Foundation raising in San Carlos CA - floors and doors that sit level again
Sloping floors, sticking doors and stair-step cracks usually mean your house has settled. We measure first, then lift it back toward level on piers.
How do you fix a house that has settled and gone out of level?
Foundation raising lifts a house that has settled back toward level, usually on steel piers set under the footings, and it can help keep the house from settling further. We do this work in San Carlos for homeowners whose floors slope, whose doors stick or whose walls have started to crack.
Most people call after a door stops latching or a crack shows up over a window, and they want to know what it'll cost and how long it'll take. Both answers turn on how far each part of the house has dropped, how many piers it takes, what the house sits on and whether we have to dig or cut to reach the footings, which under a slab can mean concrete cutting. Your written estimate puts that into numbers for your house, and if a lift isn't worth doing, I'd rather tell you that than sell you one that won't hold.
How do you know your house has settled?
Settling usually shows up slowly, in the doors, floors and walls you live with every day. These are the signs I ask about on the phone, and a house that needs lifting often shows more than one.
Stair-step cracks in a brick or block foundation wall usually mean one part of the house has dropped.
Vertical or diagonal cracks in the foundation walls often show the footing under them has moved.
A floor you can feel slope underfoot usually points to a settled corner or a sunken footing.
Doors that stick, swing open on their own or won't latch usually mean the frame has shifted.
Windows that bind or show a gap at one corner often mean the wall around them has moved.
Cracks in drywall or plaster that come back after you patch them usually mean the house is still moving.
If cracks keep getting longer or more doors stop latching, call rather than wait another season, so we can measure the house before it moves any further.
What happens when you call us about foundation raising in San Carlos?
Here's how a job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end. I usually come out myself, and our crew does the work while I check it as it goes.
Call us or send the form
Tell us what you've noticed, like cracks, uneven floors or sticking doors, and whether the house sits on a slab, a crawl space or a basement. We call back to set a time for me to come out.
I measure the house first
I take level readings in several spots before suggesting anything, so the plan comes from numbers and not from guessing at cracks. You get a written estimate that spells out the pier type, where the piers go and what's in the price, so you can line it up against other bids.
We set piers and lift
When you're ready, we schedule the work, and our crew digs out at the footings, sets the piers and brings the house up while I check it as it goes. Anywhere we opened up concrete to reach a footing, we pour it back and finish it.
We walk the finished job
I go over the finished job with you, including the level readings after the lift, before we call it done. That's the time to check the doors and cracks you were watching.
Get a written estimate for leveling your house
Send the form and we get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, measure and look over the house, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation.
- Call
- (650) 866-1977
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Foundation type, access and local checks before a lift
What your house sits on changes the job more than most people expect. Homes on a crawl space or pier-and-beam, where the floor rests on short posts, are usually the cheapest to raise, because there's already room under the floor to get beams in with less digging. Slab homes are harder and basement homes cost the most. Push piers go in with small handheld equipment, so a crew can work inside a crawl space or a basement.
A larger job raises the whole house, which can mean disconnecting the utilities, building a new foundation and reconnecting everything afterward. Either way, I won't cut corners on the measuring and the piers, because they're hidden once we're done and they're what holds the house up, while patching cracks first only hides the problem. If your driveway settled along with the house, it makes sense to redo it after the lift, and our concrete driveway building page covers that work.
Before you plan a lift in San Carlos, two checks are worth making. Expansive soil shrinks as it dries out, and the homes it supports can drop, tilt and crack, so it's one cause we look for. You can also enter your address in the state's EQZapp tool to see whether the property is in a mapped earthquake hazard zone, where local governments must require a soil study for that site before new residential development. We're based in San Carlos and do this work in the cities around it.
Foundation raising questions from San Carlos homeowners
How much does it cost to raise a house in San Carlos?
Raising a typical single-family home usually costs about $20,000 to $80,000 across the US, and that figure is for raising the whole house, not a local price or ours. Where a job lands depends on the foundation type, how far the house has to come up and how many piers it takes. Our written estimate gives you the figure for your house with the work spelled out.
Which pier type is best for my house, push piers or helical piers?
Homes with a basement can usually take push piers, while lighter homes or shallow footings may need helical piers, because push piers use the weight of the house to drive them and helical piers screw in regardless of weight. Push piers usually cost less in material when both have to reach the same depth, and each one is load tested as it goes in, so its real capacity is checked. We match the pier type to the weight and footings of your home after we've measured it.
How long will I be out of my home while it's being raised?
On a full house raise, owners are out of the house for part of a project that runs six to twelve weeks. Temporary housing almost never shows up in a contractor's bid, so budget for it separately. Leveling a settled house on piers is a smaller job, and I'll tell you at the estimate whether you'll need to move out at all.
What should a foundation raising bid include so I can compare them?
Ask each contractor whether their price is lift-only or turnkey, because a lift-only price leaves you to arrange the utility disconnects, any new foundation and the reconnection through separate contracts. A turnkey price puts all of that in one number, so you're comparing the same scope. We're fully licensed and insured, and when a job needs a permit, we settle with you who will pull it and write that into the contract before work starts.
How do I find out if my San Carlos property is in a flood zone?
Call the San Mateo County Planning and Building Department at 650/599-7310, and they can tell you whether the property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, its flood map zone and its base flood elevation if they have one. That's worth knowing before you plan a lift.
Do I need an Elevation Certificate if my house is in a flood zone?
If your house is in a mapped flood zone, ask about FEMA's Elevation Certificate before a raise, because FEMA's program requires the community's permit file to show that new buildings and substantial improvements are properly elevated. The certificate also helps you get flood insurance.
Related concrete work after a house is leveled
Concrete cutting
If piers have to reach footings under a slab floor, garage or patio, clean saw cuts give us access and leave edges that patch back neatly afterward.
Concrete driveway building
A settled house often pulls the driveway and walk with it, so once the house is level, a new driveway on a packed base meets it again.
Get your house measured before you repair cracks
Call (650) 866-1977 or send the form with notes on your cracks, uneven floors, sticking doors and foundation type, because that tells me what to look at first when I come out.
Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM