Foundation Raising in Simi Valley CA - room to fix what's under your house
A failing foundation, sagging floor framing or a flood worry? We lift the house and hold it safely so the work underneath gets done.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does it take to raise a house in Simi Valley?
Foundation raising in Simi Valley means lifting your house off its old foundation and holding it on cribbing, stacks of heavy timber that carry the house, so the foundation can be replaced, the house raised for flood protection or the floor framing underneath repaired.
Most people who call about this have a house that's settled, a foundation that's breaking down or water that keeps finding its way underneath, and they want to know if the house can come up and what that involves. The price mostly follows the house itself, its size, what it's built from and how sound the sills and framing are, plus everything that happens while it's up, like a new foundation, utility work and the engineering. The schedule turns on the same things and on how long the engineering and any permit take, which is usually a lot longer than the lift. If the plan is a new foundation, that's foundation installation done while the house sits on its supports. Your written estimate is where you get the figure for your own house.
How do you know your house may need to be raised?
Floors that slope or bounce
A marble rolls to one side of the room, or the floor gives a little near an outside wall. That usually means the foundation has settled or the joists underneath have weakened, and the longer it goes, the more the framing bends to match and the more there is to straighten later.
Old foundation crumbling
In the crawl space or along the outside, the old concrete flakes, cracks wide or breaks off at the corners. Older foundations reach a point where patching won't hold, and waiting tends to move the damage up into the sills and walls.
Water pooling against the house
After a hard rain, water stands along the house or seeps into the crawl space. Wet wood under a house turns into rotted sills over time, and some owners end up raising the house instead of fighting the same water every winter.
How we handle foundation raising
We start with what your house is built from and what shape it's in, crawl space and sills included, because every house carries its weight a little differently. Before the lift plan is set, we want an engineer to look at the house, since the plan has to fit the house and not the other way around. Then the site gets prepped, the utilities are disconnected, the house comes up onto cribbing, the work underneath gets done, and the house is set back down and hooked back up. The part people most want to trim is the engineering and the repairs nobody sees once the house is back down, and that's the part I'd keep, because a house set onto weak sills or a rushed foundation tends to bring you right back to the same problem.
A lift usually brings some concrete work with it. If an old slab, footing or walkway has to come out in pieces, we do the concrete cutting so the concrete you're keeping doesn't crack along with it. And if the house ends up higher than it was, the garage won't meet the old driveway anymore, so we can handle the concrete driveway building to bring it up to the new height.
Lift for a new foundation
This suits a house whose old foundation is failing and can't be patched. The house sits on cribbing while the old foundation comes out and a new one goes in underneath it.
Raise for flood protection
This suits a house that takes water or sits where flooding is a real worry. The house goes up and stays at a new height on a new foundation, so the living space sits higher off the ground.
Lift to reach the floor framing
This suits sagging or damaged floor joists that are hard to get at from a tight crawl space. Lifting gives the crew room to repair or replace the framing before the house goes back down.
Get a written estimate for raising your house
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out, look the house over and give you a free written estimate, with no obligation.
(805) 261-5009- Based in
- Simi Valley, CA 93065
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about raising your house?
Here's how a foundation raising job runs from your first call to the day the house is set back down and hooked up again.
Call or send a message
Tell us the size of the house, what it's built from and what's bothering you, whether that's settling, the framing or flooding. We get back to you and set a time to come look.
Walk the house with me
I look the house over, crawl space included, and ask a lot of questions about how it's built and what's under it. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included and what isn't, so you can lay it next to other bids line by line.
Engineering and permits sorted
Once you say go, the engineer's review happens and we sort out any permit with you. This is usually the slowest stretch of the job, and it's what keeps the lift itself uneventful.
Lift, rebuild and set down
Our crew preps the site, lifts the house, does the work underneath and sets it back down, and I check in at the steps that matter most. Utilities get reconnected and the site cleaned up before we call it done.
Why Simi Valley homeowners call Custom Simi Valley Concrete to raise a house
Years of framing before concrete
I framed houses for years before starting this business in 2017, and that's what got me curious about what sits under the walls. On a lift that background matters, because the walls and sills have to hold together while the house is in the air.
