Saint John ConcreteSaint John Concrete

Foundation raising in Saint John IN - a house that sits on fresh, solid support

If water keeps finding its way into your basement or crawlspace, lifting the house onto a new, taller foundation sets your living space higher.

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A large reddish-brown stamped concrete driveway with a stone pattern leads to a white house and garage.
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Foundation raising
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(219) 351-9579

How do you know your house may need to be raised?

  • Water under the house

    You find standing water in the basement or crawlspace after a heavy rain. It usually means the house sits low compared with where water collects, and every soaking adds wet framing, mold and ruined equipment to the bill.

  • Doors close to the ground

    Your entry doors sit at or near ground level, and you've watched water creep up toward the threshold in a storm. That usually means one bad storm can put water in the living space, and cleaning up after that is a much bigger job than planning ahead.

  • Old foundation breaking down

    Block walls are cracking, crumbling or leaning in, and the floors above have started to slope. When a foundation's that far gone, lifting the house to build a new one under it can make more sense than patching, and every season you wait lets the walls move further.

What does raising a house in Saint John involve?

Foundation raising in Saint John lifts your house off its foundation on hydraulic jacks, holds it on temporary supports and builds a new or taller foundation underneath, so the house ends up on fresh support at a new height.

Most people who call about this have had water come in one too many times, or they have an old foundation they don't trust, and they want to know if lifting the house is even an option. The price moves with your foundation type, how much new foundation goes in and the steps, ramp or driveway work that has to follow the house up, while the schedule turns on permits, any inspection and good weather for the pours. We're fully licensed and insured, which matters when a house is sitting on jacks, and my written estimate is where you get your own figures and a list of what's included.

Details to note before an estimate

  • Your address and foundation type
  • Basement, crawlspace or ground-level slab
  • Where your entry doors sit
  • Any water that's come inside

How we handle foundation raising

The first question on any lift is whether your foundation type suits one at all, so that's what I check before anything else, and I'll tell you straight if it doesn't. If it does, we count the new steps or ramp in the plan from the start, because a house whose doors sat near the ground will have doors well above it when we're done. On the job the house comes off its foundation on jacks and rests on temporary supports while we build the new foundation below, often solid walls extended upward with concrete, a setup FEMA's flood guidance says suits areas where floodwater stays fairly shallow and slow. That wall and footing work is buried by the time you see the finished house, and it's the last place I'd cut to free up money for nicer steps, because everything above it depends on it.

A lift usually touches more than the house. We may need concrete cutting to open old walls or slab sections where beams pass through or the new foundation ties in, and once the house sits higher, the drive has to meet it, so concrete driveway building often follows, laid out so rain runs away from the house and not back toward it.

Work that often comes with a lift

  • Concrete cutting

    When an old slab, wall or step is in the way, clean saw cuts let us remove just that section without cracking the concrete around it.

  • Concrete driveway building

    A raised house or garage can leave the old drive sitting low, so a new driveway brings the grade up and sends rainwater toward the street.

What happens after you call about raising your house?

  1. Call or send the form

    Call (219) 351-9579 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out. A few words about the house and what's been happening helps me know what to look at.

  2. I come out and measure

    I look at the foundation, measure, check the grade and work out what new steps or a ramp will take. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, like removal or hauling where it applies.

  3. We plan, lift and pour

    Once you say go, we sort out the permit with the city, plan the pours around the weather and any inspection, and I check the forms and string lines before the truck shows up. I'm on site with our crew from the lift through the pour and finish.

Questions before you book foundation raising

Can my house be raised if it sits on a slab?

Often not with the slab left in one piece. Lifting works well for houses on a basement, crawlspace or open foundation, but raising a house on a ground-level slab with the slab intact often isn't practical. If yours is on a slab, we'll talk through it plainly at the estimate.

How much does it cost to raise a house in Saint John, IN?

Across the US, raising a typical single-family house usually runs about $20,000 to $80,000, and that's a national figure, not our price. Where yours lands depends mostly on how much of the work is in the contract, with full foundation replacement costing the most, plus the new steps or ramp. I'll put your own figure and what it covers in a written estimate, and it's satisfaction guaranteed on every job.

Do I need a permit to raise my house in Saint John, IN?

Yes, plan on one, because St. John requires a building permit before renovations or repairs to a building, filed online with the Building and Planning Department. We check with the department, handle the permit and plan the pours around any inspection it schedules. The department's permit portal also asks companies that build, repair and alter buildings to register, so that's a fair thing to ask any contractor.

How long does raising a house take?

Most house-raising projects run about 6 to 12 weeks, according to one national cost guide. Permits, inspections, pouring weather and how much new foundation goes under the house all move that, so plan around weeks, not days.

How do I check if my house is in a floodplain in Indiana?

Look up your address on the Indiana DNR floodplain portal, which shows mapped floodplains and flood elevation points along waterways. If your home turns out to be in a mapped A zone, local floodplain permitting needs a floodplain report made through that same portal, so it's worth checking before we plan the job.

Who handles permits if my house is in unincorporated Lake County?

The Lake County Plan Commission does, issuing building permits and testing and licensing contractors for the unincorporated parts of the county only. Houses inside a city go through that city's own office instead. We're based in Saint John and work in the cities around it in northwest Indiana and just over the line in Illinois, and we check with whichever office covers your address.

Get a written estimate for raising your house

We reply within one business day to set up a visit, and the estimate is free with no pressure and no obligation. I come out myself, look at your foundation, measure and leave you a written estimate that spells out what's included.

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Find out if your house can be raised

Have your address, foundation type and entry door layout handy, and our first conversation covers a lot more ground.

Request an estimateCall (219) 351-9579