Continuous foundation walls
Concrete walls run under the whole outline of the house, much like the foundation you have now. It's the most familiar look, and it closes in the space underneath.
Foundation raising in Manchester NH - your house set higher on a new foundation
Water getting too close to your floors? We lift the house, build a higher foundation under it and set it back down.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Raising a house onto a higher foundation
Foundation raising in Manchester means lifting your house off its old foundation, building a new, higher one under it and setting the house back down, so your living space sits farther above the ground and the water.
The price mostly comes down to the house itself. What it sits on now, how heavy it is, whether heavy siding or an addition changes the plan, how high you want to go and what the new foundation is made of all move it. The schedule turns on steps outside the pour, like an engineer's review, the permit, the utility companies and curing, which is the wait while new concrete hardens before it can take weight. Your own figure comes from the estimate, where I walk the house with you and write down what the price covers.
Before work starts, we check with Manchester's building office about your job, and when a permit is needed we handle the paperwork for our part of the work or help you file it. We're based in Manchester and do the same work in the cities around it across southern New Hampshire and into Methuen, MA.
Plain explanations before you sign
I'd rather spend an extra hour explaining your options than rush you into a lift. You'll know what each step is for and what the price covers before you sign anything.
The owner on site
I come out to look at every job myself, and I work alongside our crew on the build, so the person who explained the plan is there when it happens.
Ground work before finish
Good concrete comes from the ground work and the timing more than the finish. Under a house that matters even more, because the new foundation carries all of its weight.
How we plan and pour for a lift
It starts with a straight answer. When I walk your house, I'll tell you honestly whether it looks like a good fit for lifting and why. On a heavy house or one with additions, we bring in an engineer's review before anything else, because the engineer should be the one to say whether the house can take the lift. We're licensed and insured, and we'd still rather slow down at that step than guess. See why we start there?
Once a lift makes sense, our part is the concrete the house comes back down on. We dig out the footings, the wide concrete base the walls stand on, down to firm soil and pack what goes under them, because new walls set on loose dirt settle the same way a sinking slab does. We set the rebar, the steel inside that holds the concrete together when it's pulled or bent, and we pour when the weather suits it, not in midday heat that leaves a weak, dusty top.
Then we give the new concrete its full curing time before the house comes down on it, since putting weight on it early is how cracks start. If old slabs, steps or walls are in the way, our concrete cutting work opens them up cleanly. Once the house sits higher, we can pour a new concrete driveway that meets it at the right height.
What the house can sit on afterward
Piers or posts
The house sits on separate supports with open space between them, so water can move under the house instead of pushing against a solid wall all the way around.
Piles or columns
Like piers, these leave the space under the house open. Which open foundation fits depends on your lot and the engineer's review, and we'll go through it with you on site.
Raised ground with fill
Instead of a taller foundation, the ground under the house is built up with fill. Fill only holds when it's laid down in layers and packed, which is the ground work we put first.
Get a free estimate for raising your house
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, walk the house with you, explain what I see and write down what the price covers, with no pressure to book.
Tell us your foundation type
Let us know if the house sits over a crawlspace, a basement or a slab, because that's the first thing that decides how a lift would go for your house.
Mention siding and additions
Brick, stucco or an addition on the back changes the plan. If I know about them before I come out, I can bring the right questions and look at the right spots.
Say if you're in a flood zone
If your lot sits in a mapped flood area, tell us up front, because the paperwork and the insurance side of the job start well before the concrete does.
Foundation and concrete work examples
These photos show foundation walls, footings, slabs and finishes we can talk through as we plan the new foundation under your house.
Questions about raising a house in Manchester
Straight answers to the questions owners usually have when they're deciding whether lifting their house makes sense.
Can my house in Manchester be raised?
Often, yes, and a house over a crawlspace is generally the easiest and least expensive kind to raise. A house on a slab-on-grade foundation, a concrete slab poured at ground level, may not be possible or worth the cost to lift, so those get a close look first. I'll tell you which one yours is when I walk it.
What happens when a house is raised?
A cradle of steel beams goes under or through the house, and jacks lift it to the height you want. A new, higher foundation is built underneath, the utilities are extended, and the house is lowered onto it and reconnected. Call your utility companies about their rules for extending service, because in many cases they build that extension for you.
Can a brick or stucco house be lifted?
It can be, but brick or stucco siding may need to come off before the lift, and additions may need to be raised separately from the main house. That's why heavy houses get the engineer's review I mentioned above before anything else, because a structural engineer should judge whether your house suits lifting.
Who handles permits to raise a house in Manchester, NH?
The city's Building Division reviews plans and approves permits, and you can get building permit applications online or by mail from the city. Work on an existing house falls under New Hampshire's state building code, which covers alterations and repairs as well as new building. That's why we check with the division about your job before anything starts.
Will raising my house in Manchester help with flood insurance?
It may, and your flood insurance agent can tell you before work begins whether the plan qualifies for a premium reduction that matches a properly elevated first floor. In mapped flood areas, the city's permit file needs an official record that the work is properly elevated, and FEMA encourages its Elevation Certificate for that, which you can also use to get flood insurance.
Concrete work that often goes with a lift
Find out if your house can be lifted
Call (603) 591-9259 or send the form early, because the engineer, the permit and your insurance agent can all take time before the lift starts.