In the 2009 Disney animated movie Up, retired balloon salesman Carl Fredrickson decides to lift his house to the skies. 

He ties thousands of balloons to the roof, lifting both him and his house off the foundation. It seems Carl wasn’t just trying to lift his house; he wanted to take it with him on an adventure.

Although Carl succeeded in lifting his house with balloons, they aren’t the best real-world solution for lifting much of anything, let alone houses.

Perhaps you’re in a similar boat and have determined that your home has foundation problems that merit the need to “lift your house” back to where it was before. You might ask, “Is it even possible to lift a house?” Absolutely! But unlike Carl, you should leave this job to the professionals.

To learn more about lifting your foundation and how much it will cost, read on.

What Will It Cost?

We get this question every single day. It’s a tough one to answer, but we can speak to some of your concerns here.

Simple foundation repairs can cost as little as a few thousand dollars. But costs can quickly reach and exceed $30,000 if the problem is more severe. We’d love to tell you, “It’s no problem, and it will only be a few thousand dollars,” but without determining the problem and the cause behind it, we can only offer you some approximate costs associated with the typical foundation repair.

The Cost of Foundation Repair by Method

How much does lifting a foundation cost? It varies depending on the repair method used. The following estimates are based on the approximate costs of foundation repairs in Southern California.

• Push piers cost between $1,700 and $4,000, depending on the size required to support your foundation.
• Helical piers cost approximately the same as push piers but usually do not support the same loads.
• Post and pad repairs (for raised foundations) run between $90 and $1,000. Again, this cost depends on the type and size required to support your failing floor beams/joists.
• The cost to replace raised foundation perimeter foundation walls can range from $350 per foot to over $1,000 per foot, depending on height, depth, and load requirements. If your house needs to be lifted before a new foundation is constructed, you should account for costs to sit between $100 and $250 per foot.
• Cracked or separated slabs caused by foundation settlement can easily be filled for a few dollars, but such repairs will quickly fail. Solving the settlement problem first guarantees a better repair. Epoxy injection or carbon fiber stables may be the solution, but with e-cracking, it may be necessary to replace the concrete slab on a room-by-room basis. That’s a job best left to the professionals.
• Crooked doors and windows are common signs of foundation settlement. Fixing them can cost between $3,500 and $20,000.

The Bottom Line

The crew members at Foundation Technology are experts when it comes to residential foundation repair.

They can identify the symptoms, determine the cause or causes of foundation failure, and provide you with a detailed analysis and proposal to repair your home’s foundation. If deemed necessary, they also know how to lift a house properly!

Want to know how to lift a house? Give the nice people at Foundation Technology a call. They’ll be happy to explain the process in detail. If you ask nicely, they’ll even bring you a balloon.