Foundation raising in Auburn ME - a house set back down on solid new concrete
House sitting too low or on a tired old foundation? We lift it, build a new foundation underneath and set it back down.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Can my house in Auburn be raised onto a new foundation?
Foundation raising in Auburn means lifting your house off its old foundation and building a new or extended one underneath it, so the house ends up sitting on fresh concrete instead of whatever it had before.
Usually the call comes because the old foundation has had its day or the house sits lower than you want it to, and whether yours is a good candidate comes down to what it's built on and how it's shaped. What moves the price is mostly the house itself, its shape, what's attached to it and whether a chimney is in the way. The schedule waits on the house being checked before anything is lifted and on what the local permit office needs, and the written estimate puts your own number on paper.
How our foundation raising job goes
Lifting a house starts with someone qualified looking it over, so we get that check done first and hold off on scheduling a lift until it is. Then the house is separated from the old foundation, raised on hydraulic jacks and held on temporary supports while we dig out, pack the base and pour the new or extended foundation underneath. Once that concrete has cured, which is the wait that lets it gain strength before it carries weight, the house comes down onto it. Garages, porches and chimneys add work, and I'll point them out on the first visit, because nobody wants that surprise with the house up in the air.
Some of the connected work is cutting. When an attached porch or garage slab has to come loose from the house, or old concrete is in the way of the new foundation, concrete cutting gives a clean break instead of a jackhammered mess. The equipment for a lift is also hard on an old driveway, so if yours was due anyway, concrete driveway building can follow once the house is back down.
Simple square or rectangular house
A plain box of a house is the easiest kind to lift, because it comes up in one piece with nothing hanging off it. If that's yours, most of the job is the new foundation.
House with a garage, porch or addition
Attached garages, porches, wings and additions often have to be detached and lifted separately, especially when they sit on their own foundations. It's very doable, it's just more work, and it shows up in the price.
Slab-on-grade house
If your house sits right on a concrete slab with no basement or crawlspace under it, FEMA's homeowner guide says to seek a structural engineer's help before you even consider raising it. We'd want that advice in hand before we talk about a lift.
Foundation raising in Auburn: the city offices, the state code and deep frost
Before we book a lift in Auburn, we check with the city's Permitting and Code Enforcement department, which takes building, electrical, plumbing and energy code permit applications. Its list doesn't name foundation raising, so whether your job needs a permit is a question for that office, and when one's called for we handle the application. If your lot is in a flood area, the city's Zoning and Planning department is the second office in the picture, since it handles flood hazard development plans. The state also treats its building and energy code as mandatory and the owner's responsibility, even where the local office doesn't enforce it, so we plan the new foundation with that code in mind.
Frost is the other thing Auburn adds. The county's soil survey, an older one, found frost goes deep here and deepest under roads and driveways, so the new foundation has to sit well below it, and the city code office is where the required depth gets settled. We dig for it the same way on jobs in Lewiston and down in Portland.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete to lift a house
The owner looks at your house
I come out myself to look the house over and give the estimate, and I lead the crew that does the work. The person who flagged your garage or chimney on the first visit is the one standing there when the house goes up.
In business here since 2013
We've been pouring slabs, footings and foundations since 2013, 13 years, in ground that freezes as deep as it does around here. The base under a new foundation is the part nobody sees and the first thing people want to cut, so that's where I spend the time.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. That's worth asking any crew about before they put a jack under your house.
Raising a house goes right when the checks come before the jacks. Call (207) 707-4423 or send us a note through the contact page to set up a look at yours.
Request a quoteGet a free on-site estimate for raising your house
We reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out to look the house over and measure it, and you get a written estimate with no obligation to go ahead.
What happens after you call about raising your house in Auburn?
Call and I come out
You call, and I come out to look at the house, measure it and ask how you use it. You get a written estimate, so the price is on paper before anything gets booked.
Line up the checks first
Once you're ready, the qualified inspection comes first, then we check what the local permit office needs and set a pour date that suits the job. The base gets dug out and packed before any concrete shows up.
Pour, cure and walk through
We finish the new foundation and let it cure properly before the house comes down onto it. Then we walk the job with you before we pack up.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my house is sound enough to be raised?
You have it inspected first. The FEMA guide says a design professional should inspect a home before it's lifted to confirm it's structurally sound, and that inspection is the first step, before any lift is scheduled. That's where we start every job like this.
How much does it cost to raise a house in Auburn, Maine?
The cost comes from your house, so your number comes from the written estimate after I've seen it. Chimneys add to the cost because they have to be braced or removed during the lift, and attached sections, a slab floor and the size of the new foundation all move it too. Call (207) 707-4423 and I'll come out to measure.
Are house raising contractors licensed in Maine?
No. The Maine Attorney General says general contractors and trades like framing aren't licensed or regulated in Maine, while the state does license plumbers and electricians. That makes insurance, references and a written contract the things to check when you hire a crew to lift your house.
What should my contract include for raising my house in Maine?
Maine law requires a written contract for home construction or repair work over $3,000, and it has to give the total price, estimated start and end dates, the work and materials, and a warranty of good workmanship. Any change in work or materials that changes the price goes in a written change order signed by both sides, showing the old and new price. Those are your rights before you sign anything.
Do the utilities have to be disconnected to raise a house?
Yes. Water, sewer, gas, electric and phone lines all have to be disconnected before a house is raised, and they're reconnected at the end. Any landscaping the work made necessary gets finished along with those reconnections.
How long does it take to raise a house and build a new foundation?
Most of the time goes to the work around the lift, not the lift itself. The inspection, the permit office's answer, digging and pouring the new foundation and letting it cure before the house comes down all take their turn, and we set the pour date once those first checks are done.
Other work that often goes with a house lift
Concrete cutting
When a porch slab, a garage floor or an old wall has to be separated cleanly, saw cutting leaves straight edges and spares the concrete you're keeping from a pounding.
Concrete driveway building
If heavy equipment and a foundation crew have left your driveway cracked or sunken, a new one poured on a dug-out, packed base is built to sit flat in front of the house.
Auburn, ME
Set up a visit to price your lift
Have your address, the house's shape, what it sits on and any attached garage or chimney handy when you call (207) 707-4423, and the first visit goes quicker.