How Much Does It Cost to Raise a House? 2024 Price Guide
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Whether you’re making foundational changes to your home, preparing for flooding problems, or you want to lift your home and move it down the road, raising a house requires a team of professionals and can cost anywhere from $1,000–$20,000. This is not taking into account the additional work that’s required for your repairs or renovations.
If you’re adding a new basement under an existing property, you can expect the total cost to be in the region of about $50,000. The actual cost will vary according to factors like foundation condition and the condition of the ground around the property, as well as the availability of contractors. Read on for more information on the cost of raising a house.
Why Do You Need to Raise A House?
The three most common reasons to raise a house are to repair the foundation, to lift the house away from the ground in a flood area, or to move the house from one location to another.
The reasons for raising a house will ultimately determine the total cost because, for example, if you are moving the house from one location to another, it will need different equipment and have different requirements than if you are lifting it to repair foundations underneath.
While raising a house can be expensive, it can also save money on insurance premiums and actually increase the value of the property, especially if you live in a flood area.
How Much Does Raising a House Cost?
There are many factors that will determine the cost of raising a house. You will need plumbing and electrical work, in most cases, and, in all cases, you will need a team of experts to ensure that the house is not damaged during the process and that the job is completed successfully.
Expect to pay between $1,000–$20,000 just for the cost of raising the house, with additional costs on top of that.
- The average cost of raising a house and moving it to another location is between $15,000–$200,000.
- To permanently raise a house above a flood zone, the average cost ranges from $20,000–$100,000.
- Replacing the foundation of a house, including the cost of raising the property, is roughly the same, between $20,000–$100,000.
The size of the house being lifted is one of the biggest influences on the total cost. A small property will cost less than a larger property.
Additional Costs to Anticipate
There are a lot of additional costs associated with raising a house.
- You will need permits, costing between $1,000–$2,000.
- Electrical and plumbing work will need to be disconnected and reconnected, costing between $50–$100 per hour for a single skilled professional.
- Repairing an existing foundation adds up to $100,000 to the total bill.
- Securing an existing foundation through the insertion of extra pillars costs between $1,000–$2,000 per pillar.
- Adding a basement, which is one of the most expensive jobs requiring the raising of a property, will cost anywhere from $10,000–$200,000, depending on the complexity of the job and the size of the basement.
Finally, you will need to add several hundred to several thousand dollars for the cost of any clean-up after the work is completed.
Conclusion
Raising a house might sound like an impossible task, but it happens more often than you might think, and it can be the only possible way to complete some jobs, like installing a basement or raising the house out of the reach of flood levels.
The actual physical raising of a house is usually only one small part of a bigger job. While this element of the job usually costs between $1,000–$20,000 depending on the size of the property and the reasons for lifting it, the total overall cost could be as much as $200,000. Once the property is up, it might be a good idea to have the structural foundations checked and have repairs made before it is lowered again.
Do ensure you have the appropriate permits in place and that you have a team of professionals for every stage of the work. It will prove a lot more costly if you don’t have these in place.
Featured Image Credit: Sigmund, Unsplash
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