Foundation raising in Santa Fe Springs CA - a settled house brought back toward level
Floors that slope, cracks over doorways or doors that stick? We lift the settled house back toward level and look for why it dropped.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
How do you fix a house that has settled in Santa Fe Springs?
Foundation raising in Santa Fe Springs lifts a house that has settled back toward level, so floors stop running downhill and doors close the way they should. On a pier and beam house we work from the crawl space, and on a slab home the slab is lifted on piers driven down to load-bearing soil.
Most people call us after months of doors that won't latch and cracks they've already patched twice. What moves the price is whether your house sits on a slab or over a crawl space, how many piers it takes to bring it back, how hard they are to reach, and whether the cause, often water, gets fixed along with the lift. The schedule turns on that same pier count, plus whatever the city or county office for your address needs before we can book a date, and the estimate gives you all of it in writing, with what's included and what isn't.
How do you know if your house needs leveling?
Doors that stick or swing
A door that used to close fine now drags on the frame or swings open on its own, which usually means the frame has gone out of square because part of the house dropped. Planing the door only hides it, and the longer it goes, the more doors and windows start doing the same thing.
Cracks above doors and windows
Diagonal cracks running off the corners of doorways and windows usually show the walls moving as the house settles. Patching them before the settling is dealt with just means patching them again, and every month you wait is more drywall to fix later.
Floors that run downhill
If a marble rolls across the room or you can feel the floor slope toward one wall, that side of the house has likely settled. Left alone, the drop can keep going, and a bigger lift usually means more repair work inside afterward.
What our foundation raising work includes
Lifting the house is only half the job, so the first thing I do is look for why it settled. The usual reasons are drainage still soaking the soil, a footing that's too small for what it carries, or settling that needed piers and only got shims, and if that cause stays, the house can drop again. Next comes the estimate, which puts in writing what drywall and trim repair is or isn't included, because most contractors leave that patching out and you'll want to budget for it before the lift, not after. Then our crew lifts the house back toward level, takes care of the cause the estimate covers, backfills where we dug and cleans up.
Some jobs need concrete work around the lift. When a pier has to go in under a patio, a walkway or part of the slab, we use concrete cutting to open a clean, square section instead of breaking it out with a hammer, so the patch afterward sits flush. If the driveway beside the house sank along with it or had to come out for pier access, our concrete driveway building crew can pour a new one on a subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, that's dug out and packed rather than raked level.
Shimming or replacing piers
This suits a pier and beam house whose framing has dropped onto piers that settled or wore out, because shims bring it back up and a failed pier can be swapped out. If the settling runs deeper than the piers, shims alone won't hold it, and I'll say so at the estimate.
Lifting a slab on piers
This suits a slab home, where there's nothing to reach from underneath and the lift has to come from piers. It's the bigger of the two jobs, and it's the one to plan for if your floor sits right on the ground.
Get a written foundation raising estimate for your house
We get back to you within one business day. I come out myself for a free on-site estimate, you get the details in writing, and there's no pressure and no obligation to book.
(562) 689-9662- Based in
- Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call us about a settled house?
Here's how a foundation raising job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end.
Call or send us a message
Call (562) 689-9662 or use the form, and I come out myself to look at the house and hear what you've noticed. I'll want to see it inside and out, so plan on walking around with me.
Get the estimate in writing
You get a written estimate that spells out what's included and what isn't, so you can compare it line by line with any other bid. Before anything goes on the calendar, we check what the city or county office for your address requires.
Our crew lifts the house
Our crew does the work with me on site, so the person who looked at your house is there when it comes up. Any question you have on the day comes straight to me.
Walk the finished job together
When we're done, I walk the house with you, inside and out. You see the floors, the doors and the work outside for yourself before we call it finished.
Why Santa Fe Springs homeowners call us about a settled house
I look at every job myself
I come out to every house myself, and I'm on site with our crew during the lift. The person who found the cause is the one making sure it gets handled.
On our own since 2023
I started this business in 2023 after learning concrete on other people's crews. I'd rather tell you the hard part at the estimate than have you find it in a crack a year from now.
Licensed and insured in California
We're licensed and insured. California's state licensing board gives raising and lowering a house and its foundation its own licence class, separate from repairs to the rest of the house, so a contractor's licence tells you which part of the job it covers.
A house you lift twice costs you twice, so getting the cause right the first time matters most. Ask for an estimate or call (562) 689-9662 and I'll come take a look.
Foundation raising and permits in Santa Fe Springs
In Santa Fe Springs, the Building and Safety Division requires a permit before any project starts, but its list names alterations, repairs and demolition, not foundation raising, so the list alone doesn't settle whether your lift needs one. Before we schedule, we look up what the city requires for your address, and when a permit is needed, we handle the paperwork with you. The city also says some projects may need plans signed by a California-licensed architect or engineer, so ask me at the estimate whether yours is one. If the job needs the street or sidewalk for material storage or traffic control, that's a separate construction and excavation permit from the city's Public Works, which you apply for through the city's online permit portal.
We're based in Santa Fe Springs and see a lot of single-story houses on slabs here, with some older homes on raised floors, and we run into the same mix on jobs in Norwalk and Downey. Before the estimate, you can type your address into the state's EQ Zapp map to see whether the property sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone or in an area that hasn't been evaluated yet.
Questions about foundation raising in Santa Fe Springs
How much does it cost to raise a house near Santa Fe Springs?
Raising a house in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $4,000 to $13,000 per job, and that's the going rate around here, not our price. Where your house lands depends on the foundation type, the number of piers and what it takes to fix the cause, and you get your own figure in writing after I look at it.
Does a slab house cost more to level than a pier and beam house?
Yes, a slab house usually costs more to level, because the slab has to be lifted on piers driven down to soil that can carry the load. Pier and beam work happens from the crawl space, so if your house is on a slab, plan for a bigger budget.
How long does foundation raising take, and can we stay home during the work?
Shimming a pier and beam house usually takes 1 to 3 days, and lifting a slab on piers takes 3 to 7 days, depending on how many piers go in. You can usually stay home through it, though slab work is noisy and means digging around the outside of the house, so plan around the yard.
Who calls for inspections on a foundation job in Santa Fe Springs?
In Santa Fe Springs, the property owner is responsible for making sure inspections happen at the right points in the job, even when the contractor makes the call. When a permit is needed, we settle up front who calls for each inspection so nothing gets missed.
How do I keep my house from settling again after it's leveled?
Keep the drainage around your house working so water stays away from places where it can soak the soil. That usually means gutters and downspouts that empty away from the foundation and ground that sheds water instead of holding it against the walls.
How do I find out if my house sits on expansive soil?
Start with your home buyer's disclosures, then check with the local building department or a soil engineer or geologist. Expansive soil swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, so it's worth knowing before we talk about what caused the settling.
Related concrete work for a foundation job
If a pier needs to go under a patio, a walkway or the slab itself, a clean saw cut leaves an opening that patches flat, not a jagged hole.
When the driveway dropped along with the house or came out for pier access, a new pour on a dug-out, packed base gives you a flat way in.
Service areas we cover from Santa Fe Springs
Santa Fe Springs Concrete is based in Santa Fe Springs, California, and the 12 cities below have their own pages, including Whittier and Pico Rivera. We work across the cities around us too, so if you don't see yours listed, just ask.
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Get your settled house looked at
Tell us whether the house sits on a slab or over a crawl space, and pull out any buyer's disclosures about expansive soil, so I know what to look for when I come out.