the drive often stop lining up, so we can follow the lift with concrete driveway building that meets the new height and sends water away from the house.
A new foundation underneath
This suits a house whose old foundation is cracked, short or too far gone to trust, because the house is already off it and you won't get an easier chance to replace it. We pour a new foundation from the ground up and set the house on that.
Extending the existing foundation
This suits a house whose foundation is sound and only needs more height, so we build up from what's there instead of tearing it out. The engineer's look tells us which kind of house yours is.
Get a foundation raising estimate from someone who's seen your house
You'll hear back from me within one business day to set a time. I come out, look the house over, ask a lot of questions and write up a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(650) 587-4028- Based in
- Redwood City, CA 94063
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call about raising your house in Redwood City?
Here's how a foundation raising job runs from your side, from the first call to the walk-through at the end.
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Call or send the form
You reach us by phone or the form, and I get back to you to set a time to see the house. Tell me whether it sits on a slab and whether there's an attached garage, porch or chimney, so I know what I'm walking into.
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I look the house over
I come out myself, check the foundation, the frame and the ground around it, and ask a lot of questions. You get a written estimate that says what the job involves, what the engineer needs to look at, and what parts of the house add to the work.
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We lift, build and walk it
All the water, sewer, gas, electric and phone lines get disconnected before the house goes up, and they're reconnected at the end along with any landscaping that needs finishing. Our crew does the work, I check it as it goes, and we walk it with you when it's done.
Why Redwood City homeowners call Elite Redwood City Concrete to raise a house
If you're weighing a lift, the first useful step is someone looking at the house, so send us a few details or call (650) 587-4028.
I look at your house myself
I come out to look at the job myself, and our own crew does the work. The person who sized up your garage and chimney is the same one standing behind the plan.
Running pours since before 2013
I ran crews and pours as another contractor's right hand for years before starting this business in 2013, and most of our calls still come from Redwood City and the cities around it. In 13 years we've learned that what's under a house decides how long it stays put.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, which matters on a job where your whole house spends time on temporary supports. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Foundation raising and the ground around Redwood City
Much of Redwood Shores sits below high tide in the bay, with levees and higher ground along its edge, so water is usually where a raising conversation starts on that side of the city. Before you plan a lift, run two checks on your own address. The state's EQ Zapp map shows whether the property sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone, and the county flood lookup in the questions below tells you where you stand on flooding. If your job needs a permit, we'll say so at the estimate and handle the paperwork and inspections with your city or the county.
Away from the bay, the houses we see run from older frame homes over low crawlspaces to slab houses, and the base under them is the first thing we check. We're based in Redwood City and work up and down the Peninsula and into the South Bay, and we meet the same mix of houses on jobs in San Carlos and Menlo Park.
Questions about foundation raising in Redwood City
Does my house need an inspection before it's lifted?
Yes, and it should happen before anyone plans the lift, not after. Lifting a house that isn't structurally sound can do expensive damage to the framing and connections, which is why we won't plan one without an engineer's look.
Can a house on a slab be raised?
Often, yes, but a slab house needs a structural engineer's opinion first, because that opinion decides whether raising makes sense at all. Lifting the house off its slab makes it lighter and easier to raise, mainly for frame and masonry veneer homes, but it means cutting holes in inside and outside walls for wood bracing, and those have to be repaired before you can live there again.
Who is licensed to raise a house in California?
The state contractors license board puts raising, lowering, underpinning and moving houses, foundations included, under its building moving and demolition class. That class doesn't cover alterations, additions or repairs to the parts of the house that stay, so ask any contractor who will handle that work after the lift.
How do I find my property's flood zone in San Mateo County?
Ask San Mateo County, which can tell you whether your property is in the Special Flood Hazard Area or the floodway, plus its flood map zone and its base flood elevation where one is available. Start on the county's flood zone map page and bring what you find to the estimate.
How much does foundation raising cost in Redwood City?
The cost comes from your house, not a chart, so you get a real figure from the estimate after I've seen it. Beyond the garage, porch and chimney, it moves with whether we build a new foundation or extend the old one, whether a slab house comes off its slab and needs wall repairs, and what it takes to get you back in the door.
How do I get into my house after it's raised?
You'll need new steps or another way up to the door, and a good-looking, practical one can usually be worked out. It's the most common reason people hesitate to raise a house, so we talk it through at the estimate instead of leaving it for the end.
Other concrete work that often comes with a lift
Clean saw cuts let us remove the section of old slab, footing or walk that blocks the work without cracking the concrete you're keeping.
Once the house sits higher, a new driveway can climb to meet the garage again and carry rainwater off toward the street instead of back at the house.
Cities we serve for foundation raising
Elite Redwood City Concrete is based in Redwood City, California, and works up and down the Peninsula and into the South Bay. These 12 cities have their own page, from San Mateo to Mountain View, and they aren't the only places we work.
Have us look at your house first
Have your address, whether the house sits on a slab, any attached garage, porch or chimney and your county flood result ready, and that first visit covers a lot more ground.
Redwood City, CA