Foundation raising in El Cerrito CA - the same house on a new foundation
Sloping floors and a cracked old foundation? We'll tell you if your house can be lifted and set on a new one.
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Can my El Cerrito house be lifted and put on a new foundation?
Foundation raising in El Cerrito, CA means lifting your house, tearing out the old foundation, building a new one and setting the house back down. You keep the same house, now sitting on a foundation that can carry it.
Most people get here after years of floors that run downhill and doors that won't latch, and then somebody finally says the word foundation. The price moves with what your walls are made of, what shape the framing is in and what the engineer and the city ask for, and the schedule turns on the same things, because nobody lifts until they're settled. When I come out, I'll tell you what I see and what has to be answered first, so you know where you stand before anything moves.
How we handle foundation raising
Before anyone talks about a lift, we want an engineer to look at the sills, the boards your walls sit on, and the framing above them, because a house with rotted sills or failing framing sometimes needs a lot of reinforcement before it can go up. If yours needs that work, you hear about it before you sign, along with what the lift does to the house's earthquake strength. A house is a lot of weight to pick up on a guess. Once the plan is set and the house is up on supports, our crew breaks out the old foundation, digs and packs the ground it will sit on, and sets the forms and the rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together. Then we pour. We let it cure, which is the wait while concrete gains strength, before the house comes back down onto it.
The work around the foundation usually comes along too. If a slab, walk or patio was poured tight against the old foundation, we use concrete cutting to take out just the part in the way and leave the rest. And if the driveway came out for access or no longer meets the garage right, concrete driveway building gets it meeting the garage and the street the way it should.
Foundation raising in El Cerrito, and what the city and the maps say
The permit comes from the city's Building Division, which issues building permits when an existing building is altered, repaired or enlarged. Its list names foundation repairs but not foundation raising, so whether a lift falls under that isn't settled until the city says so. When a job needs a permit, we pull it under our license and book the inspections, and when it isn't clear, we check with the city before we price the work.
Earthquakes are the other local question. El Cerrito keeps a slide zone or seismic zone special study map that shows parts of the city needing extra study, and on May 21, 2026 the state geological survey released preliminary earthquake fault zones for public review that take in El Cerrito. Both bear on the earthquake question you'll want settled before the house goes up. We're based in El Cerrito and work in the cities around it, and we meet the same older wood-framed houses on jobs in Berkeley and Kensington. If you're not sure we cover your city, ask.
- Call (510) 973-2452
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
- El Cerrito, CA 94530
What happens when you call El Cerrito Concrete in El Cerrito?
Call or send the form
Call (510) 973-2452 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Tell us what's been bothering you about the house so I know what to look at.
I walk the site with you
I look at the house and the old foundation, ask what the new one has to carry and give you an estimate on the spot. You get a price for the work and a plain list of what has to be settled, the engineer's look included, before anything is lifted.
We handle permits and inspections
When the job needs a permit, we take care of it and the inspections. The city reviews the plans and comes out to inspect the work, so those visits are part of the job.
We prep, form and pour
Our crew does the work and I'm on site running it, from prep and forms through the pour. When the house is back down, we leave the site clean.
Why El Cerrito homeowners call El Cerrito Concrete for foundation raising
I estimate it and run it
I'm the one who comes out, looks at the house and writes the estimate, and I'm on site running the crew once the work starts. The person who priced your job is the one watching the forms go in.
City crew training, working since 2023
I learned concrete on a city crew, pouring sidewalk, curb and gutter, and started this business in 2023 to bring that same care to homeowners. Reading plans and building to what an inspector looks for is where I started, not something I picked up later.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, and that matters most on a job where your house is up on supports and the old foundation is gone. It's the first thing to ask anyone who wants to lift your house.
Inside El Cerrito's height limits
El Cerrito's zoning sets maximum heights and minimum distances from property lines, so we check where the house will land against them before the pour. Finding out afterward is an expensive way to learn.
On a lift, the parts that count get decided before the house leaves the ground, so set up a site visit and we'll start there.
Request an estimateGet a free on-site estimate for your foundation
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the house and the old foundation, and give you a free estimate with no pressure and no obligation.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (510) 973-2452
- Location
- El Cerrito, CA 94530
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
Questions about foundation raising in El Cerrito
How much does foundation raising cost in El Cerrito?
There's no honest number until I've seen the house, because the price turns on what the walls are made of, how much support and bracing the lift needs and whether the framing needs work first. A masonry house or one in rough shape costs more to lift than a sound wood-framed one. I'll give you a figure when I come out.
How do I know if my house can be lifted?
Most wood-framed houses are well suited to a lift. Brick, stone and other masonry houses can be lifted too, but they need more support points, more careful planning of where the weight goes and often bracing inside, so expect a bigger plan. Either way, the engineer's look at the framing is what settles it.
Does foundation work need a permit in El Cerrito?
Foundation repairs are on the city's building permit list, and raising a house isn't named on it, which is why we check with the city before pricing a lift. Some jobs also need structural calculations, signed and stamped, in the permit package, and if yours does, they go in with the application.
Does raising a house affect earthquake safety?
It can, and a federal guide on elevating homes says raising a house can leave it more open to earthquake damage. That's why we want the earthquake question answered before you sign, not after the house is up.
What license covers raising a house in California?
The Contractors State License Board has a building moving and demolition classification for contractors who raise, lower, underpin and move structures, foundations included. That's the license that covers the lift itself.
What is the best way to hire for foundation raising in El Cerrito?
Ask each contractor which license covers each part of the job, because the state's building moving classification leaves out repairs, alterations and additions to the parts of the house that stay. A lift sometimes comes with framing or repair work, and you want to know who's licensed to do it before the house goes up.
Other concrete work that comes with a lift
Concrete cutting
When an old slab, walk or step is tied into the foundation, a clean saw cut takes out only that piece so the rest can stay put.
Concrete driveway building
If the drive came out for access or no longer lines up with the garage, a new pour that drains away from the house finishes the job.
Book an on-site look at your foundation
Call (510) 973-2452 or send the form with your home's age, what the walls are made of and any foundation problems you know about, so the first visit gets straight to what matters.
Request an estimateCall (510) 973-2452