Foundation raising in Lake Forest CA - a settled house that stops sinking
Sticking doors, spreading cracks or a sloping floor? We start with an engineer's assessment, then lift or steady your house the right way.
Complete Lake Forest Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Lake Forest and working in cities across Orange County. Most of what we pour is driveways, patios and walks, but we also take on foundation raising when a house has started to settle. We'd rather explain a job before we price it, so you know what you're paying for and why.
- Owner comes out to every estimate
- Engineer's assessment before any lift
- Digging backfilled, site cleaned up
Foundation raising for settled Lake Forest homes
Foundation raising lifts a settled foundation back up, or steadies it so it stops moving. Most people call because something in the house changed: a door that won't latch, a crack running up the drywall, a floor that slopes under your feet. Before Complete Lake Forest Concrete Company lifts a house in Lake Forest, we want a structural engineer's assessment, because that tells us whether it can be raised and how.
The price moves mostly with the size of the house and the method the engineer's findings point to, and the schedule turns on that same method plus any permit the job needs. I'll go through both with you and leave you with an estimate for your house. We're fully licensed and insured.
- Digging outside. Piers usually go in from outside the house, so expect digging along the foundation and some landscaping to put back afterward.
- Cutting through slabs. Where a walk or patio sits over the work, our concrete cutting takes out a clean section instead of breaking up more than we need.
- The lift. We raise the house in small, measured steps and check level as we go, because rushing it is how new cracks start.
- Closing it up. We backfill the digging, patch drill holes and slab openings, and leave the site clear when the lift is done.
Lifting and steadying what has settled
Foundation raising covers more than the house itself. It runs from lifting a sunken slab with foam to setting piers under a foundation that's still moving.
Foam slab lifting
Polyurethane foam goes in under the slab through a small hole drilled through or beside it, then expands and lifts the slab from below with little setup.
Pier underpinning
Each pier is driven or drilled past the soft layer to load-bearing soil, so the house rests on piers instead of the ground that gave way.
Stopping movement
Some pier jobs only stop further movement without lifting, so ask any bidder whether the plan raises your house or just holds it where it is.
Sunken patios and walks
A patio or walk that has dropped and tipped toward the house can often be lifted back into line before it sends more water at the foundation.
Replacing broken slabs
When a driveway is cracked past saving, lifting won't fix it, and we'll talk with you about a new concrete driveway instead.
Have settling we didn't mention here, like a sunken step or a stoop pulling away from the house? Call and ask whether it's our kind of work.
Foundation raising worth doing once
Done right, a lift stops the slow damage and the concrete around the house drains the way it should. Done cheap, you pay twice, once for the lift and again when the cracks come back.
- Water sent awayAny concrete we put back slopes away from the house, because water soaking in at the foundation is what softens the ground under it.
- The base firstIf the budget's tight, cut the fancy finish, not the base, because a dug-out, packed base is what keeps a slab from settling again.
- Joints cut on timeNew slabs get control joints, grooves cut early so the cracks concrete makes land in a straight line instead of across the middle.
- Time to cureFresh concrete needs time to cure, the slow hardening that sets its strength, so we keep you off it until it's ready.
How a foundation raising job runs
I come out and look
I come to your house, look at the cracks, doors and floors with you, and go over the structural engineer's assessment if you already have one.
Options and your estimate
I walk you through foam and piers and why one fits your house better, then leave you with an estimate for that plan.
The work and the walk-through
Our own crew handles the digging, lifting and cleanup while I check the work at the key steps, then I walk the job with you at the end.
Why homeowners call us when a house settles
We treat a settled house as a question to answer before it's a job to sell. That means the engineer's word first, foam and piers weighed honestly, and a straight answer if the lift isn't ours to do.
Both methods on the table
We set foam and piers side by side against the engineer's findings and tell you plainly which one fits your house and why.
Told if it's another trade
If your lift is work for another licensed trade, you'll hear it from me at the estimate, not halfway through the job.
Our crew, checked by me
The crew on your job is ours, and I check their work at the key steps instead of hearing about it later.
Satisfaction guaranteed on every job
That covers the lift and the concrete we put back around it. Want to talk it through first? Call (949) 619-8295.
Settling around Lake Forest and nearby cities
Foundations across California move for a couple of known reasons. Expansive soils, which swell when wet and shrink as they dry, have damaged thousands of homes in the state, and you can look your lot up on the state's Seismic Hazard Zone Map for liquefaction and landslide areas in a strong quake. Bring what you find to your engineer.
Permit rules differ from city to city, so we check with the building office where your house is before work starts, and if the job needs a permit we handle the application with you. Around here, settling often shows first in the concrete outside, and we see the same in Mission Viejo and Laguna Hills.
Tell us what your house is doing
Send the form or call with what you're seeing, plus any engineer's assessment you have. We reply within one business day and set up a free, no-obligation estimate at your house.
Call (949) 619-8295Foundation raising questions
How much does it cost to raise a house in Lake Forest?
Across the US, raising a house usually costs about $10,000 to $60,000 per job, according to Angi, and the bigger the house, the more it costs to raise. That's the national range, not our price. Your own figure comes from the estimate after I've seen the house and the engineer's findings.
Should my house be lifted with foam or piers?
Foam usually fits shallow settlement, and piers fit a house that's still moving or sits over firm soil deeper than foam can reach, according to one maker's guide. So the two things to learn first are whether it's still moving and how deep good soil sits. The engineer's assessment answers both.
How long does foundation raising take?
Foam lifting can often be finished within a day, depending on the job's size, while piers take days rather than hours. Raising a whole house, with permits and prep, can take several weeks, though the lifting itself usually takes about a week.
Who is licensed to raise a house foundation in California?
California's contractor licensing board describes a building moving/demolition contractor as the one who raises, lowers and underpins structures, foundations included. That license doesn't cover repairs or additions to the parts of the house that stay in place. If your lift is that trade's work, I'll tell you at the estimate.
Will raising my house crack the drywall inside?
It likely will cause some disruption to walls, floors and ceilings, like cracking drywall, so plan on some touch-up work afterward. Moving a house even a little shifts everything attached to it. We'll talk through what to expect inside before the lift starts.