Foundation raising in Fremont NE - your house set back down on taller walls
If high water keeps reaching your lower floor, raising the house onto taller foundation walls puts your living space up higher.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Should you raise your house in Fremont, and what does it involve?
Foundation raising in Fremont, NE means lifting your house off its foundation, building the walls underneath taller and setting the house back down on them. It's one of the well-known ways to cut a home's flood risk.
Most people who call me about this have had water get too close to the house, or they've learned their lot sits low and want the living space up higher. The price turns mostly on how large and heavy the house is, whether it's wood or brick, what shape it's in underneath, how much taller the walls need to be and whether new footings are part of the plan. The schedule depends on the engineer's or house mover's review, the permits and dry weather for the pours. Once I've seen the house and its plan, I'll give you a written estimate for our concrete work.
How do you know your house might need raising?
Water reaching the lower floor
If water gets into the crawlspace or lower level after heavy rain, the house usually sits too low for where water collects on your lot. Each time it happens, the framing, insulation and anything stored down there take another soaking, so it's worth asking whether the house should sit higher.
Water lines on the walls
A stain or line on the foundation walls or lower framing shows how high water has come before. That mark is a good place to start when we talk about how much taller the walls would need to be, and wet wood left in place lets rot set in.
Soft sills or sagging floors
Wood that gives under a screwdriver, or floors that dip, usually means rot or settling under the house. Those problems need to be found before anyone plans a lift, because waiting lets the damage spread and makes the repairs bigger.
What our foundation raising work covers
Raising a house starts with whether it should be raised at all, so before we plan anything I want an engineer or a house mover to look it over, and I'll tell you plainly if it isn't the right job for your house. Once there's a plan and the house is held up on supports, our crew takes care of the concrete side. We dig out where the plan calls for it, form and pour any new footings, the wide concrete base a wall stands on, and build the foundation walls up to the new height with rebar, the steel inside that keeps the concrete from pulling apart. We then let it cure, the wait while concrete gains strength, before the house is set down, because loading concrete before it's ready is how walls crack. If the budget gets tight, the footings are the last place I'd cut, since nobody can get at them once the house is down and everything above rests on them.
Raising a house often touches the concrete around it. Where an old walk, step or slab sits in the way of the new walls, we use concrete cutting to take out only that part. Once the house sits higher, the old drive may not meet it well, so concrete driveway building can be part of the same plan, with the slope set so water runs away from the house.
Taller walls on the old footings
This suits a house where the engineer finds the existing footings can carry the added height, so we build the walls up without digging out new ones. It means less excavation, but it's the plan that decides whether the old footings will do, not a guess.
New, larger footings and walls
Heavier houses, or ones carrying more load, can need wider footings, so we dig out and pour new ones before the walls go up. It's more digging and more concrete, and it's the choice the plan makes when the old footings won't carry the house.
Get a written estimate for the concrete under your raised house
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the house and its plan, and then you get a written estimate. It's free, done at your property, with no pressure to book.
(402) 512-8158- Based in
- Fremont, NE 68025
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about raising your house
Here's how it goes from your first call to the walk-through at the end, so you know who you'll talk to and what you'll get at each step.
Call and set a visit
I answer my own phone, and we set a time for me to come out to the house. If you have an engineer's or mover's plan already, keep it handy for the visit.
Look over the house together
I look at the house and the plan and listen to what you have in mind. You then get a written estimate for our concrete work, so you can see what's included before you decide anything.
Permits, pour date and work
Once you're ready, we take care of any permits our part needs and pick a pour date with the weather in mind. Our own crew does the concrete work.
Walk the finished job
When we finish, I walk the job with you and look at the new walls together. I'll also go over how to look after the concrete around the house.
Why Fremont homeowners call Fremont Concrete for foundation raising
The owner looks at your house
I come out myself to look at the house and write the estimate, and our own crew does the work with me on site to check it. You talk to the same person from the first call to the final walk-through.
Learned on a Fremont crew
I came to concrete after many years in another line of work, learned the trade on a Fremont finishing crew and started this business in 2017. When a house raises a question I can't answer on the spot, I'll find out rather than guess.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured for the concrete work we do under your house. Ask to see both before you sign, the same as you should with anyone who works on your home.
If you're wondering whether raising your house makes sense, contact us and I'll come out to look at it with you.
Foundation raising, permits and flood rules in Fremont
In Fremont, the city's building official issues the permit for work that alters or moves a building, so raising a house goes through the city's permits and inspections office. Fremont's land is flat and runoff drains very slowly, so many parts of the city sit in flood zones on the federal flood maps, and that's why a lot of owners here think about raising at all. On those lots the city also requires a floodplain development permit, on top of its other permits, before construction begins. When our work needs a permit, we handle the application and book the inspections for our part of the job, and if I'm not sure what the city asks for, I check with the office before we start.
On jobs around Fremont we often find houses on low, flat lots where water is slow to leave after a storm, so when we pour new walls we also look at where water will run once the house sits higher. We do the same work for homeowners in Blair and Schuyler, and in other cities nearby.
Questions about foundation raising in Fremont
How do I know if my house can be raised?
Detached houses usually can be raised, while attached homes, row houses and townhomes usually can't be raised at a reasonable cost, and older or damaged buildings may be limited. Some houses can't be raised at all, so the first step is finding out whether yours is one of them before you spend money on a plan.
What is the best way to raise a brick house?
A brick, stone or other masonry house can be lifted, but one maker of lifting equipment says it takes more support points and often bracing inside, because masonry cracks easily if it moves unevenly. The same maker says rotted sills, failing framing or bad settling can mean reinforcement before the lift, and advises having a qualified structural mover or engineer check the building before the plan is final.
How do I find out how high my house needs to be raised in Nebraska?
Nebraska's minimum floodplain standard requires new, substantially improved or substantially damaged homes to have the lowest floor one foot above the base flood elevation, the level a major flood is expected to reach. In a mapped flood zone, Fremont counts work costing half or more of the home's market value before the work starts as a substantial improvement. Since one foot is the state minimum, I confirm the height for your lot with the city before we form the walls.
How much does it cost to raise a house in Fremont, NE?
I don't have a typical figure I'd stand behind, because every raising is planned around one house, so the honest number is the written estimate I give you after seeing the house and its plan. Size, build, condition and new footings move it most, and since raising a house can also lower flood insurance premiums, that's worth weighing against the cost.
Does a contractor need to be licensed to raise a house in Fremont?
Yes, the city says contractors working in Fremont need to be licensed, and anyone working for hire on a job that needs a building permit must be registered with the city. Nebraska also requires contractors to be registered before doing any construction work in the state, so it's fair to ask any contractor for their registration number.
Can I do some of the work myself when I raise my house in Fremont?
Yes, if you live in the house you can do your own work in Fremont, but the city still requires permits for it. A raising touches the whole structure, so whatever part you take on should still follow the lift plan.
Concrete work that often comes with raising a house
Concrete cutting
When an old patio, step or walk sits where the new foundation walls go, clean saw cuts let us remove just that part and keep the rest.
Concrete driveway building
A house that sits higher can leave the old driveway meeting it at the wrong height, and a new one can be sloped to carry water away.
Cities we serve around Fremont
Fremont Concrete is based in Fremont, Nebraska, and works in the cities around it. We have pages for seven cities, including Gretna and La Vista, and we take calls from other cities nearby as well.
Fremont, NE
Ask about raising your Fremont house
Have your address and what you know about the framing and condition of the house ready when you call, so the first visit covers what matters, and thank you for considering us.