The owner looks at your house
I come out myself to look at the job and write the estimate, and a crew lead runs the work day to day after that. The person who studied your house is the one stopping by at the lift and the set-down.
We're licensed and insured
Custom Simi Valley Concrete is licensed and insured. With a whole house sitting on temporary supports, that's a fair thing to ask any contractor about before you sign.
Based right here in Simi Valley
We're based in Simi Valley, and the jobs we're known for are the ones that need some figuring, like sloped yards and concrete that has to meet a house just right. A lift is that kind of job from start to finish.
If your house has started to move, have someone look at it in person before you decide anything. Ask for an estimate or call (805) 261-5009.
Raising houses and rebuilding foundations in Simi Valley
In Simi Valley, the city's Building and Safety Division reviews plans and inspects projects, so that's the office to ask whether your lift needs a permit. We'll tell you which office handles it and can pull the permit as your contractor, or help you if you'd rather pull it yourself. Flooding matters here too. In 2020 the city's floodplain manager pointed out that flooding often happens well outside the mapped flood hazard areas, and nearly 70% of the city's paid flood insurance claims over 29 years were for buildings outside them. If you're raising the house for flood protection and it sits inside a mapped area, the city has to keep an official record in its permit file that new buildings and substantial improvements there are properly elevated, so we plan the lift with that record in mind.
When the lift is for a new foundation, the state's EQ Zapp tool lets you check whether your lot sits in an earthquake fault zone, a seismic hazard zone or both, which is good to know before the new foundation is drawn up. We see plenty of older houses on sloped lots here, the same kind we work on in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.
Questions about foundation raising in Simi Valley
How much does it cost to raise a house in Simi Valley?
Raising a house in Los Angeles usually costs about $12,000 to $68,000 per job, which is the going range there and not a price from us. Where your job lands depends on the size of the house, what it's built from, how much repair it needs first and how much work happens underneath. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your house.
Can a brick or stone house be lifted?
Yes, solid brick, stone and masonry houses can be lifted, though wood-framed houses are the easier fit. Masonry needs more cribbing points, careful planning of where the load goes and often bracing inside the house, so expect a more involved plan than a wood frame of the same size.
How long does it take to raise a house?
General guidance puts the lift itself at one to several days, with planning, engineering, permits and scheduling taking several weeks or longer before it. If a new foundation and utility changes are part of the job, site work can stretch to a week or more, so plan around the whole job and not just the lift.
Who is licensed to raise a house in California?
In California, raising, lowering, cribbing and underpinning a house and its foundation fall under the state's building moving and demolition contractor license. That license doesn't cover alterations, additions, repairs or rehab work on the parts of the house that stay put, so if you're planning a remodel while the house is up, ask who's handling that part.
What should a quote for raising a house include?
A complete quote should say whether it covers the temporary supports, the permanent foundation, disconnecting and reconnecting utilities, engineering, inspections and putting the site back together. General pricing guidance warns that a low bid may cover only the lifting and cribbing, leaving the big follow-on costs outside the contract, which is why our estimate spells out what's in and what's out.
How do I know if my house is in good enough shape to lift?
You find out by having the house looked at, because rotted sills, failing framing or severe settlement sometimes need a lot of reinforcement before a lift. One equipment maker's guide says a qualified structural mover or engineer should evaluate the house before the lift plan is final, which is how we like to work anyway.
Related concrete work that often comes with a lift
When an old slab, footing or step stands in the way of new foundation work, clean saw cuts let it come out without cracking the concrete you're keeping.
If raising the house leaves the garage higher or the lift work tears up the approach, a new driveway meets the garage at its new height.
Service areas around Simi Valley
Custom Simi Valley Concrete is based in Simi Valley, CA, and takes jobs across the cities around it, including Camarillo and Santa Clarita. These are the 12 cities with their own page, and if yours isn't listed, ask us.
Simi Valley, CA
Have us look at your house first
Call (805) 261-5009 or send the form with your home's size, what it's built from and any settling or flood worries, so the first visit starts with the right questions.