Foundation raising in Brownsville TX - your home sitting higher than before
If your house sits lower than you'd like, we lift it and build a new or extended foundation underneath, so it stands higher.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Can my house in Brownsville be raised, and what's involved?
Foundation raising in Brownsville means lifting your whole house off its foundation and building a new or extended foundation under it, so the house sits higher than it did before. At Elite Brownsville Concrete Construction, we plan that work around what your house sits on now.
Most people who call about this have a house that sits lower than they'd like, and they want to know if theirs can go up and what it'll take. The price mostly comes down to what the house sits on, the shape the old foundation is in, what kind of foundation goes under it and how high it needs to go. The schedule turns on whether a design professional has to look first, how long the city takes with the plans and how the weather treats the pours. Your estimate spells out what's included, so you can see those choices before anything is decided.
How do you know your house should be raised?
Water standing by the house
If rain sits against your walls or runs under the house after a storm, the house is usually sitting low compared with the ground around it. Every storm you wait puts water closer to your floors and the framing that holds them up.
A wet crawlspace after rain
Damp soil, puddles or a musty smell under the floor usually mean water collects where the house can't shed it. Left alone, that moisture works on the wood and the old piers year after year.
Piers or footings breaking down
Cracked, chipped or leaning piers tell you the old foundation is wearing out. The longer it goes, the more of it usually has to be replaced when the house is raised.
How we handle foundation raising
First I find out what your house sits on, because a crawlspace or pier home lifts very differently from one on a slab, and for a slab home we want a design professional to look before anyone plans a lift. Then we check what the old foundation can still carry, since that decides how much new concrete goes in. Once the plan is set and the house is up on its supports, our crew digs, builds the forms and pours the foundation underneath, and we wait for it to cure and gain strength before the house goes back down on it.
Raising a house usually touches the concrete around it. Where a walk, porch slab or patio is joined to the old foundation, we use concrete cutting to separate it cleanly before the lift. Afterward the paving has to meet the house again, and concrete driveway building lets us pour a new approach that ties in at the right height and sends water away from the house.
Crawlspace and pier homes
Homes built up on a crawlspace or on piers suit the usual jack lift, because there's room to work under the house and it isn't tied to a slab. For these houses the lift is usually the simpler part, and the foundation work is where the planning goes.
Basement and open foundations
Houses on a basement or an open foundation also lift well, since the framing rests on walls or posts that can be built up underneath. The condition of those walls decides how much new concrete the job needs.
Raising onto piles
Piles are long posts driven deep into the ground with bulky, heavy machinery, so they need more room on the lot and usually cost more than other foundations. They make sense when the soil near the surface isn't something you want a raised house resting on.
Get a written estimate for raising your house
We reply within one business day to set up a visit at your property. The estimate is free, comes in writing and carries no obligation, so you can look it over before deciding anything.
(956) 505-5331- Based in
- Brownsville, TX 78520
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call us about raising your house?
Here's how a raise runs from your side, from the first call to walking the finished foundation with us.
Call or send us a message
Reach us at (956) 505-5331 or through the form, and we'll set up a time to come out. If you know whether the house sits on a slab, a crawlspace or a basement, tell us, because it shapes the whole method.
I visit and write it up
I look at the house and the lot, ask how you use the place and write an estimate that spells out what's included. You'll know what's in and what isn't before you decide.
We line up permits, then build
Once you say go, we line up the permit steps, prep the ground and pour when conditions suit it. On a slab house, the design professional's review comes before any of that.
We walk the finished work
When the foundation is done and the house is set on it, we walk it with you. That's your time to ask about anything you see.
Why Brownsville homeowners call Elite Brownsville Concrete Construction to raise a house
I look at every job myself
I come out myself to see what your house sits on and write the estimate, and around Brownsville that can be anything from an older pier house to a slab. The person who looked under your house is the one who wrote the plan you're reading.
Our own crew runs each pour
Our own crew does the work, with an experienced lead on site running each pour. You aren't handed off to people who've never seen the plan.
Planning learned on commercial jobs
We've been in business since 2017, and before that I worked on commercial crews pouring slabs, footings and parking lots. That's where I learned to plan a pour before a truck backs up, which matters most when a house is waiting on supports.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured. With your whole house lifted off its foundation, that's one of the first things to ask any contractor.
The work under a raised house is the part nobody sees later, so it's the part I want planned right. Send us a message or call (956) 505-5331 to set up a visit.
Foundation raising, permits and soil in Brownsville
Brownsville's Building Permits and Inspections Division processes permits and reviews plans for all remodeling and new construction, and putting a new foundation under a house is construction, so expect your plans to go through that office. Before work starts, we check whether your address falls under the city or the county, help with the permit steps for our part of the job and get inspections on the calendar with you. If something's unclear, we ask the office instead of guessing.
Part of Cameron County sits on expansive clay, soil that shrinks as it dries and swells when it gets wet. Deep foundations, which rest on much deeper soil or rock, are often used where the surface soil acts like that or is weak enough to wash away, so the ground under your lot has a say in what goes under a raised house. We run into the same kind of clay on jobs in San Benito and Harlingen.
Questions about foundation raising in Brownsville
Can a house on a slab foundation be raised?
Sometimes, but raising a house with its ground-level slab still attached is hard to do and often can't be done. The slab may not carry the weight of a raised house, so the national guidance on raising homes says a registered design professional should evaluate it before you choose this route. If you aren't sure what your house sits on, I'll check when I come out.
How much does it cost to raise a house in Brownsville?
We give you that number after seeing the house, because the work under it is what sets the cost. One thing to weigh on the other side is that raising a home higher also lowers its flood insurance premium. Your estimate puts the figure for your own house in writing.
What happens to my old foundation when my house is raised?
The old foundation is either extended or torn down and rebuilt. Which one depends on the condition it's in and whether it can carry the added load, so it's one of the first things I look at, and it decides how much new concrete the job needs.
How is a house lifted off its foundation?
On most jobs the house is separated from its foundation, raised on hydraulic jacks and held on temporary supports while the new foundation goes in underneath. If it's going onto piles, the house is usually moved off the old foundation and set on cribbing, which is stacked timber, until the work is done.
How long does it take to raise a house?
There's no set number of days, because it turns on what's under the house now, whether a slab needs a design review, how long the city takes with the plans and how the weather treats the pours. New concrete also has to cure and gain strength before it carries the house. The estimate lays out the order of the work so you can plan around it.
How do I know if I need windstorm certification after raising my house?
If you're a coastal owner who needs wind and hail insurance through TWIA, state law requires your property to be certified as meeting the windstorm building code for your area. The Texas Department of Insurance issues those certificates, and you can check the requirements on TWIA's windstorm certification page. If that applies to you, bring it up at the estimate so we can talk it through before work starts.
Concrete work that often comes with a raise
Concrete cutting
A clean saw cut separates a walk or patio tied to the house, so lifting it doesn't crack the concrete you're keeping.
Concrete driveway building
A house that sits higher may need a new driveway approach, poured to the new height and sloped so water runs away from the house.
Cities we work in near Brownsville
Elite Brownsville Concrete Construction is based in Brownsville, TX, and works in the cities around it, including Los Fresnos and Port Isabel. The nine cities below each have their own page, and if yours isn't listed, call and ask.
Brownsville, TX
Tell us what your house sits on
Call (956) 505-5331 or use the form and mention slab, crawlspace or basement, so the first visit starts with the right questions about your house.