Foundation Raising in Pleasant Hill CA - a steady house and floors closer to level
Sloping floors, doors that stick or cracks over a doorway? We find out why the house settled and bring it back toward level.
Can a sinking house in Pleasant Hill be raised back up?
Foundation raising in Pleasant Hill ties a settled house to new support so it stops going down, and where it makes sense, lifts it back toward where it started. With helical piles, which are steel shafts screwed down into the ground, the piles fasten to the existing foundation and either hold the house steady against more settling or bring it back near its original position.
Most people call because of something inside the house, like a marble that rolls to one wall, a door that won't latch anymore or a crack running up from a window corner. What moves the price is how far the house has dropped, whether it sits on a slab or on footings over a crawl space, how many spots need support and how much drainage work has to come first, and the schedule turns on that water work and on any permit the city asks for. We're licensed and fully insured, and because the state licensing board treats raising and underpinning a house as its own kind of contracting, separate from repairs to the walls and floors that stay where they are, I'll tell you which part of the work is ours. The estimate I write after I've seen the house gives you your own figure before anything moves.
What happens after you call about raising your house?
Call or send the form
You call (707) 750-8660 or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out to the house. If you have photos of the cracks or the low spots, send them along.
I look and write it up
I walk the floors, look at where the water goes outside, check under the house where I can get to it and ask how you use the rooms. The estimate covers the drainage fix, the lift, how close to level we'd take it and what inside may need touching up, with your price, so the cost isn't a surprise once work starts.
We plan around your house
If you go ahead, we plan the work around your house, your cars and your neighbors. Pleasant Hill allows construction from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, so our work days fall inside those hours.
Fix, lift and clean up
Our own crew does the work, the water first and then the house. When we're done we clean up and leave your yard the way we found it, minus the old concrete.
How we do foundation raising, and the concrete work that goes with it
We start with the water, because lifting a house while water still pools at the foundation is money poured into the ground. One Bay Area contractor's guide makes the same point, that a downspout emptying at the foundation, poor drainage or a crawl space that never dries will keep working on the structure under the house, so we sort out where the water goes before anything gets lifted. Then we tie support into the foundation where it dropped and bring the house up, and I'll tell you plainly how close to level an older house like yours should go and what inside may need touching up afterward. One pile maker's manual says helical piles go in with portable equipment, without vibration, even in tight indoor spaces, and that the building can stay in use with little bother to whoever lives there.
Reaching a footing under a slab floor or a garage sometimes means opening the concrete, and concrete cutting gives us a clean opening that's easy to patch once the lift is done. When the driveway sank along with the house or tips water back toward it, concrete driveway building is often part of fixing the water, because a new driveway poured with a slope away from the house carries the runoff off to the street.
Get a written plan for your sloping floors
We reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out, look the house over and write up a free estimate at your property. There's no obligation to go ahead.
Foundation raising questions from Pleasant Hill
How much does foundation raising cost in Pleasant Hill?
I can't give you an honest figure until I've seen the house, because the price follows how far it settled, what it sits on and how many spots need support. The two costs people forget are the drainage work that has to come first and the touch-ups inside after the lift, so leave room for both instead of budgeting only for the lift.
Can slab lifting fix a sinking footing?
No, slab lifting won't fix a sinking footing. Polyjacking and mudjacking pump foam or a cement mix under a concrete floor laid on the soil to float it back up, and that's all they do. They can't steady a footing, the base your walls stand on, or move the house's weight down to deeper soil, so a dropping footing needs a different repair.
Will my floor end up perfectly flat after a foundation lift?
Usually not, and on an older house you shouldn't want it to be. One Bay Area contractor's guide says pulling an older home's floor all the way back to flat can do more damage than leaving it slightly out. The realistic goal is a stable house that gets back part of its slope, not all of it.
What repairs might I need after my house is raised?
Expect some touch-up inside, because moving a floor toward level moves everything attached to it, and the drywall tends to complain first. The same Bay Area guide lists drywall cracks, doors that need rehanging, tile that may crack and sometimes plumbing that needs adjusting. Our part comes with the promise we make on everything, satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
How do I apply for a building permit in Pleasant Hill?
You apply online, since the City of Pleasant Hill takes all building permit applications through its online service center, and the city's permits page shows the current way in. The city's interactive permit guide lists the steps by project and location. We'll tell you which office handles your address, and when the job needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork for our part and point you to the right city or county office for anything outside it.
What causes floors to slope in Pleasant Hill houses?
Clay soil is a common cause, since one Bay Area company's guide says much of the East Bay sits on clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries. Floors move with the seasons, so a house can sit closer to level in March than in September. We see it across Pleasant Hill and the cities around it, and it's one more reason the water gets fixed before the lift.
Other concrete work that often goes with it
Concrete cutting
A trench for a drain line or an access hole through a slab goes in with straight saw-cut edges that patch cleanly and leave the rest alone.
Concrete driveway building
A sunken driveway that tips water toward the garage keeps feeding the foundation, and a new one on a packed base can send it to the street.
Call about your sloping floors today
Before you call (707) 750-8660 or send the form, walk the house and note where the floors slope and where each downspout drains, because that's the first thing I'll want to see.