Foundation raising in Highland IN - your house set higher, on support built to carry it
Water getting into the house, or a flood map you can't ignore? We lift the house and build a taller foundation under it.
What does raising a house in Highland involve?
Foundation raising in Highland lifts your house off its foundation on hydraulic jacks, holds it on temporary supports and builds a new or extended foundation underneath, so your floors end up higher above the ground and the water.
If you're looking into this, you've probably had water get into the house or found it on a flood map, and at Highland Concrete the first thing I ask is what your house sits on. The price and the schedule turn on that foundation type, how high the house has to go, how much of the old foundation can stay and what has to move with it, from utilities to the steps at your door, and your written estimate spells out which of those our price covers.
Why homeowners pick us for foundation raising
When you hire Highland Concrete to raise a house, you deal with me from the first walk-through to the last day, and you get straight answers about what your foundation can and can't do.
I come out myself
I walk every house myself before I price it, and I'm on site with our crew for the prep, the pour and the finish.
In business since 2017
I started Highland Concrete in 2017 after years fixing machines in a plant and learning the trade under an old-school finisher.
Licensed and insured
We're licensed and insured, which matters on a job where your whole house rests on temporary supports for a while.
Straight talk about your plan
I'd rather tell you a plan won't work and why than build something that lets you down a few winters from now.
Taking the hard jobs
We take on the jobs other crews pass on, like the side yard where water sits or the wall nobody wants to touch.
Ways we handle foundation raising
The right approach depends on what your house sits on now, how high it has to go and what the old foundation can carry, so that's where we start with you.
What happens when you call about raising your house?
A raising job reaches into how you live in your house, so we plan it around your foundation, your family's schedule and the time you'll need to be away.
Call or send the form
Call or send the form with a few details about the house, and we'll set up a visit. I answer most of our calls myself.
I look at the house
I come out, look at the foundation, the ground and where water runs, and ask how you use the lower level and the entry.
Your written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out what's in the price and what isn't, so you can plan anything you'll arrange on your own.
Lift, build, finish
I'm on site with our crew from the base prep to the final finish, and before we leave I go over caring for the new concrete.
Questions about a step? Call and talk it through.
(219) 533-1721Questions about raising a house
Can a house on a concrete slab be raised?
Yes, but slab houses are generally harder to raise than ones on a basement, crawlspace or piers. That kind of lift should only be done by a highly skilled contractor with a lot of experience lifting slab houses, so ask anyone you're considering, us included, about that experience first.
How much does it cost to raise a house near Highland, IN?
Raising a house of 1,000 to 2,500 square feet in the Chicago area usually costs about $10,000 to $60,000 per project. Bids differ because a lift-only price assumes you arrange the utility disconnects, the new foundation and the reconnection yourself, while a turnkey price rolls all of that into one number. Our written estimate spells out what our price includes, so you can compare bids on the same terms.
How long will we be out of the house when it's raised?
One cost guide says you'll be 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 somewhere to stay separately, and I'll be clear at the estimate about when you'll need to be out.
How do I raise a house that has a basement?
Raising a basement house means the utility equipment that usually sits down there gets raised or moved, and the basement gets filled in. That changes the work and the price, so we go over where your furnace, water heater and panel would go when I come out.
Will we need new steps after raising our house?
Usually yes, because a raised house needs a new way in, like new stairs, a ramp or an elevator if the doors used to be at ground level. We plan the new entry along with the lift so you're not left with a door you can't reach.
What do I need for flood insurance after raising my house?
One cost guide says a surveyor has to issue a new elevation certificate, a record of your finished floor height, once the house is up. Without it, the guide says, your insurer can't price the change and the lower premium doesn't arrive, so line up the surveyor before the job wraps up.
Foundation raising in Highland and the flood rules here
If your house sits in a floodway, Indiana's Department of Natural Resources issues permits for construction other than new homes, with some exemptions, and you need a local permit in every case. The DNR's floodplain portal shows the flood maps and flood elevations for your lot and can produce a FARA, a floodplain report that's required for local floodplain permits in A zones, so it's worth pulling one before I come out. The DNR's minimum standard also counts work costing 50% or more of the building's market value before the work as substantial improvement, so it helps to know what your house is worth going in. Rules differ from city to city, so if your job needs a permit we take care of the paperwork, line up inspections with the city's building office and check with that office before we set a date.
Along the Little Calumet River, a flood-control project is designed to protect up to the 200-year flood level on the main channel from the Illinois line to Martin Luther King Drive in Gary, so where your house sits on that stretch is one of the first things I look at on the map. We're based in Highland and work in the cities around it on both sides of the state line, and we see the same low yards and water questions on jobs in Hammond and Munster.
Talk with Highland Concrete about your house
Call (219) 533-1721 or send the form, since an early in-person estimate leaves you time to line up permits and a place to stay.