Foundation raising in Alhambra CA - a solid new foundation under your house
Sloping floors or a crumbling old foundation? We check whether your house can be lifted, then build a sound foundation under it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does raising a house in Alhambra involve?
Foundation raising in Alhambra means lifting your house off its old foundation and building a new or extended one under it, so the house ends up sitting on concrete that can carry it.
Most calls start with something you've noticed inside or under the house, or a plan to put a better foundation under an older home. The price moves with what the house sits on today, how much of the old foundation can stay and what's attached to the house. The schedule turns on the check of the house before anything is lifted, the city's permit review and how much new foundation we have to build. Your written estimate breaks each of those parts out, so you can see where your number comes from.
How can you tell a house may need a new foundation?
Floors that slope or dip
A marble rolls across the room, or one corner of the house feels lower than the rest, which usually means the foundation under that side has settled or broken down. The longer it goes, the more the framing and finishes above it take the strain.
Old foundation crumbling underneath
In the crawlspace, the concrete is flaking, cracked through or missing chunks along the bottom of the walls. Left alone, more of it usually has to be torn out and rebuilt instead of extended.
Sticking doors and stucco cracks
Doors that rub at the top and cracks running from the corners of windows usually point to movement under the house, not a problem with the doors. Patching them without looking underneath means patching them again.
How our foundation raising job runs
I start by finding out what your house sits on now and whether it's sound enough to lift, and if it isn't a good fit, I'll tell you before you spend money on it. Chimneys, stucco and attached garages each change the job, so I look at all three up front instead of finding them halfway through. Once the plan is set, the house is separated from its foundation, lifted on hydraulic jacks and held on temporary supports, and our crew forms and pours the new or extended foundation underneath while I check the work as it goes. Then the house comes back down onto concrete that was laid out right before anything got poured.
Two other jobs often come up around a lift. If part of an old foundation or slab has to come out cleanly, concrete cutting lets us remove just that section, and when the house ends up sitting higher, you may need a new concrete driveway to meet the garage.
Extending the foundation you have
This suits a house whose old foundation is in good shape and can carry more load, since we build onto it instead of tearing it out. It's usually the smaller job of the two.
Tearing out and rebuilding
When the old foundation is too worn or too weak to carry more weight, it comes out and a new one goes in. It's more work, but you're not stacking new concrete on a bad start.
Get a written estimate for raising your house
We reply within one business day to set a time for a free on-site estimate. There's no obligation, and you get a written scope that lists what's included, so you can compare bids line by line.
(626) 597-0288- Based in
- Alhambra, CA 91801
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about raising your house?
Here's how a lift goes from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (626) 597-0288 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the house.
I measure and look underneath
I come out, measure the house inside and out, and look at what it sits on from underneath. If you have old plans or permits, have them handy, since they show how the house was built.
Review your itemized estimate
You get a written estimate that lists each part of the job, from bracing the house to building the new foundation. That way you can see what moves the number before you decide anything.
Pour day and final walk-through
On pour day I'm on site, and once the house is set back down on its new foundation, I walk the job with you. We don't call it done until you've seen it.
Why Alhambra homeowners call Optimum Alhambra Concrete to raise a house
The owner measures every house
I come out myself to walk the house and take the measurements, and I'm there checking our crew's forming and pouring as it goes. The person who priced your lift is the one watching it get built.
Commercial pour checks, since 2023
I spent years on commercial crews where every pour got checked against the plans before the truck backed in, and I started this business in Alhambra in 2023 to bring that habit to homes. On a new foundation, that check happens while mistakes are still cheap to fix.
Licensed and fully insured, ask us
We're licensed and fully insured, and you're welcome to ask for proof before you sign anything. When your whole house rests on temporary supports, that's the first thing to check on any bidder.
Satisfaction guaranteed on every job
That's our promise, and it rests on getting the hidden parts right, the layout, the base and where the water goes. I'd rather spend an extra hour on layout than leave you living with a mistake for years.
On a lift, the part that matters most is the check before anything moves. Tell us about your house and I'll set a time to come look.
Raising a house and rebuilding its foundation in Alhambra
The City of Alhambra's Building Division requires permits for most residential construction on private property, and its list includes structural repairs and any structural work, which is where lifting a house onto a new foundation falls. If your job needs a permit, we handle the application, keep the paperwork moving and let you know where things stand with the city. Older homes have one more thing to check. The city runs a historic preservation program, and its survey identified properties that may be eligible for historic listing without formally designating any, so if your house is older, look it up on the city's historic preservation page before we plan the lift.
Around here we see a lot of older houses on raised crawlspaces, often with stucco and additions built on over the years, so most of our first visit is spent underneath the house and around its edges. We find the same mix on jobs in San Gabriel and South Pasadena.
Questions about foundation raising in Alhambra
How do I know if my house in Alhambra can be raised?
Your house is usually a good candidate if it was built on a crawlspace, a basement or an open foundation, because that's where lifting works well. A house built directly on a ground-level slab is a different story, since lifting it with the slab intact is hard and often not possible. I'll look underneath on the first visit and tell you which one you have.
What is the best way to make sure a house is safe to lift?
Have it inspected before anything moves, because federal guidance on raising homes advises having a design professional confirm the house is structurally sound before it's lifted. Lifting an unsound house can cause damage that's expensive to fix, which is why our first visit is about the condition of the house, not the lift itself.
How much does it cost to raise a house in Alhambra?
Raising a house in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $4,000 to $68,000 per job, and that's the range across the market, not our price. The spread is wide because a simple square or rectangular house lifts more easily, while a chimney has to be braced or removed, stucco and brick veneer have to be braced or taken off, and attached garages, porches or additions often get lifted separately. Your estimate gives you the figure for your house, part by part.
Who can pull a permit to raise a house in Alhambra?
The city says only properly licensed people, or those specifically exempt from the Contractors State License Law, can pull a permit for work the code regulates. Before you hire anyone for a lift, check that they can pull it, and on our jobs the application is part of the work.
What happens to my utilities when my house is raised?
Water, sewer, gas and electric lines are all disconnected before the house goes up and reconnected at the end of the project. Plan on some yard work at the end too, since any landscaping that's needed gets finished last.
Can raising a house make earthquake damage more likely?
It can, because the same federal guidance notes that elevating a home can make it more susceptible to earthquake damage. In Southern California that makes earthquake risk part of the plan for any lift, and I'll bring it up with you at the first visit rather than after the estimate.
Concrete work that often goes with a lift
Concrete cutting
When part of an old foundation or slab has to come out before new concrete goes in, saw cutting keeps the edges straight and nearby concrete intact.
Concrete driveway building
A house that sits higher than before can need a new driveway, and we build it on a dug-out, packed base so it meets the garage cleanly.
Service areas for foundation raising
Optimum Alhambra Concrete is based in Alhambra, CA, and works across the San Gabriel Valley and the cities around it. The 12 cities listed here have their own pages, including Monterey Park and Rosemead.
Alhambra, CA
Tell us what your house sits on
Send the foundation type, the rough size and any stucco, chimney or attached garage, and I'll know what to look at before I come out.