Foundation raising in College Station TX - a house that sits level again
Floors sloping or doors sticking? We find out why, then shim it level or raise it onto a foundation that can carry it.
Foundation raising lifts the house. Sometimes a few shims will do.
Foundation raising in College Station usually means separating the house from its foundation, lifting it on hydraulic jacks and holding it on temporary supports while a new or extended foundation is built below. It works on most frame, brick veneer and masonry houses. We're licensed and insured, and we work in College Station, Bryan, Navasota and the cities around them.
Not every house needs to come up, though. On a pier and beam home, where the floor sits on piers over a crawl space, adjusting or adding shims on top of the piers is often enough. It's done from underneath with no digging, which makes it a quick job and the least expensive fix.
On a full raise, the price moves with how high the house goes, its foundation type and how much of the old foundation can stay. Reusing it is generally the cheaper route, but a design professional has to check that it can carry the raised house. Permits, repairs, weather and inspections set the schedule. Your written estimate puts a number on your house.
You'll usually feel it first. Here's when foundation raising comes up.
Floors that slope or dip
On a pier and beam house that usually means piers have settled or shims have worked loose underneath. Caught early it's often a shim job, and waiting lets the floor framing sag along with it.
Sticking doors and drywall cracks
When doors drag and cracks run from the corners of doors and windows, the house is usually moving under its frame. The longer it moves, the more trim, drywall and tile you end up fixing too.
Water creeping up in heavy rain
If big storms push water toward your siding or into the crawl space, the house may simply sit too low. Each soaking is hard on framing and floors, and that's when raising it starts to make sense.
Foundation raising, start to finish. Here's how we run it.
You call, and I come out myself. I measure how far the floors are off, look at what the house is sitting on and ask what you've noticed and when. You get a written estimate that says whether shims will do it or the house has to come up, and why.
On a full raise, we want the old foundation checked before anything sits back down on it. We handle the permit side and wait on the city's inspection before the concrete truck gets called. If a porch slab or walk is tied to the house, we separate it with concrete cutting before the lift so it doesn't break.
After the pour we give the concrete time to cure and gain strength before any weight goes on it, then walk the house with you, tell you when it's ready and clean up. Engineering guidelines say the engineer on a repair should record floor levels afterward and give you a copy, so ask for it when we finish.
Thinking about foundation raising? Tell us about the house.
Send your address, your foundation type and what you're seeing. We reply within one business day to set up a free, no-obligation estimate at the house.
(979) 393-7025Foundation raising in College Station. Bryan and Navasota too.
The City of College Station requires a building permit for foundation repairs, and the contractor doing them has to be registered with the city. We pull that permit, schedule the inspections and hold the work until each one passes.
We raise and level houses in Bryan and Navasota too, and there we check with the office that covers the address first. Texas has wide stretches of clay that shrinks and swells as it dries and gets wet, and that can move a house's foundation.
Foundation raising questions. Here are the plain answers.
Read through these before you call. If your question isn't here, call (979) 393-7025 and I'll answer it myself.
How much does it cost to raise a house in College Station?
Lifting the house alone usually costs about $10,000 to $40,000 per job across the US, and that's a national figure, not our price. Replacing the foundation too costs more, and so can rebuilding a driveway that no longer meets the raised house. Your written estimate gives you the number for yours.
How long does it take to raise a house?
Nationally, the whole process takes about 4 to 8 weeks on average, and the lift itself takes 2 to 7 days once the preparation is done. Where you land depends mostly on permits, repairs and how high it goes. A shim job on a pier and beam house is far quicker.
Do I need a permit to raise my house in College Station?
Yes, the city requires a building permit for foundation repairs, and we pull it. The permit calls for a plan with dimensions showing how the house will be repaired and where piers or piles go, so ask me at the estimate who draws yours. The city also inspects before any concrete is poured.
Which creeks in College Station raise flood risk?
The city lists Carters Creek, Wolf Pen Creek, Bee Creek and Lick Creek among the creeks that raise flood risk in major rain events. College Station strictly limits what can be done in flood-prone areas, and FEMA says the community's permit file must show that new buildings and substantial improvements in flood hazard areas are properly elevated.
Foundation or slab trouble in College Station? Call us to come look.
Tell us what's changed since you first noticed it, and we'll set a time to come look and measure the floors.
Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
