Foundation raising in Sunnyvale CA - a house that's stable and closer to level
Sloping floors, sticking doors or new wall cracks? We find out why your house moved, then stabilize it and lift it back toward level.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does foundation raising actually do for a settled house?
Foundation raising in Sunnyvale stabilizes a house that has settled and lifts it back toward where it started, either by shimming or replacing the piers under a pier and beam house or by lifting a slab house on piers driven down to soil that can carry the load.
If you've got a floor that's started to tilt or a crack that keeps getting longer, you're probably wondering how bad it is and what it'll take to fix. The price mostly comes down to whether your house sits on piers and beams or on a slab, how many piers it needs and what's making it move, since a drainage problem has to be fixed along with the lift. The schedule turns on that same pier count and on what the city asks for before we start, and the written estimate I give you after looking at the house puts your own number on it.
How can you tell your house is settling?
Floors that slope
You set a marble down and it rolls, or a chair slowly drifts toward one side of the room. That usually means part of the house has dropped more than the rest, and the longer it goes, the more the framing above has to bend to keep up.
Doors and windows that stick
A door that swung shut for years now drags on the frame, or a window won't latch the way it used to. When a house settles unevenly the openings go out of square, and waiting tends to bring more of them along.
Cracks in walls or glass
Look for cracks running out from the corners of doors and windows, or a pane that cracked with nothing hitting it. That's the house moving, and every month it keeps going gives those cracks more room to grow and you more patching to pay for later.
How we handle foundation raising
I start by figuring out why your house moved, because leveling a house without fixing the cause just means doing it all again later. On the city crew we never reset a heaved sidewalk panel without dealing with the tree root under it, and a house works the same way, so we look at where your water runs, what the footing looks like and whether the ground is still settling. Once the cause is handled, a pier and beam house gets its piers shimmed or replaced, and a slab house gets lifted on piers driven down to soil that can carry the load. We lift slowly and stop at stable and better rather than dead flat, since pushing too hard can crack tile, plaster or pipes somewhere else in the house, and then we backfill and clean up.
Some jobs need a little concrete work around the lift. When the best spot for a pier is under an interior slab or a walkway, we use concrete cutting to open just that spot and patch it afterward. If your driveway slopes toward the house and is part of what's soaking the ground, concrete driveway building on a dug-out, packed base lets us send that water the other way.
Pier and beam shimming or new piers
This suits a house on a raised floor with a crawlspace, because we can get underneath, shim the piers that dropped and replace any that have failed. It's usually the lighter of the two jobs.
Slab lifting on driven piers
This suits a house poured on a slab, where there's no crawlspace to work from, so we dig along the outside, drive piers down to firm soil and lift from them. It's more digging and more noise, but it puts the house on something firmer than the dirt that let it drop.
Helical piles for tight spots
One maker's guide says helical piles, steel piles screwed into the ground and attached to the foundation, can stabilize a house against more settling or lift it back near where it started. The same maker says they go in with portable equipment in tight interior spaces, with no heavy machine next to the house and no vibration.
Get a written estimate for raising your foundation
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the house and give you a free written estimate with no obligation.
- Based in
- Sunnyvale, CA 94087
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens when you call about foundation raising?
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's who does what and what you'll have in hand before any work starts.
Call or send us a message
Tell us what you've noticed and whether the house sits on a slab or on piers and beams. I set up a time to come out and see it.
I look and write it up
I check the floors, doors and outside of the house, ask how you use it and talk through your choices. You get a written estimate that lays out the method, the pier work and the price, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
We check with the city
Before anything goes on the schedule, we find out what the city asks for on your job. That way the start date is set around the paperwork instead of being held up by it.
We lift, then walk it
Our crew does the work with me checking in as it goes. When it's done, we walk the house with you and go over how to look after it, like keeping water moving away from the walls.
Why Sunnyvale homeowners call Vertex Sunnyvale Concrete about a settling house
I write every estimate myself
I come out myself to look at your house and write the estimate, and our own crew does the lift with me on site checking it. The person who figured out why your house moved is the one watching it go back up.
