Foundation raising in Mission Viejo CA - a settled house lifted back to level
Cracks climbing the wall, floors that slope or a door that started sticking? We find what's sinking and lift it back toward level.
Is my house settling, and can it be lifted back to level?
Foundation raising in Mission Viejo lifts the part of a house that has settled back toward level, usually on steel piers set into the ground beneath the footing, and it helps keep that part from sinking again.
Most calls start small, with a crack you hadn't noticed, a hallway that feels a little downhill or a bedroom door that scrapes the frame, and the worry is whether it's getting worse. The price mostly moves with how much of the house has to come up and what the ground underneath is like, while the schedule turns on the design professional's check of the house and the city's permit and inspections, so the estimate after I've measured is where you get your own figure.
How our foundation raising works, start to finish
When you call about cracks or sticking doors, I come out and we start by measuring the floors to find which parts are really sinking and by how much, because a crack in the living room doesn't always mean the living room is what dropped. Before anything gets lifted, a design professional checks the house, since the framing and the connections take real strain while it comes up. Then we sit down and talk through which pier type fits your home and why. Once the permit's in hand, our crew digs down to the footing at each pier spot, sets the steel piers down to firm soil, fits the brackets that carry the footing and raises the house slowly while we watch the levels, then backfills, packs the dirt back in and cleans up. Before we leave, I'll walk the outside with you and look at where your downspouts and sprinklers send the water, because that's where most trouble under concrete starts.
Lifting a house usually touches the concrete around it. If a pier has to go where a patio, walk or garage slab sits, we use concrete cutting to open a neat square instead of breaking out more than we need, and we patch it once the pier is set. And if the settling has already split your driveway, it often makes sense to replace it after the house is steady, which is where our concrete driveway building comes in.
Why Mission Viejo homeowners call Prestige Mission Viejo Concrete Company to raise a foundation
I measure every house myself
I come out to look at every job myself, and our crew does the work with me on site. The person who found your low spots is the one standing there when the house comes up.
Licensed and insured on every lift
We're licensed and insured. Raising a house puts a lot of weight on jacks and brackets right next to your home, so that's the first thing I'd ask anyone you call.
City permits handled for you
Mission Viejo's Building Services takes permit applications and inspection requests online, and when a job needs a permit, we take care of the application and book the inspections. We keep you posted along the way, so you don't have to learn the city's system to get your house lifted.
Running our own crew since 2017
I learned concrete hauling wheelbarrows for good finishers, and I started this business in Mission Viejo in 2017. We work across south Orange County and the cities around it, so we're usually not far from your house.
On a lift, the thing that matters most is knowing which part is actually sinking before anyone touches it. Get in touch with your address, the cracks or sticky doors you've noticed and any home buyer's disclosures you have, and I'll come take a look.
Get your floors measured and a free foundation raising estimate
We get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. I'll look at the cracks, measure the floors and give you a free on-site estimate, with no obligation to go ahead. If you have your home buyer's disclosures, keep them handy for the visit.
Foundation lifting and pier work
Questions before you book foundation raising
How do I tell if my foundation is settling?
The usual signs are cracks in the foundation walls that run straight up, on a diagonal or in stair steps, floors that feel uneven, and doors or windows that stick or won't latch. Those signs are worth a closer look, but only measuring shows which parts are sinking and by how much. Jot down where you've seen them before I come out.
What causes foundation movement in Mission Viejo?
Water in the soil is a big part of it here, because clay soils swell as they soak up irrigation or rain, and they can push hard enough to lift buildings and crack concrete. That's why watering near the house matters, and why the city adjusts the state's building codes for local ground and climate, so foundation work here follows the city's version. Your home buyer's disclosures, the city's building department or a soil engineer can tell you if your lot has expansive soil, and the state's EQ Zapp map lets you type in your address to see if it sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone.
Which pier type is best for a slab house?
Helical piers are often the better fit for a slab home, because they're screwed in with a hydraulic motor and work no matter how much the house weighs, in most soils. Push piers are pressed down using the house's own weight, so on a light house they can start lifting it before they reach good soil, and for a shallow footing or a slab that's thicker at its edges, helical piers may be the ones that work. Once they're in, both kinds carry the footing on a steel bracket and behave about the same, so the choice comes down to how each one goes in under your house.
Who can pull a foundation permit in Mission Viejo?
In Mission Viejo, the contractor, an authorized agent or the homeowner can pull the permit. If you pull it yourself, you'll also need to fill out and submit an owner builder notification. Most folks let us handle it, since we're doing the application and booking the inspections anyway.
What license does a contractor need to raise a house in California?
In California, raising, lowering, cribbing and underpinning a house falls under the state's C-21 building moving and demolition license class. That class doesn't cover repairs to the parts of the house that stay in place, so if you're planning framing, drywall or other fixes alongside the lift, ask who's doing that part. Even small work under $1,000 needs a licensed contractor when it takes a permit or hired help.
How much does foundation raising cost in Mission Viejo?
There's no honest number until the house has been measured, because the cost depends on how many piers it takes and how deep they have to go to reach firm soil. The pier type, a tight side yard the crew has to work through and any patio or walk we need to cut and patch move it too. I'll give you your figure after I've measured at your house.
Other concrete work that often goes with a lift
- Concrete cutting
When piers have to go in under a patio, walkway or garage slab, a clean saw cut lets us reach the footing and patch the opening neatly afterward.
- Concrete driveway building
Ground that let the house sink often cracks the driveway beside it too, and once the house is steady, a new driveway on a well-packed base gives you a fresh start.