Foundation raising in Newton MA - your house lifted with every utility line planned
Crumbling foundation or a lot in a flood zone? We lift your house, build what goes under it and set it down on solid concrete.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Can my Newton house be raised, and what does it take?
Foundation raising in Newton means lifting your house off its foundation so we can replace that foundation, put a basement under the house or set the home higher above a flood zone.
Most people who call me have an old foundation that's giving out, a crawlspace they wish were a basement, or water that keeps finding its way under the house. The price mostly turns on how big and heavy your house is, what goes under it afterward, what's attached to it and how much utility work the lift brings with it. The schedule turns on the design review, permits, the repairs we find once the house is up, weather and inspections. We're based in Newton and work in the cities around it, and your written estimate spells out the prep, the cleanup and who handles each permit, so you see your own number and what it pays for.
How can you tell your foundation needs more than a patch?
Crumbling foundation walls
Old stone or block walls that shed mortar or sand when you brush them usually mean the foundation is near the end of its life. Waiting lets the house keep settling onto it, which can crack plaster and turn a replacement into a bigger repair.
Floors that slope, doors that stick
When a marble rolls across the kitchen or a door that used to close now drags, the foundation under that corner has usually moved. Patching the cracks you can see won't stop it, so the movement tends to keep going until the support underneath gets fixed.
Water under the house after storms
Standing water in the crawlspace or basement after every heavy rain often means the house simply sits too low for the lot. Over time that wet ground rots the wood the house rests on and ruins whatever you store down there.
How we handle foundation raising, step by step
Before I talk price, I help you get a design professional out to look over the house and the lot, because that review answers the big questions: whether the house will hold up to a lift, whether the old footing needs reinforcing or rebuilding, whether there's room around the house for the lifting equipment and whether the lift is worth what it costs. Next we work out every utility line, the gas, water, sewer and electric, and who disconnects, supports and reconnects each one, since some lines need temporary support or an upgrade before they go back on. Our estimate lists all of that by name, so if a lower quote skips the utility work you'll see it, and one guide on house lifting calls that gap one of the most common reasons a low quote turns out incomplete. Then our crew digs out around the house, the house goes up, we build the new foundation underneath and the house is set down on it. If something has to give on budget, I'd trim a finish before I'd trim the utility plan or the foundation, because those are the parts nobody can fix once the house is back down.
Two other jobs often ride along with a lift. We use concrete cutting when supports have to pass through an old slab or wall, and once the work is done, concrete driveway building ties your drive back into the house at its new height.
Lift and new foundation
This suits a house with a sound frame sitting on walls that are cracked or crumbling. We lift it, pour new footings and walls, and set it down on them.
Lift and new basement
This suits a crawlspace house where you want usable room underneath. It's the bigger of the jobs because we dig deeper before the new walls go in.
Lift above flood risk
This suits a lot that floods or now sits in a flood zone. The house goes up and stays higher on its new support, which keeps it out of the water.
Get a written foundation raising estimate
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out to your property, look over the house with you, and the written estimate is free, with no pressure and no obligation.
Call (617) 644-7325What happens when you call about raising your Newton house?
Here's how a lift goes from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and what you'll have in hand before any work starts.
Call and walk the house
You call, and I come out to see the house, ask how you use it and talk through your choices right there in the yard. Bring up anything you've noticed, like a sloping floor or a wet crawlspace, because it tells me where to look first.
Line up the design review
Before we talk price, I help you get a design professional to look over the house and lot. What they find decides whether a lift makes sense and what goes into the estimate.
Read the written estimate together
You get an estimate that spells out the mix, the prep, the cleanup, who handles the permits and who handles each utility line. It's written so you can set it next to another quote and see exactly what each one covers.
Lift, rebuild and walk it
On the job we protect your yard and house as we go, since you still live there and have to step past our work. When it's done, I walk the work with you and show you how to care for it.
Why Newton homeowners call Excel Newton Concrete to raise a house
On a lift, the planning done before the house moves counts for more than anything you'll see afterward, so call us or send the form and I'll come take a look.
My crew works with me there
I come out to look at the job myself, and my crew does the work with me on site. The person who walked your house and wrote the estimate is the one standing there while it goes up.
Since 2017 on lived-in homes
We've been in business since 2017, nine years now, and I learned this trade pouring foundations on new construction before moving to homes where families live. That's why we plan a lift around the people in the house, not just the house.
Fully licensed and insured here
Massachusetts requires Home Improvement Contractor registration for work on an existing owner-occupied home with one to four units, and Newton's building permit checklist lists the contractor's Construction Supervisor License and that registration. We're fully licensed and insured, and it's fair to ask every contractor you're weighing for both before you sign.
Raising a house in Newton and the permits that come with it
In Newton, the Inspectional Services Department issues permits for the construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair of buildings, so when your lift needs a permit, we pull it in our name and set up the inspections, and if we aren't sure, we check with the city before we start. Newton's new flood maps moved some lots out of a flood zone and put others in one, and the city wants owners to know their flood zone and what it means for insurance, wetland permits and building code requirements. If your lot sits in a FEMA or city floodplain, the digging around your house goes to the city's Conservation staff, and they decide whether you need a wetlands permit.
Questions about foundation raising in Newton
How much does it cost to raise a house near Boston?
Raising a house in the Boston area usually costs about $14,000 to $20,000 per job. National cost figures show the total climbs when the house goes onto piers or pilings above the flood zone, and climbs further when it gets a new foundation or a basement. Your written estimate shows where your own house lands and what's included.
How long does it take to raise a house?
The whole process takes 4 to 8 weeks on average, and the lift itself takes 2 to 7 days once the prep is done. Plan around the full span, because prep, permits, repairs, weather and inspections all move the date.
How do I know if my house is a good fit for lifting?
The design review tells you for certain, but one flood-risk guide calls a single-story, rectangular, wood-frame house on a crawlspace the easiest to lift. It calls a multi-story masonry house on a slab at ground level the hardest, so if yours is a larger brick or stone home on a slab, plan for a bigger job.
Can I stay in my house while it's being raised?
One cost guide recommends staying out of the house while it's being lifted, though everything inside can stay where it is. We'll go over which days the house will be up when we set the schedule, so you can plan where to be.
Do porches, garages and chimneys get lifted with the house?
Not as part of the main lift, because one flood-risk guide says attached garages, porches, chimneys and other additions have to be taken off and lifted separately or braced to stay in place. I look at each one on the first visit so the plan covers how it's handled.
Which Newton offices review a house raising project?
The Inspectional Services Department handles the building permit. Depending on your lot and the age of the house, Conservation staff and the Historic Commission may need to weigh in too, as we cover in the Newton section above.
Concrete work that often goes with a lift
- Concrete cutting
Saw cuts through old floors and walls let us remove only what has to go, so the concrete you're keeping isn't cracked by breaking it out.
- Concrete driveway building
Lifting equipment and a higher house can leave the old driveway torn up or meeting the garage at the wrong level, and a new pour fixes both.
Service areas for foundation raising around Newton
Excel Newton Concrete is based in Newton, Massachusetts, and we take on house lifts in Newton and the cities around it. The 12 cities below have their own pages, including Wellesley and Needham, and they aren't the only places we work.
Newton, MA
Set up a visit for your house lift
Have your address, your flood zone, the year the house was built and its foundation type handy when you call or fill out the form, and the first visit goes straight to your house's questions.