In business since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after learning concrete on a city crew, fixing what tree roots and time had broken. That's 13 years of knowing a slab is only as good as what's under it.
We're licensed and insured
California's contractor license board treats pressure foundation jacking and pile driving as its own kind of work, separate from pouring a patio. When you compare crews for a foundation lift, it's fair to ask each one how their license covers it, us included.
We explain before we lift
I'd rather explain too much than leave you guessing, so I'll show you what I think is moving your house and why I picked shims or piers. Every job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
If your house is moving, the first job is finding out why, so send us a message or call (669) 348-0343 and tell me what you've noticed.
Foundation raising, permits and flood rules in Sunnyvale
Before we schedule a foundation lift in Sunnyvale, we check with the city on what your job needs, because whether a lift calls for a permit isn't something I'd guess at. The city's One-Stop Permit Center at City Hall reviews building plans, and if you've never applied before you can call them to learn the process, the documents they want and whether your project needs plan review. If your job calls for a permit, we pull it, handle the paperwork and meet the inspector on site. It's also worth knowing that if your house sits in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area, the city has special requirements for remodeling, and if the city's Building Division deems your project a Substantial Improvement, the whole house has to be brought up to current FEMA standards.
On jobs around here we see plenty of single-story houses on slabs next to older ones on raised floors, and the water usually tells the story, with downspouts emptying right at the wall, sprinklers soaking one side or a driveway tipping toward the garage. We check those first on every house, and we see the same mix on jobs in Santa Clara and Cupertino.
Questions about foundation raising in Sunnyvale
How much does foundation raising cost in Sunnyvale?
Across the US, leveling a house usually costs about $3,500 to $30,000 per job, with pier and beam houses toward the low end and slab houses toward the high end. That's a national figure, and where your house lands depends on its foundation, how many piers it needs and what's causing the movement. I'll give you a written estimate for your house after I've looked at it.
How long does foundation raising take, and can we stay in the house?
Shimming a pier and beam house usually takes 1 to 3 days, and underpinning a slab usually takes 3 to 7 days, depending on how many piers go in. You can usually stay home the whole time, though slab work is noisy and means digging around the outside of the house.
Will my floors be perfectly level after foundation raising?
Usually not, and you don't really want them to be. Most experienced crews stabilize the house and lift it part of the way, because forcing it dead flat can crack plaster, tile and plumbing somewhere else, so plan on a steady, better house whose floors may still be a touch off level.
What causes a house to need leveling more than once?
A house that keeps needing leveling usually has a cause nobody fixed, like drainage still soaking the ground, a footing that's too small or settlement that needed piers instead of shims. That's why it pays to ask any crew what made your house move before you choose between shims and piers.
Will raising my foundation fix the cracks in my walls?
Leveling stops the cracks you have from getting worse, and lifting can partly close some of them. Most contractors leave drywall, trim and paint repair out of a leveling job, so budget for it separately and ask to see in writing whether that work is in or out.
How do I get ready for a foundation estimate in Sunnyvale?
Find out whether your house sits on a slab or on piers and beams, and jot down what you've noticed, like sloping floors, sticking doors or new cracks, and about when it started. That gives me a head start when I come out, and you can call (669) 348-0343 or send the form whenever you're ready.
Related concrete work around a foundation lift
Concrete cutting
Clean saw cuts through a slab, walk or patio open exactly the space a repair or upgrade needs, without cracking the concrete around it.
Concrete driveway building
An old driveway that tips toward the house can keep feeding water to your foundation, so a new one sloped away is worth pricing out too.
Cities we work in around Sunnyvale
Vertex Sunnyvale Concrete is based in Sunnyvale, California, and we work across it and the cities around it. The 12 cities below each have their own page, including Cupertino and Campbell, and they aren't the only places we go.
Book a look at your settling house
Call (669) 348-0343 or send the form, because finding what's moving your house early usually leaves less to fix later.