Foundation raising in Pomona CA - a steadier house that sits closer to level
Doors sticking, floors sloping or cracks over the windows? We find out which way your house moved, then get it steady and closer to level.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Can a settled house in Pomona be raised back up?
Foundation raising in Pomona lifts a house that has settled and underpins it, which means we add support beneath the foundation so the house ends up steady and closer to level.
Most people call when a door stops latching or a marble rolls across the kitchen floor on its own. The first thing I want to know is what your house sits on, a concrete slab or a raised wood floor on short posts and beams, which contractors call pier and beam. That, and whether we're lifting one corner or the whole house, moves the price more than anything else. The schedule turns on the same thing, since slabs take longer, and on any permit the city wants first. You get your own numbers in the written estimate after I've looked at the house.
How do you know your house has shifted?
Doors and windows that stick
A door that used to close fine now rubs at the top or won't latch, or a window binds halfway up. That usually means the frame has twisted because part of the house moved, and the longer it goes, the more the walls around it crack and the bigger the fix gets.
Floors that slope or dip
You feel a slope walking across a room, or the floor near one wall sits lower than the rest. On a raised house that's often a sagging beam or a settled post, and on a slab it can mean a corner went down or the middle came up, which is why I check which way before anything else.
Cracks above doors and windows
Diagonal cracks running from the corners of doors and windows, or gaps opening where the wall meets the floor or ceiling, show the house is pulling one way. Patching them without dealing with the cause just means patching again, and plaster and tile cost more to fix the further things move.
How we handle foundation raising
The first question I answer is which way your house moved, because lifting a slab that rose instead of sank only tilts it further, and it won't come back down. If it settled, we dig where the supports go, set them under the foundation and lift a little at a time while I watch the doors, walls and tile inside. We aim for steady and nearer to level, not perfectly flat, because pushing hard for that last bit cracks tile, plaster or plumbing somewhere else in the house.
Raising a house often touches the concrete around it. When a patio, walk or garage slab sits where a support has to go, we use concrete cutting to take out a clean section instead of breaking up the whole thing. If the driveway sank or tipped along with the house, concrete driveway building gets you a new slab that meets the garage at the right height again.
Raised house with a minor sag
On a pier-and-beam house that settled a little, shimming, which means sliding thin supports between the piers and beams, can bring the floor back quickly with little mess. It isn't a long-term answer if something deeper is going on under the house, so I'll tell you if the piers or the ground need more than shims.
Slab house that settled
A slab that went down at a corner or along one side is the one that suits lifting, once we've confirmed it sank and didn't rise. Filling under a slab to raise it will level the slab but won't fix poor soil underneath, so we look at what caused the drop before we decide how to lift.
Get a written estimate for your foundation raising
We reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look at the house and the ground around it, then send you a free written estimate, and there's no pressure to book.
(909) 729-4086Foundation raising in Pomona, from the permit to the quake maps
Building permits in the city go through Pomona's Building & Safety office, and whether a raising job needs one is their call, so that's who to ask. When it does, we pull it and handle the paperwork with the city. The state also maps liquefaction zones, places where the soil under a foundation has to be checked and dealt with before homes get built, and cities have to use those maps when they issue permits. Before we talk to the city, type your address into the state's EQ Zapp tool, which shows whether your lot sits in a mapped hazard zone or whether the state hasn't looked at your area yet.
We're based in Pomona and work in the cities around it, and we see the same mix of older raised houses and slab houses on jobs in Claremont and La Verne. On the raised ones I'm under the house with a flashlight before I say anything, and on slabs I walk the outside looking for the low corner.
What happens after you call about raising your house
Call or send us a message
Tell us what you're noticing in the house and we'll set a time for me to come out. Evenings and weekends work too, since we answer the phone seven days a week.
I look at the house myself
I check which way it moved, what it sits on and the ground around it, measure, and ask how you use the rooms. The written estimate tells you whether raising suits your house, what we'd do and what it costs, so you're not guessing at the price.
We permit, lift and walk through
We pull any permit the job needs, then my crew digs and lifts while I check each stage. Before we pack up, we walk the house with you and look at the doors, floors and walls together.
Frequently asked questions
How much does foundation raising cost in Pomona?
Across the US, leveling a house usually costs about $3,500 to $30,000 per job, and that's the market's range, not our price. Slab houses run higher than pier-and-beam houses, and lifting one settled corner costs less than leveling the whole house, though a slab corner still takes four to six piers. Your own figure comes in the written estimate after I've seen the house.
How long does foundation raising take?
The lifting itself typically takes one to three days on a pier-and-beam house and three to seven days on a slab, by national figures. Plan around the longer window if you're on a slab, plus whatever time the city needs if your job calls for a permit.
Can a brick or block house be raised?
Often it shouldn't be. A university extension guide says jacking can often correct uneven settling in wood-frame houses, but masonry is often sensitive to movement and shouldn't be jacked or leveled. If your walls are brick or block, I'll tell you straight if the house is better left alone.
Who is licensed to raise a house in California?
The state licensing board describes a building moving contractor as the one who raises, lowers and underpins houses and other structures, including their foundations. That license doesn't cover repairs to the parts of the house that stay in place, so fixing cracked plaster or tile afterward can be separate work, and it's fair to ask any crew which license they hold.
Can I stay in my house while it's being raised?
Usually, yes, most owners stay home through the whole job. Slab work is loud and means digging around the outside of the house, so if you work from home, plan for some noisy days.
How do I keep my house from settling again after it's raised?
Start with the ground around it. A university guide on soils that swell when wet begins with a yard graded so water drains away from the house, and says to keep plants at least five feet from the foundation unless they need very little water. Nobody can promise the ground won't move again, but water running away from the walls helps.
Pomona, CA
Find out if raising fits your house
Have your foundation type, what the walls are made of and your address handy when you call, so I can look up the state's hazard map before I come out.