Floors sloping or sills gone soft over a tired foundation? We lift the whole house evenly so the foundation or framing underneath can be fixed.
Foundation raising in South Lake Tahoe means lifting your house off its existing support with jacks set under the carrying beams, so the foundation underneath can be replaced or the rotted sill plates and floor joists can be fixed.
Most people call because something underneath has given up. The floors slope, the sill plates the walls rest on have gone soft, or the old foundation is cracked and settling. None of that gets fixed with the house sitting on it, so the house comes up first and the concrete work happens underneath.
The price mostly moves with the size of the house, the shape the framing is in and what gets done while it's up. A full new foundation is a bigger job than reaching a few rotted joists. The schedule turns on the engineer's review, the permit side and the weather for the pour. Your written estimate shows what's included and what isn't.
Three things shape a lift before anyone touches a jack. They're worth talking through at the estimate, because each one changes the plan, the crew and how long the house is up.
Plaster, drywall, masonry and tile crack when one corner of the house gets ahead of the others. One equipment seller calls unified jacking, where all the jacks lift together, the standard for any full-house lift. If your house has those finishes, ask any crew which jacking system they plan to use.
The state's building moving license class leaves out repairs, alterations and additions to the parts of the house that stay. If the sills or joists need work while the house is up, settle who does it before the lift, so nobody is standing around waiting on a carpenter.
Jacks go under the carrying beams, and the cribbing, the stacked supports that hold the house, gets built up beside them, so the crew has to get close to the walls. Decks, fences and plantings tight against the house usually have to be protected or moved, and we point those out when we look at the job.
Here's how a lift job runs from the first call to the final walk-through, and who does what at each step, so you know what you're waiting on and why.
You call (530) 307-5972 and tell me why the house needs to come up, whether that's a failing foundation or rotted joists. We set a time for me to come look.
I come out, look under the house, ask what the new foundation has to carry and check what's around it. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included and what isn't.
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side and get buried lines marked before anyone digs. We lift the house, then pick a pour date the weather allows to form, pour and finish the concrete underneath.
When the house is back down, we walk the job with you and leave plain care instructions for the new concrete, so you know what to watch for and when.
Before any lift plan is set, we want an engineer or a structural mover to look the house over. They're the ones qualified to say how it should be supported and what has to be fixed first, and I'd rather you hear that before the house leaves the ground than halfway up.
When the house comes up, all of it comes up evenly, so the finishes inside stay put. One equipment seller describes crews pressurizing hydraulic jacks to lift a short distance, often an inch or two, then setting the load on a fresh layer of cribbing before the next lift. We also tell you up front how long you'll be living around a raised house, so you can plan.
The new foundation is where my priorities show. The subgrade it sits on, dug out and packed, and where the water runs decide whether it stays put, and nobody sees either once it's poured. That's why it's the first thing people want to cut from a budget, and the last thing I'll cut. I'd also rather wait for a better week than pour into bad weather.
Old concrete under a house rarely comes out in one piece. When a failing section has to go, concrete cutting lets us take out just that part in clean pieces. And if the approach to your house is cracked or sinking anyway, it's worth pricing a new concrete driveway at the same visit.
The house comes up so the old foundation can be broken out and a new one formed and poured underneath. It's the bigger job, and the house stays up longer while the concrete goes in.
If the foundation is sound but the sill plates or floor joists are rotted, the lift only has to give room to replace them. The framing repair, not the concrete, usually sets how long the house is up.
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out to your property for a free estimate, look the house over and give you the numbers in writing. There's no obligation and no pressure.
(530) 307-5972The City of South Lake Tahoe's Building Division issues building permits and inspects construction work in the city. The City's written permit rules don't name house raising, so whether your job needs a permit isn't settled until the division answers. If it does, we work out which office it goes through and help you file before work starts. When something's unclear, we ask the City instead of guessing.
Some projects here also need review by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and for projects inside an area plan the City generally does that review for TRPA. Skipping a needed permit saves nothing. The City says unpermitted work stays unlawful virtually forever and becomes the new owner's problem when you sell. If Development Services is closed, you can make emergency repairs, but the permit application has to go in the next working business day.
We're based in South Lake Tahoe and work in the cities around it too. Most of our calls come from homeowners, with some from property managers and small business owners, and the first questions are nearly always cost and how long the house will be up. Our South Lake Tahoe concrete page covers the rest of the work we do here.
I still answer the phone myself, and the person who looks your house over is the same one standing there on pour day. I came to concrete after years in other work and learned it on a finishing crew, so I care more about what's under the concrete than what's on top. You'll get straight answers on cost and timing, even when they're not what you hoped.
A small crew of experienced form setters and finishers does the work. We've been in business since 2021. We're licensed and insured. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. If your house needs to come up, call (530) 307-5972 or send us the form and we'll set a time to look.
Saw cuts let us remove a failing slab or foundation section without cracking the concrete that stays, which keeps the demolition smaller and cleaner.
Heavy equipment and pour trucks are hard on an old driveway, so a lift is a sensible time to replace one that's already cracked or sinking.
South Lake Tahoe is home base, and we take foundation raising jobs in the cities nearby as well. Call and tell us where the house is, and we'll set a time to come out.
Across the US, lifting a whole house off its foundation usually costs about $10,000 to $40,000 per job. That's what the work generally runs nationally, not our price. Your written estimate puts the number for your own house on paper, with what's included and what isn't.
Sometimes, yes. One equipment maker's guide says houses with rotted sills, failing framing or severe settlement sometimes need extensive reinforcement before they're lifted. That's what the engineer or structural mover's review turns up, so it goes into the plan and the price before anything moves.
It can be hours, days or weeks, depending on the job. A house waiting on a full new foundation stays up longer than one lifted for joist repair, and the pour waits on the weather. You'll know the expected time before the lift starts, so you can plan around it.
Either the owner or a California licensed contractor can get a City building permit. The City's guidance says your contractor should tell you when the work needs one. We'll tell you where your job stands once we've checked, before any work starts.
Ask for the license number and check that it's valid on the CSLB website, which is what the City's Building Division advises. The state's licensing board defines a building moving contractor as one who raises, lowers, cribs and underpins structures, including their foundations.
Have the property address and the reason for the lift ready, whether that's a new foundation or rotted joists, and the first call at (530) 307-5972 or through the form gets a lot further.
