Old foundation giving out, or water creeping under the house? We lift it, set a new foundation underneath and explain each step first.
Foundation raising in Tiburon, CA means lifting your house, holding it up from below and supporting it while a new foundation goes in underneath, so the house ends up sitting higher on a base that's sound.
Most people who call me about a raise have an old foundation that's giving out, or a house that sits low enough that water worries them. Either way, the price moves with three things: how your house sits over the ground, how much of the work lands in one contract, and what your lot is like. The schedule turns mostly on permits and on getting the new foundation in.
A raise involves more than concrete. Someone has to disconnect the utilities and hook them back up, and someone builds the new foundation. Our written estimate spells out what's included, so you can see which of those pieces you'd be paying us for and which ones you'd still be lining up yourself.
Every raise is priced and planned around a few things I look at on the first visit. Here's what they are and why each one changes your bid.
Houses on a crawl space, or on piers and beams where posts hold the floor up off the dirt, are usually the least costly to raise because a crew can get underneath to work. A house sitting right on the ground takes more. When you call, tell me which kind you have.
A house near the water, or one that needs its whole foundation replaced, usually costs well above a typical raise. If your house falls into either group, I'd rather tell you that plainly on the first visit than have it show up as a surprise in the bid.
The part I care about most is what you can't see once it's poured, which is the soil the new foundation sits on and where the water runs. We dig out and pack that ground instead of raking it level, and we check the drainage so water moves away from the house.
Here's how a raise goes with us, from the first call to the final walk-through, and where Tiburon's own rules come into the schedule.
Call (415) 429-4397 or use our contact form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. Tell us a little about the house and what's prompting you to raise it.
I look over the house and the lot, measure and ask how you use the place. Then I write an estimate in plain words that lists what's included and what you'd still need to arrange.
Once any permit is in hand, our crew preps the ground and the work begins. Tiburon allows construction weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., heavy equipment from 8 a.m., quiet Saturday work at the property line and none on Sunday.
When the house is down on its new foundation and everything in our contract is done, I walk the job with you and point out what to watch, mostly how water moves around the house after rain.
When you're comparing bids for a raise, the numbers often don't measure the same thing. I'll go through what each price covers and what it leaves for you to arrange, like the utilities or a place to stay, so you're weighing like against like before you sign anything.
The price per square foot rises or falls with how much of the work sits inside the contract, so a low number can simply mean a short list. That's not a reason to turn it down, but you should know what's missing before you compare it with a bid that covers more.
Raising a house often means dealing with concrete that's attached to it. If an old stoop, walk or slab is in the way, concrete cutting lets us take out just that piece cleanly. Once the house sits higher, the old drive may not meet the garage anymore, which is when a new concrete driveway is worth planning alongside the raise.
This covers raising the house and holding it up. You'd arrange the utility disconnects, the new foundation and the reconnection yourself, so expect separate contracts still to come after you sign.
This rolls the lift, the utilities, the new foundation and the reconnection into one number. If you'd rather have one contract answering for the whole job, I'd lean this way, because fewer handoffs leave fewer gaps.
We reply to every request within one business day. After you send the form, I'll set a time to come out, look at the house and write up your free on-site estimate. There's no pressure and no obligation.
(415) 429-4397Tiburon's Building Division issues building permits for electrical, mechanical, plumbing and drainage work. Its list names fences, remodels and sheds, but not foundation raising, so the list alone doesn't tell you whether your raise needs a permit. The Building Division is the place to ask. We find out what your job needs and help you with the paperwork.
Height matters here too. No building in Tiburon can be raised past the height limit for its zone, and the town can set a lower limit through its Site Plan and Architectural Review process. I won't guess at your zone's limit on a web page, so I check what applies to your lot during the estimate visit.
Much of Downtown, the Cove and Boardwalk areas and parts of Paradise Cay and Bel Aire may face long-term flooding, and on some lots the state finds weak ground that can fail in an earthquake without proper precautions during grading and construction. Neither covers every house, so we look into yours. We're based in Tiburon and work from Novato down to Sausalito and over to Richmond, Mill Valley included.
I started this business in Tiburon in 2020, after teaching myself concrete on small jobs and learning the rest next to people who'd been at it for years. I still come out to look at each job myself and write the estimate. While the work's going on, I'm on site with our crew, so the person who priced it is the one watching it get done.
We're fully licensed and insured. Every job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. We're best known for explaining what we're doing and why before anything gets poured, and I'd rather answer your question twice now than leave you wondering later. When you're ready, call (415) 429-4397 or send us a message and I'll set a time to come look.
When a slab, step or walk is tied to the house, a clean saw cut lets us remove only the part that has to go and keep the rest.
A house that sits higher can leave the old drive meeting the garage at an awkward angle, and a new slab can be planned to match it.
Below are the cities with their own page on our site. They aren't the only places we work, so if your house is nearby and not listed, give us a call.
Across the US, raising a typical single-family house usually costs about $20,000 to $80,000 per house. That's a national figure, not our price, and the things covered above, like how your house sits, your lot and what's in the contract, decide where yours lands. Your written estimate gives the number for your house.
You'll be out of the house for part of the project, and cost guides put the whole raise at six to twelve weeks. Temporary housing is seldom part of a contractor's bid, so plan and budget for it on your own. I'll talk through the likely stretch with you at the estimate.
California has a building moving and demolition contractor class that covers raising, underpinning and moving structures, including their foundations. It doesn't cover repairs, additions or changes to the parts of the house that stay, so that work needs a contractor licensed for it. Ask each bidder which license covers which part of the job.
It isn't worth the risk. The town may issue a Stop Work Order on any work that needed a building permit and started without one, which would stall the job partway through. That's why we wait until any permit is in hand before we begin.
Have a sense of how your house sits over the ground and whether you want a lift-only or a turnkey price. If you're not sure about either, that's fine, because I'll look under the house and talk through both options with you when I'm out.
Call (415) 429-4397 any day of the week, from early morning into the evening, or send a message through our form whenever it suits you.
